Virginia has partial state preemption of local firearm regulation. The general rule at Va. Code 15.2-915(A) bars any locality, authority, or local...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
Virginia has partial state preemption of local firearm regulation. The general rule at Va. Code 15.2-915(A) bars any locality, authority, or local governmental entity from adopting or enforcing any ordinance, resolution, motion, or administrative action governing the purchase, possession, transfer, ownership, carrying, storage, or transporting of firearms, ammunition, or components, other than those expressly authorized by statute. A statute that does not refer to firearms, ammunition, or components is not "express authorization."
The 2020 General Assembly amended Va. Code 15.2-915 to add subsection (E), which is the principal carve-out. Localities may now adopt ordinances banning firearms in (i) buildings owned or used by the locality for governmental purposes, (ii) public parks owned or operated by the locality, (iii) recreation and community center facilities operated by the locality, and (iv) public streets, sidewalks, and rights-of-way during a permitted event (or an event that would otherwise require a permit). Each requires posted notice under subsection (F). Two narrower locality grants predate the 2020 amendment and remain on the books: Va. Code 15.2-915.2 (loaded long guns in vehicles) and Va. Code 15.2-1209.1 (loaded firearm carry by hunters at rural highway edges).
Practical effect for a Virginia carrier: the state-law floor is uniform across all 95 counties and 38 independent cities. Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP) issuance, who may possess, training requirements, and the dealer and private-sale background check rules cannot vary by locality. Where you can carry, on the other hand, can vary by locality wherever a subsection (E) ordinance has been adopted and posted, and a small number of legacy locality-specific rules continue to operate. Read the at-the-door signage in any city or county that has used the post-2020 carve-out.
For the prohibited-locations grid and the named-locality list under Va. Code 18.2-287.4 (the loaded-configuration restriction in 13 high-population jurisdictions), see the PROHIBITED_PLACES section. For the open-carry and concealed-carry frameworks that the locality carve-outs overlay, see OPEN_CARRY and CONCEALED_CARRY.
Va. Code 15.2-915 is the operative preemption section. Quoted from the Code of Virginia:
A. No locality shall adopt or enforce any ordinance, resolution, or motion, as permitted by 15.2-1425, and no agent of such locality shall take any administrative action, governing the purchase, possession, transfer, ownership, carrying, storage, or transporting of firearms, ammunition, or components or combination thereof other than those expressly authorized by statute. For purposes of this section, a statute that does not refer to firearms, ammunition, or components or combination thereof shall not be construed to provide express authorization.
The reach is broad. Subsection (A) covers:
The clause "other than those expressly authorized by statute" is read strictly. A general grant of authority (zoning, nuisance, public safety) is not "express authorization." Only a statute that names firearms, ammunition, or components qualifies, and the section says so in its own text.
Subsection (A) further provides that the preemption applies to "any authority or to a local governmental entity, including a department or agency, but not including any local or regional jail, juvenile detention facility, or state-governed entity, department, or agency."
This sweep is wider than it appears. A local airport authority, water authority, transit authority, redevelopment and housing authority, or public service authority organized under Virginia local-government law is bound by the preemption. Such an authority cannot adopt its own firearms rule unless the rule fits a subsection (E) carve-out or a separately enacted statutory grant. The Va. Code 15.2-915 sweep does not reach: (a) local and regional jails and juvenile detention facilities, and (b) state-governed entities and agencies. State-government buildings are addressed by a separate state statute, Va. Code 18.2-283.2 (firearms within Capitol Square and in buildings owned or leased by the Commonwealth), not by local ordinance.
The second paragraph of subsection (A) preserves a locality's authority to adopt workplace rules for its own employees, with one important sub-limitation:
However, no locality shall adopt any workplace rule, other than for the purposes of a community services board or behavioral health authority as defined in 37.2-100, that prevents an employee of that locality from storing at that locality's workplace a lawfully possessed firearm and ammunition in a locked private motor vehicle.
A Virginia locality cannot adopt an employee handbook policy banning an employee from leaving a lawfully possessed firearm locked inside the employee's own vehicle in the locality's parking lot. Community services boards and behavioral health authorities are the only exception. Subsection (D) defines "workplace" as "workplace of the locality," so this protection runs to the locality's own employees on the locality's own premises.
Subsection (B) makes any local ordinance, resolution, or motion adopted before July 1, 2004, governing the regulated subjects "invalid" unless expressly authorized by statute. Any legacy local firearm ordinance still on the books that was adopted before that date is unenforceable as a matter of state law.
