Virginia Ordinances (2026)

Virginia's Uniform Statewide Building Code exempts sheds under 256 square feet from building permits statewide, preempting any stricter local permit requirements.

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.

Virginia regulates beekeeping at the state level via Title 3.2 Chapter 44, including voluntary registration and Right-to-Farm protection on agricultural land.

Virginia state law preempts breed-specific legislation by prohibiting any locality from declaring a dog dangerous solely on the basis of breed.

Virginia's Right to Farm Act limits how localities can restrict livestock and poultry kept as production agriculture in agriculturally zoned districts.

Virginia authorizes localities to prohibit dogs running at large, while imposing statewide rules on dangerous dogs that must be leashed and muzzled outside.

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

Virginia Code Section 3.2-6503 requires every owner to provide adequate care for companion animals, with criminal penalties for neglect that often underpin hoarding cases.

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

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.

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…

Virginia authorizes localities to enact juvenile curfew ordinances under specific enabling statutes, with state law setting maximum penalties and constitutional safeguards uniformly.

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…

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…

Virginia's Erosion and Sediment Control Law requires erosion plans and approved control measures for regulated land-disturbing activities, with technical standards uniform across all…

Virginia coordinates floodplain management statewide through DCR, requiring localities to adopt floodplain ordinances meeting National Flood Insurance Program minimums for residents to…

Virginia's Stormwater Management Act sets uniform technical criteria for post-construction stormwater controls that all localities operating Virginia Stormwater Management Programs…

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…

Virginia prohibits the sale, possession, or use of most aerial and explosive fireworks statewide, restricting consumers to ground-based novelties such as sparklers, fountains, and…

Virginia prohibits outdoor burning before 4 PM from February 15 through April 30 each year when fire is within 300 feet of woods, brushland, or fields containing dry grass under the…

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…

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…

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

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 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 requires a state license for family day homes caring for five to twelve unrelated children under Va. Code 22.1-289.02, setting uniform capacity, training, and background-check…

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…

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

Any Virginia locality may require tree replacement during land development under Section 15.2-961, but broader tree-canopy conservation ordinances under Section 15.2-961.1 are limited…

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

Virginia doesn't set a statewide grass-height limit. Instead, Va. Code § 15.2-901 lets every city, county, and town pass its own ordinance forcing owners of occupied, vacant…

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…

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…

Virginia statutes define abandoned vehicles, authorize removal from public and private property, and govern the lien, sale, and titling process that localities must follow when…

Virginia law prohibits homeowner and condominium associations from banning electric vehicle charging stations on a unit owner's exclusive-use property, though associations may impose…

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…

Virginia authorizes localities to require removal or repair of derelict and blighted buildings under specific state statutes that define the scope and process.

Va. Code § 55.1-1220 requires landlords to keep rentals fit and habitable: comply with building codes, make needed repairs, maintain electrical, plumbing, heating and HVAC systems…

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…

Virginia limits municipal rental inspection programs to designated blighted districts and requires specific procedural standards, preempting blanket rental registration ordinances.

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…

Virginia Code 15.2-2288 and 15.2-2288.3 limit how localities may zone agricultural land, preserving by-right production and restricting special use permit requirements for bona fide…

Virginia authorizes localities to require short-term rental registration and establishes a statewide framework allowing zoning permits, fees, and conditions for transient occupancy…

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

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.

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'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…

Solar panel installations in Virginia require permits issued locally but governed by the statewide Uniform Statewide Building Code and electrical code.

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

The Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code requires a 48-inch barrier around residential swimming pools and spas, preempting local pool fencing rules statewide.

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 requires each solid waste planning unit to maintain a minimum 25 percent recycling rate. A reduced 15 percent rate applies to units with a population density under 100 persons…

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…