Roanoke, VA

Roanoke has designated its entire corporate limits a bird sanctuary, and it is unlawful to intentionally kill, injure, molest or trap any songbird or wild game bird within city limits…

Roanoke restricts backyard beehives with setbacks of 10 feet from property lines, 50 feet from neighboring residences, and 30 feet from streets, plus a required water source within 50…

Roanoke limits any residential parcel to four cats, or six if every cat is spayed or neutered and the owner holds a veterinarian's certificate for each one. Cats over four months old…

Roanoke allows an animal hospital or veterinary clinic with no outdoor pens or runs by right in the CN, CG, CLS, D, UF, and UC Districts under Section 36.2-315's use table, but…

Roanoke's zoning code allows a wildlife rescue shelter or refuge area as a permitted use only in the RA (Residential Agricultural) District. Section 36.2-311's use table for…

Roanoke does not restrict dogs by breed, but it outright bans possessing a hybrid canine (a dog crossed with wolf or coyote) in the city, and it runs a court-supervised dangerous-dog…

Roanoke bans dogs and hybrid canines from running at large anywhere in the city, at any time, even if licensed and vaccinated. A dog is legally 'at large' unless leashed, caged…

Roanoke caps most residential parcels at four dogs and four cats, though a household may keep up to six cats if all six are spayed or neutered with veterinarian certificates on hand…

Roanoke caps backyard poultry at 10 birds on lots under 20,000 square feet and 40 birds on larger lots, with pens kept at least 50 feet from neighboring residences and no roaming at…

Virginia regulates importation, possession, and sale of nonnative exotic animals through state wildlife regulations administered by the Department of Wildlife Resources.

Virginia prohibits baiting wildlife for hunting and lets localities ban deer feeding, while bear feeding bans are addressed through hunting and Department regulations.

Roanoke's noise ordinance makes it a Class 2 misdemeanor and public nuisance to run radios, TVs, stereos or musical instruments loud enough to cross into a residential property between…

Roanoke bars vehicle stereos that can be heard more than 50 feet away while parked or driving on a public street, and bans sounding a horn or whistle except as a danger warning, under…

Roanoke declares any dog a public nuisance if its loud, frequent or habitual barking or howling disturbs the peace of a person or neighborhood, whenever an animal warden, other…

Roanoke bans loudspeakers, PA systems and mobile sound trucks that amplify sound for a commercial purpose anywhere on a public street or public property, at any hour, under City Code §…

Virginia Code § 15.2-980 lets localities adopt civil penalties for noise-ordinance violations, capped at $250 for a first offense and $500 for each subsequent offense. The…

City Code § 20-65 bars parking on sidewalks, within 5 feet of a driveway, in intersections, within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, within 20 feet of a corner, or anywhere it blocks traffic…

City Code § 20-65(a)(8) reserves designated loading zones for active loading and unloading only; § 20-67(f) lets a passenger car stop briefly for passengers or bundles, but not in a…

Roanoke doesn't ban overnight parking outright, but City Code § 20-67(d) makes it unlawful to leave any vehicle parked and standing on a public highway for more than 48 consecutive…

Roanoke allows electric vehicle charging stations to encroach into the front yard but requires an evergreen landscaping strip between the station and the right-of-way, caps station…

Roanoke bars parking on turf or landscaped areas that denudes the soil, treating it as an unpermitted parking area under Section 36.2-651, and requires every off-street parking surface…

City Code § 20-71 bars parking a commercial motor vehicle, truck, bus, tow truck or similar, on a residential street or alley for more than 2 hours, with exceptions for school buses…

Roanoke's city manager can designate any block or street, including inside the downtown service district, as a parking permit area after a study and community meeting. Only vehicles…

Roanoke treats a vehicle as abandoned if it's inoperable on public property for more than 48 hours, illegally on public property for more than 48 hours, or left over 48 hours on…

Roanoke allows an RV, boat, or trailer to be parked or stored (not lived in) on a residential lot if it's currently licensed, no closer to the street than the house, and no longer than…

