Virginia is not a constitutional-carry state for concealed handguns. To carry a handgun concealed in any public place, you need a valid Virginia Concealed...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
Virginia is not a constitutional-carry state for concealed handguns. To carry a handgun concealed in any public place, you need a valid Virginia Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP). The permit framework runs from Va. Code 18.2-308.01 through the related sections of Title 18.2, Chapter 7, Article 6.1. Bills to allow permitless concealed carry have been introduced in the General Assembly over multiple sessions and none has become law. As of 2026, the CHP requirement stands.
What Virginia does allow without a permit is open carry of a handgun. A person who is old enough to lawfully possess a handgun and who is not otherwise prohibited may openly carry a handgun in most public places, no permit required. Some people describe that as a form of permitless carry. The statutes do not use the label. Treat Virginia as permit-required for concealed and permit-free for open, subject to the locality-specific loaded-firearm rule in Va. Code 18.2-287.4 discussed below.
Under Va. Code 18.2-308(A), carrying about your person, hidden from common observation, a pistol, revolver, or other listed weapon is a Class 1 misdemeanor. A second violation is a Class 6 felony, and a third or subsequent violation is a Class 5 felony. The statute lists a narrow set of situations where it does not apply:
For a handgun, Va. Code 18.2-308(A) also makes a valid CHP an affirmative defense to a charge under clause (i). Va. Code 18.2-308.01(A) states the same point from the other direction: the concealed-handgun prohibition does not apply to a person who holds a valid CHP issued under that article. The permit holder must carry the permit at all times while carrying concealed and must display the permit and a government-issued photo ID on demand by a law-enforcement officer. Failure to display carries a $25 civil penalty under Va. Code 18.2-308.01(B).
That structure has not changed. Plan around the existing CHP requirement, not around legislation that has not passed.
Open carry is the closest thing Virginia has to permitless carry. A person who may lawfully possess a handgun may openly carry one in most public places without a permit. Virginia has no statute that licenses or restricts the simple open carry of a handgun statewide, so the limits come from who may possess a firearm and from the place-specific rules below.
Practical points for instructors and students:
Virginia layers a locality-triggered rule on top of statewide open carry. Va. Code 18.2-287.4 does not work off population thresholds. It enumerates 13 specifically named jurisdictions: 8 cities and 5 counties.
Inside any of those 13 localities, Va. Code 18.2-287.4 makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to carry, on any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, public right-of-way, public park, or other place open to the public, a loaded firearm of a narrowly defined kind:
The statute does not reach all loaded firearms. A loaded handgun with a magazine that holds 20 rounds or fewer, and that is not silencer-ready or folding-stock equipped, falls outside the text of Va. Code 18.2-287.4 even inside one of the 13 named jurisdictions. Read the statutory definition carefully when scoping training scenarios.
The statute exempts law-enforcement officers, licensed security guards, military personnel in the performance of their lawful duties, any person holding a valid concealed handgun permit, and any person actually engaged in lawful hunting or lawful recreational shooting at an established shooting range or shooting contest. The exemptions in Va. Code 18.2-308 and 18.2-308.016 also apply, mutatis mutandis.
For practical purposes, students who plan to carry covered configurations of long guns or high-capacity semi-automatic pistols openly in or around Richmond, Northern Virginia, or Hampton Roads need to know whether they are inside one of the 13 named cities or counties. Outside those jurisdictions, the statewide open-carry rule applies.
| Activity | Minimum age | Permit required? |
|---|---|---|
| Open carry a handgun in public | 18 | No, subject to Va. Code 18.2-287.4 in the 13 named jurisdictions |
| Concealed carry a handgun in public | 21 | Yes. Virginia CHP under Va. Code 18.2-308.02 |
| Apply for a Virginia CHP | 21 | The permit itself |
No state-mandated training is required to open carry a handgun in Virginia. Training is required to obtain a CHP. Va. Code 18.2-308.02(B) requires the applicant to demonstrate competence with a handgun in person, satisfied by any one of several listed courses (hunter education, an NRA or USCCA firearms course, a course taught by certified instructors, a law-enforcement firearms course, and others). Open-carry-only operators have no Virginia training mandate.
Va. Code 18.2-308.02(A) directs the applicant, age 21 or older, to apply in writing to the clerk of the circuit court of the county or city in which the applicant resides, for a five-year permit. There is no minimum length-of-residency requirement. The circuit court processes the application under Va. Code 18.2-308.04: the court consults the local sheriff or police department, receives a report from the Central Criminal Records Exchange, and issues the permit by U.S. mail within 45 days of a completed application unless the applicant is disqualified. A court may authorize the clerk to issue permits without judicial review where the records check shows no disqualification and there are no outstanding questions.
Disqualifications are listed in Va. Code 18.2-308.09. They include any person ineligible to possess a firearm under the cited Virginia statutes or a substantially similar federal or out-of-state law, a person prohibited under Va. Code 18.2-308.2, a person subject to a qualifying protective order, and a person with two or more disqualifying misdemeanors in the preceding five years, among others.
Virginia does not recognize permitless concealed carry from another state as a substitute for a permit. A resident of a constitutional-carry state who does not hold a permit cannot carry concealed in Virginia on home-state status alone.
What Virginia honors is permits. Va. Code 18.2-308.014(A) sets the conditions. A valid concealed handgun or concealed weapon permit or license issued by another state authorizes the holder to carry concealed in Virginia only if (i) the holder is at least 21 years of age, (ii) the issuing authority provides the means for instantaneous verification of permit validity, accessible 24 hours a day where available, (iii) the holder carries a government-issued photo ID and displays both the permit and the ID on demand by a law-enforcement officer, and (iv) the holder has not previously had a Virginia CHP revoked. The Superintendent of State Police enters reciprocal-recognition agreements with states that require one, and the Attorney General executes those agreements where a partner state requires it.
The list of recognized states is maintained by the Virginia State Police and changes. Verify before traveling. A resident of a constitutional-carry state who does not also hold that state's optional permit will need a recognized out-of-state permit, or will need to limit themselves to open carry while in Virginia.
Because Virginia did not adopt constitutional carry, none of the following changed. They are listed here because students who follow the national debate sometimes assume they did:
Virginia also preempts local firearm regulation. Under Va. Code 15.2-915, a locality generally may not adopt or enforce an ordinance governing the carrying, possession, or transport of firearms except where a statute expressly authorizes it.
The Virginia Constitution, Article I, Section 13, protects the right to keep and bear arms. Virginia courts have not read that language to require permitless concealed carry, and the General Assembly remains free to regulate the manner of carry.
Permitless-concealed-carry bills have been introduced in the General Assembly across recent sessions and none has passed into law. At the federal level, national concealed-carry reciprocity bills such as the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act (introduced in Congress as H.R. 38) have been filed repeatedly and none has been enacted. Until Virginia or Congress changes the law, Virginia residents and visitors are governed by current Virginia law.
Track new bills directly through the Legislative Information System at lis.virginia.gov each January when the General Assembly convenes. Do not assume a bill that passes one chamber will reach the governor's desk.
You may carry a handgun concealed in Virginia only if all three are true:
You may open carry a handgun in Virginia, without a permit, if:
If the law gives you a CHP option and you intend to carry concealed regularly, get the CHP. Permitless concealed carry is not available in Virginia in 2026.
This page covers one part of our Virginia concealed carry guide.
Read the complete Virginia guideBrowse local instructors offering state-approved training in your area. Book online, complete your training, and get one step closer to your concealed carry permit.