Hanover County, VA Ordinances (2026)

When the county administrator declares mandatory water conservation for the Hanover Suburban Water System, established landscape and vegetable gardens can only be watered on assigned…

In the suburban service area of Hanover County outside the Town of Ashland, grass or weeds may not exceed fifteen inches on any occupied or vacant, developed or undeveloped property…

Once the Board of Supervisors designates a tree as heritage, specimen, memorial or street under chapter 22.5, removing, relocating or altering it, or disturbing land within its canopy…

Hanover County's code does not regulate household composting as solid waste. Chapter 26's zoning definition of 'trash,' at Section 26-6, expressly lists 'household composting' among…

Hanover County's RC Rural Conservation District requires native species to predominate on the landscaping plans submitted with a rezoning application. Section 26-54(e)(9) sets that…

Hanover County bills every gallon that passes through a county meter, leak or not, but the owner, agent or tenant who promptly repairs a pipe or plumbing leak can get a rebate on the…

Hanover County bans running a radio, musical instrument, TV or phonograph loud enough to carry across a property line, or through a shared apartment wall, between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00…

Hanover County bans blasting a car stereo audible 50 feet away, honking a horn except as a warning, and running a vehicle engine with a defective muffler. Idling any motor vehicle past…

Hanover County caps noise crossing onto another property at set decibel levels tied to the receiving property's zoning district: 57/52 dB(A) day/night in agricultural and residential…

Hanover County's noise ordinance bars operating construction, repair, alteration or demolition equipment outdoors between 9:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. under Section 16-8(1), and a second…

Hanover County's noise ordinance treats an animal's howling, barking, whining, meowing or squawking as a noise disturbance if it is plainly audible across a property line and continues…

Hanover County's noise ordinance bars noise from leaf removal, lawn care, gardening, tree work or landscaping that carries across a property line in the RS, R-1 through R-5 and RM…

In Hanover County outside the Town of Ashland, it is a class 1 misdemeanor to urinate or defecate on any street, alley, sidewalk, park or public place, or anywhere within public view…

Hanover County makes it a class 4 misdemeanor to be intoxicated in public, whether from alcohol, a narcotic drug or any other intoxicant, under section 17-4 of the county code…

Hanover County defines loitering broadly, remaining idle, lingering, or 'hanging around' in one spot, and makes it unlawful when it obstructs a public place. Section 17-5(a) supplies…

Hanover County does not run curbside collection: households and commercial refuse removers who haul trash, refuse or rubbish through the county must transport it under Section 18-1…

Dumping trash, garbage, refuse or other unsightly matter on a public highway, right-of-way, adjacent property, or on private property without the owner's written consent is a class 1…

Hanover County bars anyone from disposing of solid waste, including recyclables, generated outside the county at its disposal facilities, unless they come from a jurisdiction inside…

On zoned commercial, industrial or residential property within Hanover County's suburban service area, garbage must go in tightly covered, leakproof containers under Section 18-21, and…

In Hanover County's HV Historic Village District, which covers commercial development in the Beaverdam, Hanover Courthouse and Montpelier village centers, Hanover County Code §…

In Hanover County outside the Town of Ashland, letting garbage, trash, rubbish or other refuse sit outdoors in an offensive, unsanitary or nuisance-creating manner is a class 1…

Hanover County Code Section 6-51 requires owners to remove, repair or secure any building or structure that might endanger public health or safety within 60 days of notice from the…

Hanover County caps sound inside any place of public entertainment or assembly, bars and nightclubs included, at 90 decibels wherever a patron normally stands. Cross the limit and the…

Hanover County's noise ordinance makes it a violation to load or unload a commercial motor vehicle outdoors within 100 yards of a home between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., and it…

Hanover County's noise ordinance bars operating a radio, tape player, compact disc player or other sound device on a public right-of-way or in a public place if the sound is plainly…

Hanover County's Zoning Ordinance flatly excludes automobile, motorcycle and truck repair, body work and painting from the definition of a home occupation, so residents outside the…

