How to Get Curse of Binding in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Curse of Binding is a treasure enchantment (level I only) that locks an item into your armor slot - you cannot take it off until you die, the item breaks, or you enter Creative mode. It comes from fishing, librarian trades, and structure chests. It is a curse, not a bonus: think twice before putting it on.

What you need

Nothing to craft - it is a treasure enchantment
Fishing rod, librarian villager, or structure chests
An armor piece you are VERY sure about
A friend with a sense of humor (for the pumpkin trick)

Step by step

Know what it does. A cursed item equipped in an armor slot cannot be removed in survival. Ever. Not with a grindstone, not with a crafting table - those just give it back still cursed.
Find it as treasure. Curse of Binding never appears on the enchanting table. Look in fishing loot, librarian trades (any level), non-village structure chests, and - in Bedrock - raid mob drops.
Learn the escape routes. Three ways out: die (the item drops), break the item (only if it has durability), or switch to Creative. With keep_inventory on, only breaking works.
Beware the special cases. Carved pumpkins and mob heads have no durability, so death is the ONLY way out - in hardcore that means never. The same applies to elytra, which have durability but are painful to break. One mercy: placing a cursed pumpkin or head as a block and mining it removes the curse.
Use it on purpose. It is mostly a trolling tool (dispenser a cursed pumpkin onto a friend), but it has real uses: locking armor onto players in adventure maps, or onto mobs so they never swap for better dropped gear.

Java vs Bedrock

Identical in Java and Bedrock: the item stays on until death, breaking, or Creative. Mobs wearing cursed gear are also stuck with it - a zombie in a cursed leather helmet will not swap it for netherite.

Versions: Curse of Binding arrived in the Exploration Update (Java 1.11, 2016; Bedrock 1.1, 2017) alongside Curse of Vanishing and the totem of undying.

Frequently asked questions

How do I remove Curse of Binding?

Die, break the item, or go Creative - those are the only ways. For cursed carved pumpkins and mob heads specifically, place the block and mine it: the curse is removed when it drops as an item.

Does the grindstone remove Curse of Binding?

No - grindstones cannot remove curses. The item comes out still cursed, same with crafting-grid combining. Curses are permanent; only the escape routes (death, breaking, Creative) work.

Can I die on purpose to remove it?

Yes, that is the standard fix - store your valuables, jump off something tall, and pick the freed item back up. With keep_inventory on, though, the item stays on your corpse-self, so you must break it instead.