Virginia puts the ceiling on a nonconsensual tow in the Code itself rather than in an agency tariff. Va. Code § 46.2-1233.1 A caps the hookup and initial towing fee for a passenger car…

Roanoke treats a swimming pool as development that needs a zoning permit from the Zoning Administrator, unless the pool qualifies for the exemption the Virginia Construction Code gives…

Roanoke's pool-fencing mandate applies to public swimming pools, defined as pools used by more than one person for a fee, such as apartment, club, or hotel pools; it requires a…

Roanoke zoning permits short-term rental, homestay, and bed-and-breakfast establishments only as of right or by special exception depending on the district, and each type carries its…

A Roanoke bed and breakfast or homestay can only rent rooms on a daily or weekly basis, and no single guest stay may run longer than 14 days. The cap under Section 36.2-405 keeps…

A Roanoke homestay operator cannot rent out a room and leave; Section 36.2-405(d)(4) requires the owner or leaseholder to occupy the property during every guest stay. The rule…

Roanoke limits how many overnight guests a bed and breakfast or homestay can host. A bed and breakfast may use no more than six guest sleeping rooms and cannot exceed 12 total guest…

Roanoke requires the owner of a residential bed and breakfast to reside in the dwelling, and requires an owner or on-site manager to live on the property for a bed and breakfast in the…

Virginia imposes a state sales tax and authorizes local transient occupancy taxes on short-term rentals, with platform collection responsibilities and accommodations intermediary rules…

Roanoke caps an accessory building's footprint at 75% of the principal building's footprint, limits total accessory footprint to no more than the house itself, and requires sheds to…

Roanoke allows one accessory dwelling unit per lot by right. A detached ADU is capped at 800 square feet or 80% of the principal home's gross floor area, whichever is smaller, while an…

Virginia regulates tiny homes through the Uniform Statewide Building Code and IRC Appendix Q, preempting local construction standards while leaving placement and zoning to localities.

Roanoke caps weeds and grass at ten inches on any parcel before they become a public nuisance under City Code Sec. 33-17(h) and Sec. 33-18. Owners who let growth exceed that height…

Anyone other than a city employee needs a permit from the city manager before cutting, pruning, or removing a tree or shrub on Roanoke's public streets, grounds, or other city…

Virginia encourages rainwater harvesting and graywater reuse: outdoor rain-barrel collection is essentially unregulated, while the Board of Health sets standards for reuse systems and…

The State Water Control Board administers statewide drought response and surface water withdrawal permits, with localities authorized to impose additional conservation rules during…

Roanoke's fire code bans igniting or maintaining any open fire on public or private property outside a building, and specifically forbids burning waste materials or salvage and…

Roanoke's noise ordinance bars firing explosives, fireworks or similar devices that create impulsive sound across a property line or on public property between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00…

Roanoke bars anyone from occupying, leasing or renting a dwelling, or operating a hotel, motel or rooming house, until smoke alarms are installed under the Uniform Statewide Building…

Roanoke's open burning ban carves out recreational fires, such as backyard fire pits, as long as the fire follows the separate restrictions in Section 307.4.2 of the adopted fire code…

Virginia adopts the Statewide Fire Prevention Code applying uniform NFPA 58 propane storage and handling standards across all jurisdictions, regulating tank placement, capacity, and…

Virginia lets the Governor, on the State Forester's recommendation, ban all open burning when serious fire hazards exist, and makes anyone whose negligence causes a wildfire liable to…

Fences within a sight distance triangle at a corner cannot exceed 36 inches in Roanoke. Elsewhere, height is set by zoning district and lot location: 48 inches along most residential…

Roanoke's zoning code exempts retaining walls from the general fence height and permit rules and lets them encroach into any required yard, but any retaining wall five feet or taller…

Roanoke bans barbed wire and razor wire on residential fences, with a narrow exception for barbed wire containing farm animals in the Residential Agriculture (RA) district. In…

Under Code of Virginia § 55.1-2821, adjoining landowners must build and maintain division fences between their lands at joint and equal expense, unless one leaves his land open or the…

A standard Roanoke home occupation cannot receive customers or clients at the dwelling at all under Sec. 36.2-413(e)(2). Only a personal service home occupation, such as a hair or nail…

