Newport News, VA Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit required
- Fire marshal permit before any fireworks activity
- Base permit fee
- $250.00 (§ 16-20)
- Insurance required
- $1,000,000 liability coverage (§ 16-21)
- Exempted device
- Pyrotechnic bird-scaring devices
- Penalty
- Class 1 misdemeanor (§ 16-22)
- Appeal window
- 7 days to local board of appeals
Summary
Newport News bans fireworks outright without a fire marshal permit. Owning, selling, possessing, storing, displaying, using, exploding or manufacturing pinwheels, sparklers, fountains or Pharaoh's serpents requires a $250 permit; any other fireworks require a permit just to possess, display or explode.
Sec. 16-20. - Fireworks permit required; permit fee. (a)It shall be unlawful for any person to own, sell, possess, store, display, use, explode or manufacture pinwheels, sparklers, fountains or Pharaoh's serpents without a permit issued by the fire marshal. A fee of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) shall be paid before such permit may be issued.(b)It shall be unlawful for any person to possess, display or explode any other fireworks without a permit issued by the fire marshal.(c)For purposes of this section, fireworks do not include pyrotechnic bird scaring devices. ... Sec. 16-21. - Insurance required. Before the fire marshal shall issue any permit required by section 16-20 or section 16-20.1, the applicant for the permit shall submit evidence of liability insurance for the protection of persons and property from death, bodily injury and damage in an amount not less than one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) and in a form satisfactory to the city attorney. ... Sec. 16-22. - Violations. Any person violating any provision of this article for which no penalty is otherwise provided shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 81).
Full Breakdown
00. A second, broader unlawful-act clause in the same section covers every other type of firework: possessing, displaying or exploding "any other fireworks" also requires a fire marshal permit, with no separate fee schedule given for that class. The section carves out one exception: pyrotechnic bird-scaring devices are not "fireworks" for purposes of § 16-20. 00, in a form satisfactory to the city attorney, covering death, bodily injury and property damage. 1 and is subject to the same § 16-21 insurance requirement. The city has also adopted, by reference in § 16-19, National Fire Prevention Association Standard 1123 (Code for Fireworks Display) and Standard 1124 (Code for the Manufacture, Transportation, Storage, and Retail Sales of Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles), which set the technical safety rules a permitted display or storage operation must follow. All of this sits in Article II, Fire Prevention, of Chapter 16, enforced by the Newport News Fire Marshal's Office.
Violations & Fines
Under § 16-22, violating any provision of Article II (which includes the § 16-20 fireworks-permit requirement) for which no other penalty is set is a Class 1 misdemeanor. The fire marshal, deputy fire marshals, assistant fire marshals and fire inspectors have arrest, summons and warrant authority for fire-code violations under § 16-14(d)-(e). Appeals from a fire marshal decision go to the local board of appeals under § 16-16, and must be filed within seven days of the notice or order, accompanied by the filing fee set under § 13-65.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I set off sparklers in Newport News without a permit?
Does Newport News allow any consumer fireworks without a permit?
What insurance does a Newport News fireworks permit require?
What happens if I violate the fireworks permit rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Newport News
How Newport News compares: Cities Where Fireworks Are Banned or Heavily Restricted·Compare Newport News to another location·View the Virginia fire regulations overview
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