Subsection (C) authorizes a court to award reasonable attorney fees, expenses, and court costs to any person, group, or entity that prevails in an action challenging (i) an ordinance, resolution, or motion as being in conflict with Va. Code 15.2-915, or (ii) an administrative action taken in bad faith as being in conflict with the section. The fee-shift is permissive ("may award"), not mandatory, but it puts the cost of a frivolous local ordinance on the locality.
Before 2020, Virginia's preemption was effectively complete. Virginia cities and counties had no operative authority to ban firearms by location absent a clear statutory grant. The 2020 General Assembly enacted Chapters 1205 and 1247 amending Va. Code 15.2-915 to add subsection (E).
Subsection (E) authorizes a locality (or any authority or local governmental entity created or controlled by the locality) to adopt an ordinance that prohibits the possession, carrying, or transportation of firearms, ammunition, or components in:
(i) Any building, or part thereof, owned or used by the locality for governmental purposes. For locality-owned buildings, the ordinance reaches the entire building. For buildings not owned by the locality (for example, a leased meeting space), the ordinance applies only to the part of the building being used for a governmental purpose, and only while it is being so used.
(ii) Any public park owned or operated by the locality. The ordinance reaches the park when so authorized.
(iii) Any recreation or community center facility operated by the locality.
(iv) Any public street, road, alley, or sidewalk or public right-of-way, or any other place open to the public, that is being used by or is adjacent to a permitted event or an event that would otherwise require a permit. The grant is event-by-event. Outside the permitted-event window, the street is not covered by the carve-out.
Subsection (E) further authorizes the locality to include in any subsection (E) ordinance "security measures that are designed to reasonably prevent the unauthorized access" of covered locations, "such as the use of metal detectors and increased use of security personnel." A locality that bans firearms in city hall under subsection (E)(i) may also post a security checkpoint with metal detectors and screen for compliance.
Subsection (E) excludes its operation from the activities of "(i) a Senior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program operated at a public or private institution of higher education in accordance with the provisions of 10 U.S.C. 2101 et seq. or (ii) any intercollegiate athletics program operated by a public or private institution of higher education and governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association or any club sports team recognized by a public or private institution of higher education where the sport engaged in by such program or team involves the use of a firearm."
Senior ROTC operations and NCAA or institution-recognized club shooting sports (collegiate rifle, trap, skeet) are exempt from any locality ordinance under subsection (E). The exemption travels with the program, not with the institution generally.
Subsection (F) is the signage requirement. A subsection (E) ordinance requires posted notice at:
The signage requirement is built into the statutory scheme. As a practical matter, operators should respect a posted ordinance whether or not the signage is technically compliant. The in-the-moment dispute is rarely worth the trespass and removal exposure.
Several Virginia cities and counties have adopted ordinances under Va. Code 15.2-915(E) since 2020, including major Northern Virginia jurisdictions and the Cities of Alexandria, Charlottesville, Richmond, and Roanoke, among others. Penalty grades and remedies vary by locality. Some treat the offense as a Class 1 misdemeanor, others use a lower grade or a civil fine, and some rely on removal from the building rather than criminal sanction. The list is not static, and localities may enact or amend subsection (E) ordinances at any time. Check the current local ordinance for the covered locations and the operative penalty before entering any jurisdiction, and read the posted signage at the door. The PROHIBITED_PLACES section carries the same caution.
Va. Code 15.2-915.2 is a pre-2020 locality grant that survives the preemption regime:
The governing body of any county or city may by ordinance make it unlawful for any person to transport, possess or carry a loaded shotgun or loaded rifle in any vehicle on any public street, road, or highway within such locality. Any violation of such ordinance shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $100.
The grant is narrow:
Va. Code 15.2-915.2 also exempts duly authorized law-enforcement officers and military personnel in the performance of their lawful duties, and "any person who reasonably believes that a loaded rifle or shotgun is necessary for his personal safety in the course of his employment or business."
This is a hunting-context rule. Many rural Virginia counties have adopted Va. Code 15.2-915.2 ordinances to address loaded-shotgun-in-vehicle hunting conduct. The rule does not affect handgun carry, CHP holders carrying concealed in a vehicle, or any open-carry framework.
Va. Code 15.2-1209.1 is a parallel narrow grant addressing on-foot hunting at the edge of public highways:
The governing body of any county is hereby empowered to adopt ordinances making it unlawful for any person to carry or have in his possession, for the purpose of hunting, while on any part of a public highway within such county a loaded firearm when such person is not authorized to hunt on the private property on both sides of the highway along which he is standing or walking; and to provide a penalty for violation of such ordinance not to exceed a fine of $100.
