York County, VA Fire Regulations: Fireworks (2026)

Section 11-36(j) of the York County Code rewrites Chapter 31, Fireworks, of the Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code. Section F-3101.1 bans the manufacture of fireworks anywhere in the county outright, while allowing display, sale or discharge only when it complies with the article and with Chapter 11, Title 59.1, of the Code of Virginia. Section F-3101.2 requires anyone seeking to display, sell or discharge fireworks to obtain a permit from the fire official first, and Section F-3101.3 requires a written application at least fifteen days before the planned display or discharge date; a permit is non-transferable and cannot be extended past its stated dates.

Section F-3103.1 makes it a violation to store, offer for sale, expose for sale, sell at retail, use or explode fireworks except under permits issued for supervised public displays run by the county, fair associations, amusement parks and similar organizations, and every such display must be run by an operator the fire official approves. Permittees must post a bond under Section F-3103.2 covering damages the display might cause. Section F-3103.3 exempts wholesale sales by licensed dealers, signaling and emergency equipment, and blank cartridges used for theater, athletics or military purposes.

Section F-3103.4 lets the fire official seize any fireworks stock held, offered or sold in violation of the article at the owner's expense. The "fireworks" definition in Section F-3102.1 is broad, covering firecrackers, torpedoes, skyrockets, Roman candles and sparklers, but exempts auto flares and low-charge paper caps for toy guns. Because Chapter 31 sets no separate misdemeanor class, a violation defaults to a Class 1 misdemeanor under Section 1-10(b).