Surry County, NC Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

Surry County Code Chapter 132 (Noise) prohibits, county-wide in unincorporated Surry County, North Carolina, "the creation of any unreasonably loud and disturbing noise" that is "detrimental to the health, safety or welfare of a reasonable person of ordinary sensibilities" (§132.01(A)). The chapter lists specific violations, including amplified music and voice transmission between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., and building or excavation noise outside of daytime hours. Section 132.02 then exempts nine categories of noise from all of Chapter 132, including, at subsection (F), noise from lawful fireworks or noise makers on holidays or religious ceremonies.

Because the exemption applies to the whole chapter, a resident or business setting off legal fireworks on a holiday or during a religious observance cannot be cited under the county noise ordinance for the sound itself, regardless of the hour. The exemption sits alongside others for church bells, emergency vehicles, county-authorized street fairs, and bona fide farming equipment. Surry County has not adopted a separate ordinance restricting where, when, or what type of fireworks residents may discharge in unincorporated areas; Chapter 132's noise exemption is the only fireworks-specific text in the county code.

Anyone seeking to run a business activity that Chapter 132 would otherwise restrict, such as amplified sound, may petition the Board of Commissioners under §132.03 for a hearing and possible variance, but that separate variance process does not apply to the fireworks exemption, which is unconditional. Enforcement of the noise chapter generally falls to the Sheriff's Office and county Ordinance Enforcement Officers, who may issue citations for non-exempt violations.