The triggers are precise: (i) county ordinance; (ii) loaded firearm; (iii) on a public highway; (iv) for the purpose of hunting; (v) without authorization to hunt the private property on both sides. By its own terms the statute does not apply to persons carrying loaded firearms in moving vehicles, to persons carrying for purposes other than hunting, or to persons acting at the time in defense of persons or property.
For an instructor, Va. Code 15.2-1209.1 affects hunting clients walking the edge of a county road between fields. It does not affect general CHP carry, open carry in town, or transport of firearms in a vehicle.
Va. Code 15.2-915.4 authorizes a locality to regulate the shooting of pneumatic guns (BB guns, pellet guns, and paintball guns that expel a projectile by pneumatic pressure) in areas the governing body finds so heavily populated as to make such conduct dangerous, with parental supervision and consent rules for minors. The penalty cap is a Class 3 misdemeanor. Approved shooting ranges, other property where firearms may be discharged, and private property used with the owner's permission are exempt. Va. Code 15.2-915.4 is not part of the firearms preemption framework in the strict sense, because pneumatic guns are not "firearms" within Va. Code 18.2-308.2:2. The section is included here because it is the adjacent local-regulation statute in the same chapter.
Pre-1987. Virginia had no statutory preemption, and localities adopted a patchwork of firearm ordinances.
1987. The original 15.1-29.15 (later renumbered to Va. Code 15.2-915) introduced the preemption framework.
2004. The General Assembly strengthened preemption, adding the pre-2004 ordinance invalidation rule at subsection (B) and clarifying the "express authorization" requirement.
2020 (Chapters 1205 and 1247). The legislative package that session, which also expanded the dealer background check (Va. Code 18.2-308.2:2) and added the private-sale background check (Va. Code 18.2-308.2:5), added subsection (E) to Va. Code 15.2-915. Several Virginia cities and counties enacted ordinances under subsection (E) within months.
The 2020 amendment is the divider between "Virginia is strong-preemption" and "Virginia is partial-preemption." Pre-2020 Virginia was effectively as strong-preemption as any state in the country. Post-2020 Virginia has meaningful locality-by-locality variation in where firearms may be carried, governed by signage at the door.
A Virginia locality may not:
A Virginia locality may:
A common confusion: Va. Code 18.2-287.4 (the loaded-configuration restriction applicable in 13 named jurisdictions) is a state statute that names specific localities, not a delegation of authority to those localities. The statute itself names the Cities of Alexandria, Chesapeake, Fairfax, Falls Church, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, and Virginia Beach, and the Counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Henrico, Loudoun, and Prince William. Localities did not enact Va. Code 18.2-287.4; the General Assembly did, and the list is amended only by the General Assembly. The statute restricts carrying a loaded high-capacity semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol, or a loaded shotgun with a magazine holding more than seven rounds, in public places in those jurisdictions, and a violation is a Class 1 misdemeanor. By the statute's own terms, holders of a valid concealed handgun permit are exempt, along with law-enforcement officers, licensed security guards, military personnel on duty, and persons engaged in lawful hunting or recreational shooting at an established range. This rule is covered in detail in the OPEN_CARRY and PROHIBITED_PLACES sections.
A locality that adopts an ordinance, resolution, or motion in conflict with Va. Code 15.2-915 exposes itself to challenge by any affected person, a firearms-rights organization with standing, an affected licensed dealer, or the Office of the Attorney General. Remedies under subsection (C) include the reasonable attorney fees, expenses, and court costs the court may award to a prevailing challenger. Bad-faith administrative action in conflict with the section is independently actionable. The fee-shift in subsection (C) runs to any person, group, or entity that prevails, which widens the standing inquiry and presses localities to expect prompt litigation when a Va. Code 15.2-915 challenge is filed.
A Virginia firearm operator can rely on the following as state-floor uniform:
Locality variation lives in:
The operator's three highest-frequency compliance points are: (a) read the signs at any locality-owned governmental building, park, or community center entrance; (b) know whether the locality you are entering has enacted a subsection (E) ordinance; and (c) on hunting trips, check the county on Va. Code 15.2-915.2 and Va. Code 15.2-1209.1 ordinances through the Department of Wildlife Resources. Everything else flows from the state floor, and the state floor is uniform statewide.
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