Roanoke permits home occupations in dwellings citywide under Sec. 36.2-413, but caps the use at 250 square feet of finished floor area, bars any exterior change to the home, and lists…

Roanoke lets residents run a home-based daycare by right in every zoning district, no special exception needed. A 'day care home, child' can serve up to four unrelated children under…

Roanoke home occupations may not post any sign advertising the business on the property. Sec. 36.2-413(d)(13) makes this an absolute bar, alongside a related rule barring any goods or…

Virginia lets a resident make and sell a specific list of shelf-stable foods out of a private home with no Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services permit, no…

Virginia does not issue a microenterprise home kitchen permit, and it cannot: the Board of Health food regulation at 12VAC5-421-2990 says a private home shall not be used for…

Roanoke does not run its own separate pawnbroker licensing scheme: City Code § 29-96 instead adopts the Commonwealth's Pawnbroker Act wholesale, requiring anyone operating as a…

A motor vehicle repair business run from a Roanoke home may operate only as office functions under Sec. 36.2-413(g)(2): no actual repair, service, or wrenching on vehicles at the…

Roanoke's zoning code keeps adult bookstores, adult theatres, adult model studios, and similar adult uses at least 1,000 feet from any other adult use and 500 feet from residential…

Roanoke classifies tattoo parlors and body piercing establishments as 'personal service establishments' under the zoning code's Appendix A definitions, permitted by right in every…

Roanoke's zoning code requires any towing service use to sit on a lot of at least 20,000 square feet and bars keeping damaged or wrecked vehicles outdoors for more than 120 calendar…

Roanoke defines anyone who buys, sells, barters or exchanges discarded or abandoned used personal property for resale as a junk dealer, and requires a business license from the…

Every massage parlor doing business in Roanoke must hold a $5,000 annual license under City Code § 19-74.1, due each January and non-transferable; the Commissioner of Revenue will not…

Virginia requires retail tobacco and liquid nicotine sellers to comply with state licensing under Code 58.1-1021.04:1 and prohibits sales to anyone under 21 per Code 18.2-371.2.

Before a contractor can erect scaffolding, cranes, hoists or similar equipment over a Roanoke street, alley or sidewalk for construction, demolition or cleaning work, City Code § 30-6…

Roanoke bills elevator reinspection fees separately from other building permit fees: invoices go out after the fact instead of being collected up front. Section 7-6(b) requires the…

Roanoke limits how far forward or back a new home's front yard can sit compared to its neighbors under Section 36.2-313. In the R-7, R-5, R-3, RM-1, and RM-2 districts, the Zoning…

Roanoke's zoning code requires unlicensed child day care centers to provide at least 35 square feet of common floor area per child, counting only sleeping, eating, instruction, and…

Roanoke's building maintenance code lets the city manager inspect residential rental units inside a designated rental inspection district to confirm safe, decent and sanitary…

Roanoke enforces building permits through the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code, adopted wholesale into city law and controlling everywhere inside city limits. The building…

Roanoke's rodent control article makes property owners responsible for eliminating rat harborages, piling lumber and boxes at least a foot off the ground, exterminating rat…

Roanoke requires household sharps to be sealed inside a labeled, opaque plastic container, taped shut and marked "household sharps, do not recycle" on two sides, then placed inside the…

Roanoke requires every restaurant owner, manager and employee to attend food handler schools or lectures the city itself conducts. The duty sits inside the same article that makes…

Roanoke splits electric power-assisted bicycles into three classes by top pedal-assist speed of 20, 20, and 28 mph, and lets all three ride anywhere ordinary bicycles are allowed…

Roanoke bans any dockless mobility operation, meaning a business that rents scooters, skateboards, or bicycles to users, from operating in the city's rights-of-way without a permit…

Roanoke requires bicycles, e-bikes, mopeds and scooters moving slower than traffic to ride as close as safely practicable to the right curb or edge of the street, with listed…

Virginia runs two separate schemes. A golf cart or utility vehicle is barred from every public highway in the Commonwealth unless the county, city, or town has designated that road by…