Hanover County makes it unlawful for a massage establishment to have staff provide physical contact with a client of the opposite sex, under section 17-9 of the county code. Licensed…

No one may operate as a pawnbroker in Hanover County without a license from the Sheriff under Code § 12.5-31, which requires a circuit court order, a bond, fingerprints and a…

Anyone buying secondhand gold, silver, platinum or gems in Hanover County needs an annual $200 Sheriff's permit under Code § 12.5-45, with fingerprints, photo ID and a background…

Hanover County's Zoning Ordinance keeps adult book stores, adult theaters and massage parlors or health clubs away from homes: no such use may sit within 500 feet of a residential…

Hanover County zones tobacco, vape, hemp and kratom retail as 'Recreational Substances, retail stores' under Section 26-292.8, capping hours at 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and imposing school…

Hanover County bars loitering in a way that blocks a public sidewalk, street or highway, or that interferes with a nearby business's free use of the property. Section 17-5(b) lets a…

A Hanover County solicitor permit does not override a posted no-soliciting sign in the county outside the Town of Ashland. Sec. 21-5(b)(3) makes it unlawful for any permittee to enter…

In Hanover County outside the Town of Ashland, no one may knock on a residential door to sell goods, take orders, or offer services without first getting a solicitor permit from the…

A tree earns 'heritage' status in Hanover County only when the Board of Supervisors individually designates it by ordinance for its notable historic or cultural interest under Sec…

Hanover County's tree preservation chapter protects only trees the Board of Supervisors has individually designated as heritage, specimen, memorial or street trees, not any tree…

In Hanover County's RM Multi-Family Residential District outside Ashland, Hanover County Code § 26-77(c) requires street trees along every public street: planted in a median, along an…

Any business, trade, profession, occupation, vocation, calling or activity conducted in Hanover County pays a license tax under chapter 22, article IX, on the privilege of operating…

Every Hanover County short-term rental operator, owner-occupied, accessory detached or non-owner-occupied, outside the Town of Ashland, must register annually with the planning…

Hanover County can bar a non-owner-occupied or accessory detached short-term rental from operating at all after more than three violations of state or local law tied to the rental. The…

Anyone operating a non-owner-occupied or accessory-detached short-term rental in Hanover County outside Ashland must register annually with the Planning Department under Zoning…

Hanover County caps how many people can stay overnight at a short-term rental. Under Zoning Ordinance § 26-300.1, occupancy may not exceed twice the number of bedrooms in the dwelling…

Hanover County requires one off-street parking space per guestroom at every short-term rental, on top of the parking already required for the house itself, and every guest has to park…

Hanover County short-term rental owners must designate an adult who is reachable at all times a rental is occupied and who can respond, in person or by phone, within 60 minutes to…

Hanover County doesn't set a separate STR-specific decibel limit; instead, Zoning Ordinance § 26-300.1(1)(i)(5) requires every short-term rental to conspicuously post the Hanover…

An owner-occupied short-term rental in Hanover County can only operate in a dwelling the owner actually occupies at least 185 days a year. Zoning Ordinance § 26-300.1(1)(a) requires…

Hanover County collects an 8 percent transient occupancy tax, 2 percent under Sec. 22-109 plus a 6 percent additional levy under Sec. 22-110, on the price paid for lodging at any…

In Hanover County outside the Town of Ashland, every cat four months or older must carry a current rabies vaccination under section 4-16, but cats never need a county license the way…

Hanover County's wild-animal permit rule in section 4-80 does not apply to state-licensed wildlife rehabilitators: anyone holding a category I, II or III wildlife rehabilitation permit…

Hanover County does not ban or restrict dogs by breed. When the general district court decides whether a canine is a dangerous or vicious dog under sections 4-75 and 4-76, the…

Anyone in Hanover County outside the Town of Ashland who wants to keep a wild, exotic or vicious animal on their property needs a permit from the county first. The chief animal control…

