Hanover County, VA Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

Section 9-16(a) of Hanover County's fire prevention code bans selling, exposing for sale, using or discharging "any firecrackers, torpedoes, sky-rockets or other substance or object, of whatever form or construction, that contains any explosive or inflammable compound or substance" and either explodes, rises into the air, travels laterally or fires projectiles into the air, or is defined as fireworks under Title 27 of the Code of Virginia or the Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code, unless the permit requirement in the section is met. That ban applies countywide and is charged as a class 1 misdemeanor.

Section 9-16(b) gives the fire marshal authority to issue permits for a fireworks display by fair associations, amusement parks, or any organization or group of individuals, under the terms of the Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code and any additional conditions the fire marshal sets, which is the path used for a permitted show such as a Kings Dominion or community event display in Doswell or elsewhere in the county. Section 9-16(c) carves out an exception from the general ban for sparklers, fountains, Pharaoh's serpents, caps for pistols, and pinwheels known as whirligigs or spinning jennies, along with any other item defined as permissible fireworks under Virginia Code Section 27-95 or the Statewide Fire Prevention Code; those items may be used, ignited or exploded only on private property with the property owner's consent, and may be sold only in conformance with the Statewide Fire Prevention Code and the terms of a fire marshal permit.