Roanoke bars unsupervised minors 14 to 16 from public streets, parks, and vacant lots between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. Sunday through Thursday and midnight to 5 a.m. on weekends, with an…

Roanoke's public parks close every night at 11:00 p.m. and reopen at 6:00 a.m. It is unlawful to enter or remain in a park during those hours, though the code carves out passing…

Drinking or possessing any alcoholic beverage in a Roanoke city park is a Class 4 misdemeanor. The city manager can lift the ban for specific events at a named list of parks, including…

Roanoke designates non-smoking areas inside the outdoor amphitheater at Elmwood Park under state authority in Va. Code § 15.2-926.4. Anyone who keeps smoking there after being asked to…

City Code § 30-13.1(c) bars anyone 15 or older from using a Roanoke sidewalk for roller skating, ice skating, sleighing, or riding any similar wheeled or runnered toy, language that…

Roanoke makes it a Class 4 misdemeanor to urinate or defecate on any sidewalk, street, or public place, or anywhere other people are present, unless it's in a bathroom, restroom, or…

Dumping solid waste anywhere in Roanoke outside a designated disposal site is a Class 1 misdemeanor, and dumping or littering on public property or on private property without the…

Roanoke carts must be out no later than 7 a.m. on collection day, cannot go to the curb before 7 p.m. the night before, and must be pulled back by 7 a.m. the following morning…

Roanoke sorts yard debris into four separate placement categories under City Code section 14.1-17: brush goes in an automated cart (or curbside collection under section 14.1-23 if too…

Roanoke defines what counts as recyclable by city-manager regulation, requires recyclables to go only in a city-issued recycling container capped at 96 gallons, and bars a long list of…

Roanoke requires a dumpster/container permit before any bulk container goes on public property or the right-of-way, bans placement that blocks traffic, requires containers to be kept…

Roanoke caps automated collection containers by gallon size and weight and requires carts to sit as close as possible to the street in front of the originating property, five feet…

Roanoke issues two kinds of recycling containers, a bin capped at 22 gallons and a larger automated container capped at 96 gallons, both city property, and caps loaded weight at 60…

Only city-authorized crews may touch solid waste once it is set out for collection in Roanoke: scavenging through someone else's trash or recyclables, or loading a collection vehicle…

Roanoke collects bulk items and brush from residences under City Code section 14.1-23, but caps every load: brush piles can be no larger than six feet wide, six feet long and six feet…

Roanoke requires new and substantially improved buildings in special flood hazard areas to elevate the lowest floor to the base flood elevation plus 24 inches of freeboard, with…

Roanoke's stormwater discharge chapter bans dumping sewage, industrial waste or debris into the city's storm drain system, connecting sanitary sewers to storm drains, or blocking…

Roanoke requires an approved erosion and sediment control plan before any land-disturbing construction begins. Projects under 10,000 square feet for a single-family home use a simple…

Roanoke's Floodplain Overlay District bans most new encroachments in the floodway and restricts development across all special flood hazard areas, permitting only limited by-right uses…

The Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act mandates 100-foot vegetated buffers along tidal waters and tributaries in 84 covered Tidewater localities, with state-set criteria local ordinances…

Street vending on a Roanoke sidewalk must leave at least 42 inches of clear passage under Sec. 30-9.2(13)(d), and the permit application itself must show the sidewalk's width plus…

Roanoke lets the city manager permit non-motorized food and beverage carts on public rights-of-way and city property, but only within four zoning districts. Section 30-9.2 confines…

Mobile food units operating in Virginia must obtain a permit from the Virginia Department of Health under uniform statewide food regulations.

Roanoke caps holiday decorations on city-owned poles, light standards or trees at two weeks, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's displays, which may stand from November 1…

Roanoke caps electronic readerboard signs at 40 percent of the total sign area they're attached to, limits them to 25 square feet in CN, D, IN, UC, and CG districts, requires each…

Roanoke bans new outdoor advertising signs, billboards, within two hundred fifty feet of the right-of-way of I-581 and the Roy L. Webber Expressway under City Code Section…

Roanoke limits window signage to fifty percent of the glass area it covers under City Code Section 36.2-671(b). Any sign applied to, suspended from, or displayed through a storefront…

Virginia law prohibits all signs, including garage sale and yard sale notices, placed within the limits of any state highway right-of-way, with a $100 civil penalty per occurrence.