Hanover County requires dogs and cats adopted from a releasing agency to be sterilized. If the animal isn't already sterilized, the new owner signs an agreement to have it done within…

In Hanover County's B-1 Neighborhood Business District outside Ashland, Hanover County Code § 26-107(1) permits an animal hospital or clinic for small animals as a by-right use only if…

Hanover County lets homeowners keep bees in the RS, R-1, R-2 and R-3 residential districts as an accessory use under the Zoning Ordinance (chapter 26), Section 26-298.2. Outside the…

Hanover County zoning defines a 'pet shop or animal grooming establishment' as any business that bathes, clips, or grooms dogs and cats for a fee, or buys and sells companion animals…

Hanover County bars dog owners from letting a canine run at large during April, May and June anywhere in the county, and year-round in the urban service area, in the R-1 through R-6…

Hanover County allows up to six hens, but no roosters, as an accessory use on single-family lots in the RS, R-1, R-2 and R-3 districts under Zoning Ordinance Section 26-298.1. Outside…

Hanover County caps dog ownership at five adult dogs per tax parcel in every residential zoning district, from AR-1 through RS, under Code Section 4-72. Adult dogs already owned and…

In Hanover County outside the Town of Ashland, no building may be erected, altered, moved, converted, extended or enlarged without a building permit under the Zoning Ordinance (chapter…

Hanover County's building official and inspectors administer the Uniform Statewide Building Code under section 6-17, and under the Zoning Ordinance (chapter 26), no new or altered…

Hanover County Code Section 9-22.1 requires anyone who tests or inspects a fire protection system in the county or the Town of Ashland, including a fire sprinkler system, to submit the…

Hanover County applies the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code's maintenance provisions to every residential rental unit in the county under section 6-16(b). Inside the suburban…

Outside the Town of Ashland, the county's building official enforces the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code's maintenance provisions on a residential rental unit lying outside…

Hanover County requires an approved erosion and sediment control plan under Code § 10-11 before any regulated land-disturbing activity begins, in Hanover County outside the Town of…

Marinas and other boat docking structures are 'water-dependent facilities' under Hanover County Code § 10-33, and building one in a Chesapeake Bay Resource Protection Area requires…

Hanover County Code Section 10-7 bars land-disturbing activity until the Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program authority issues a land-disturbance permit, and Section 10-5…

Any use, activity or development inside Hanover County's Flood Hazard Overlay District, including placing a manufactured home, needs a permit before work starts, in Hanover County…

New construction and substantial improvements in Hanover County's AE and A flood zones must have the lowest floor, including any basement, elevated to at least one foot above the base…

Parking a tractor-trailer, dump truck, or other commercial vehicle on a public highway next to residentially zoned property is unlawful in Hanover County under Code § 15-43.2…

Hanover County bans keeping an inoperable motor vehicle in the open on residentially or agriculturally zoned property under Code § 17-19, unless it's fully enclosed, screened from…

Outside the Town of Ashland, Hanover County's RS Single-Family Residential District lets homeowners store a recreational vehicle, utility trailer or boat trailer in the driveway or…

Hanover County limits where a homeowner can park a recreational vehicle, boat, or utility trailer at home. Section 26-19(8) of the Zoning Ordinance requires a vehicle parked in the…

Hanover County's noise ordinance, Code § 16-4(3), exempts the production of agricultural, horticultural and forestal products, including sawmill operations, from the county's noise…

Hanover County protects farmland through its A-1 Agricultural zoning district rather than a separate right-to-farm ordinance. Section 26-17 states the district's purpose is to protect…

Hanover County's fire code defines a "recreational fire" as an outdoor fire not contained in a barbeque grill, barbeque pit, incinerator or fireplace, capped at 3 feet in diameter and…

Hanover County Code Section 9-12 bans open burning or use of a special incineration device for garbage and refuse, yard trimmings outside the permitted schedule, tires and petroleum…

Hanover County Code Section 9-12.1 lets a resident keep a recreational fire, capped at 3 feet in diameter and 2 feet in height under Section 9-11's definition, without a burning…

Hanover County Code Section 9-16 makes it a class 1 misdemeanor to sell, expose for sale, use or discharge fireworks such as firecrackers, torpedoes or sky-rockets anywhere in the…

Hanover County requires every short-term rental to have working smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and fire extinguishers. Zoning Ordinance § 26-300.1(1)(h) makes the property…

In Hanover County outside the Town of Ashland, the zoning administrator enforces the Zoning Ordinance and every county officer and employee has a duty to report any seeming violation…

Hanover County waives its usual landscaping, screening and thoroughfare-buffer rules for the Old Mechanicsville Turnpike commercial corridor and instead sets a flat ten-foot front…

Hanover County has designated thirteen Historic Preservation Overlay districts, from Scotchtown and Polegreen Church to Sharps and the Beaverdam Motor Company, under Section 26-224…

A shed or other accessory building in Hanover County needs a building permit, cannot be used before the main house is occupied, and in a rear yard is capped at thirty percent of the…

Hanover County caps accessory housing units at one per lot in Zoning Ordinance Section 26-280, limiting size to twenty-five percent of the main dwelling's living area, two bedrooms…

Hanover County requires the property owner to live on-site wherever an accessory housing unit exists, under Zoning Ordinance Section 26-280(a)(6), so absentee owners cannot maintain a…

A detached accessory housing unit in Hanover County outside the Town of Ashland may never be used as a short-term rental without appropriate zoning approvals, under Zoning Ordinance…

An open, unenclosed swimming pool in a Hanover County rear yard must keep its water's edge at least six feet from the rear lot line and ten feet from a side lot line, with a three-foot…

In Hanover County's RS Single-Family Residential District outside Ashland, Hanover County Code § 26-63 sets a 50-foot front yard, minimum 10-foot side yard (25-foot aggregate) and…

In Hanover County's RS Single-Family Residential District outside Ashland, Hanover County Code § 26-64 caps most structures, including single-family homes, at three stories or 45 feet…

Hanover County allows home occupations in Hanover County outside the Town of Ashland only if they meet ten standards in Zoning Ordinance Section 26-279, including fixed operating…

A home occupation in Hanover County outside the Town of Ashland may display no more than one nonilluminated sign, capped at two square feet, advertising the business, under Zoning…

Hanover County zoning treats in-home child care for up to four kids under 13 as a 'family day home,' which County Code Section 26-6 defines and which is permitted by right as an…

Hanover County's Zoning Ordinance restricts home occupations to the hours of 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and requires dedicated off-street parking for every nonresident…

Hanover County limits roof-mounted accessory solar panels to twelve inches above the roof and twelve inches beyond the wall, and ground-mounted panels to twelve feet in height with…

Hanover County doesn't zone for licensed marijuana dispensaries, since Virginia hasn't authorized retail cannabis sales. Instead, Hanover County Code § 26-292.8 regulates "Recreational…

Hanover County zoning treats a paid outdoor music or entertainment festival as a special exception use in most of the county, requiring Board of Supervisors approval before it can be…

Hanover County's Zoning Ordinance limits light trespass from recreational and sports facility lighting onto neighboring land. New sports lighting cannot exceed three-quarters of a…

Hanover County's Zoning Ordinance requires downward-directional full cutoff fixtures for nearly all commercial and industrial outdoor lighting, and caps light spilling onto a…

In Hanover County outside the Town of Ashland, the Zoning Ordinance caps ornamental fences and walls at four feet in any front yard and seven feet in a side or rear yard. A column or…

Hanover County's Zoning Ordinance lets the Zoning Administrator issue a temporary permit for holiday decorative displays used as signs, capped at sixty days total in a calendar year…

Hanover County's Zoning Ordinance treats most signs visible from Interstate highways as a special exception rather than a by-right use. The Board of Supervisors must approve the sign…

Hanover County's Zoning Ordinance regulates LED and LCD message panels on 'destination commerce signs' near Interstate highways under a conditional use permit. Brightness is capped at…