Virginia state law creates a 40-foot prohibited area around polling place entrances on election day where political signs and electioneering are forbidden statewide.

Roanoke's noise ordinance does not apply to sound generated by parades, fireworks, school-related activities or other special events for which the city has issued a permit, per City…

A film or still-photography crew using any Roanoke street, park, or other outdoor city property must get a public assembly permit from the director of public works under Sec. 30-103…

Roanoke makes it unlawful to obstruct any street, alley, sidewalk or gutter without lawful authority, and requires anyone who wants to place a dumpster or portable storage container in…

Roanoke property owners who want a structure encroaching on a public street or alley right-of-way, such as a driveway apron or sidewalk feature, need a permit or license from the city…

Roanoke puts sidewalk construction cost on the abutting property owner by default under Sec. 30-85, but Sec. 30-89 splits new residential sidewalks 50/50 with the city and shifts full…

Roanoke's Historic Downtown Overlay District (H-1) requires a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Architectural Review Board before you can build, demolish, move, or alter any…

Roanoke exempts rooftop solar from special zoning review but requires ground-mounted solar systems to stay out of front yards, install an 8-foot landscape buffer plus a perimeter…

Virginia's solar covenant statute is a default rule, not a covenant-voiding right. Va. Code § 55.1-1820.1 B says no association shall prohibit an owner from installing a solar energy…

Roanoke's derelict building program lets the codes compliance administrator declare a vacant, boarded-up structure without lawful utility service 'derelict' and order the owner to…

Roanoke declares weeds over ten inches tall and trash lying on any parcel a public nuisance under Sec. 33-18, and requires the owner to cut, remove, or destroy it, with the city able…

A Roanoke neighborhood block party, defined in Sec. 30-102(h)(3) as a small-scale closure of a limited number of blocks on a low-traffic residential street for local residents, needs a…

Organizers of Roanoke craft shows, art shows, trade shows or festivals with five or more vendors owe a $3 per-vendor daily license tax capped at $500 a year under City Code § 19-78.1…

Anyone holding a parade, race, walk, or other public assembly on a Roanoke street, sidewalk, alley, or park needs a permit from the director of public works under Sec. 30-103. Races…

Roanoke folds commercial filming into its special event rules: Sec. 30-102(h) defines filming in any public right-of-way, park, or outdoor city property as a special event category…

Anyone wanting to use a Roanoke park during closed hours (11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.) must apply to the city manager for a special park use permit, disclosing the purpose, dates, hours…

Restaurants that own or lease property in Roanoke and hold a state health department food permit can apply to the city manager for an outdoor dining permit under City Code § 30-9.1…

Every outdoor light fixture installed under a Roanoke development plan or replacing an existing one must be fully shielded and aimed so it does not glare onto an abutting lot or…

Roanoke's outdoor lighting division requires all fixtures to be fully shielded so no glare or light trespass crosses a lot line, bans lighting that shines directly into neighboring…

Roanoke requires every illuminated sign, including outdoor advertising billboards, to keep its light source enclosed or shielded so the point source is never visible from an adjacent…

Roanoke caps yard and garage sales at two consecutive calendar days per event, limited to daylight hours, and allows only two sales per dwelling per year with an interval of at least…

Roanoke levies an 8 percent transient occupancy tax on the total room charge paid by any guest who rents a hotel, motel, inn, tourist home, or similar lodging for fewer than 90…

Roanoke has no vacancy tax, but owners of buildings vacant twelve months or more that meet the city's 'derelict building' definition must register annually with the codes compliance…

Businesses grossing over $100,000 a year owe Roanoke's BPOL license tax at rates set by classification: contractors pay $0.16 per $100 of gross receipts, retailers $0.20, financial and…

Roanoke's rental certificate of compliance program exists because city council found that rental units left uninspected can become unsafe, a public nuisance, and unfit for human…

Owners of residential rental dwelling units in Roanoke must tell the building maintenance code official that the unit is a rental, using a form the city manager prepares. New rentals…

The Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act sets uniform eviction grounds and notice periods statewide, preempting local just-cause ordinances under Dillon's Rule.

Under Va. Code § 55.1-1229, a landlord must give the tenant notice of intent to enter and may enter only at reasonable times, except in an emergency. For routine maintenance the tenant…

Va. Code § 55.1-1204 lets a landlord charge a late fee only if the written lease provides for it, capped at the lesser of 10 percent of the periodic rent or 10 percent of the remaining…

Under Va. Code § 55.1-1253, either party may end a month-to-month tenancy with at least 30 days' written notice before the next rent due date, and a week-to-week tenancy with at least…

Under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, a landlord may not demand a security deposit exceeding two months' rent. After the tenancy ends, the landlord must return the…

Under Va. Code § 8.01-236, a person must take action to recover land within 15 years after the right accrues, so an occupant claiming title by adverse possession must hold the property…

Roanoke's subdivision ordinance requires street trees along every new or improved street in a major subdivision, spaced by a block-length formula, planted in the strip between curb and…

Roanoke does not require door-to-door solicitors to obtain a city permit, but City Code § 21-31 bars unsolicited sales calls between 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. Anyone who knocks door to…

Virginia enforces the federal Do Not Call Registry and the state Telephone Privacy Protection Act, prohibiting most unsolicited telephone solicitations to registered numbers and…

Roanoke caps building height at 45 feet in the RA, RM-2 and RMF districts and 35 feet in the R-12, R-7, R-5, R-3 and RM-1 districts under the Section 36.2-312 dimensional table. Church…

Roanoke's Section 36.2-312 dimensional table sets minimum yard depths by residential district: front yards run from 10 feet in RM-1, RM-2, and RMF up to 30 feet in RA; side yards run…

Roanoke's weed-nuisance ordinance does not reach purposefully planted vegetable and flower gardens: Sec. 33-17(h) carves them out of the 'weed' definition as long as the owner or…

Roanoke's vegetation code brands a specific list of invasive and noxious plants, including poison ivy, poison oak, Canada thistle, milkweed, ragweed and sage brush, as "weeds" once…

Roanoke residents report suspected zoning violations to the Zoning Administrator, who must investigate every complaint under Section 36.2-571(a)(2) and issue written notice of any…

Roanoke zones agriculturally productive land as the RA, Residential-Agricultural District, whose stated purpose is to preserve and protect farming activity by maintaining low…

Roanoke inspects rental housing through five designated rental inspection districts: Southwest, Northwest, Southeast, Eastern Avenue N.E., and Williamson Road N.E. The city manager…

Roanoke makes it a Class 4 misdemeanor to camp on any city-owned street, sidewalk, alley or right-of-way within the downtown service district. Camping covers sleeping, laying out…

Virginia bars anyone from operating a medical cannabis dispensing facility or pharmaceutical processor without a permit from the Cannabis Control Authority Board. Permits are capped by…

Virginia law allows adults 21 and older to cultivate up to four marijuana plants per household for personal use, with statewide rules localities cannot prohibit but may regulate via…

Commercial drone operators in Virginia follow FAA Part 107 rules and are shielded from most local regulation under state preemption, with limited exceptions for locality-owned property…

Virginia preempts most local drone regulation, reserving aircraft operation rules to the state and FAA, while criminalizing surveillance overflights and trespass-style use against…

Virginia's minimum wage under Code § 40.1-28.10 is $12.77 per hour in 2026, rising to $13.75 on January 1, 2027 and $15.00 on January 1, 2028. The state rate preempts localities from…

Virginia Code 40.1-33.3 et seq. requires paid sick leave only for certain home health workers; no general statewide paid leave mandate exists, and broad local paid leave ordinances…

Virginia issues concealed handgun permits under Code 18.2-308.01 through 18.2-308.014, with shall-issue standards administered by circuit courts; localities cannot impose additional…

Virginia preempts most local firearm regulation under Code 15.2-915, but a 2020 amendment lets localities restrict firearms in specific public buildings, parks, recreation centers, and…

Virginia generally permits open carry of firearms by adults without a permit, though Code 18.2-287.4 restricts certain loaded high-capacity weapons in named public areas of larger…

Virginia Code 18.2-308 lets adults transport firearms in personal vehicles, with concealed handguns in a closed compartment lawful without a permit; localities are preempted by Code…

Virginia confines casino gaming to a short list of statutorily defined 'eligible host cities' that meet strict poverty, unemployment, or tax-exempt-property thresholds under Va. Code §…

Virginia's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services controls all charitable gaming under Code § 18.2-340.15, treating it as a revocable privilege rather than a right. A…

Virginia's general gambling ban does not reach a private game of chance held in someone's home. Code § 18.2-334 exempts games of chance in a private residence from prosecution under…

Virginia legalized online sports betting in 2020 under Code § 58.1-4032, but caps competition: the Virginia Lottery's Director issues no fewer than four and no more than 12 permits…

Under the Virginia Property Owners' Association Act, § 55.1-1833, an association may perfect a lien for unpaid assessments by recording a memorandum of lien, but only if it does so…

Virginia's § 55.1-1816 requires HOA board meetings to be open to all members of record, with published notice and a member right to record open portions; closed executive sessions are…

Virginia's § 55.1-1819 empowers a property owners' association to adopt and enforce rules governing the development, including architectural and use restrictions in the recorded…

Virginia's Property Owners' Association Act protects one flag and one flag only: the flag of the United States. Under Va. Code § 55.1-1820 no association may prohibit a lot owner from…

Virginia caps association fines by statute. Under Va. Code § 55.1-1819 D a charge may not exceed $50 for a single offense or $10 per day for a continuing offense, and a continuing…

Virginia does not stop a community association from restricting or even prohibiting leasing, because Va. Code § 55.1-1806 opens with an exception for anything expressly authorized in…

Virginia law enforcement runs sobriety checkpoints, and the General Assembly legislated on that fact in 2023, but no section of the Code of Virginia authorizes or regulates them. Va…

Virginia has no statute granting an express right to record police, and it does not need one, because Virginia is a one-party consent state. Va. Code § 19.2-62(B)(2) makes it no…

Virginia is not a stop-and-identify state. No section of the Code of Virginia requires a person stopped or detained on the street to give a name, and the General Assembly has never…

Virginia is one of the few states that answered the consent question by statute rather than leaving it to the courts. Va. Code § 4.1-1302 bars an officer from stopping, searching or…

Virginia Code 58.1-1745 authorizes counties and cities to impose a 5-cent tax on disposable plastic bags provided at grocery stores, convenience stores, and drugstores within their…

Virginia Code § 10.1-1424.3 phases out expanded polystyrene single-use food service containers: food vendors with 20 or more locations had to comply by July 1, 2025, and all food…

Virginia Code 18.2-371.2 prohibits selling tobacco, nicotine, and vapor products to anyone under 21, with active duty military members 18 and over exempted under state law.

Virginia runs a closed list. Va. Code 46.2-1020 names the extra lights a private vehicle may carry, and anything not on that list, not permitted elsewhere in the lighting article, and…

Virginia is one of the few states with a dash camera provision written into the vehicle code by name. Since 2023, subsection C of Va. Code 46.2-1054 says the obstructed-view law does…

Virginia does not permit lane splitting, and it does not treat the offense as a simple traffic ticket. Va. Code § 46.2-857 makes it reckless driving to drive any motor vehicle so as to…

Virginia bans any cover, frame, bracket, holder, mounting, or colored glass or plastic placed on, around, or over a license plate if it in any way alters or obscures the plate…

Virginia prohibits radar and laser detectors outright in every private vehicle. Va. Code 46.2-1079 makes it unlawful to operate a car equipped with any passive or active device that…

Virginia permits studded snow tires only between October 15 and April 15, and only on a vehicle whose gross weight does not exceed 10,000 pounds. The studs must project no more than…

Virginia lets you tint front side windows down to 50 percent light transmittance and rear side and rear windows down to 35 percent, and no window film anywhere on the car may reflect…