Reciprocity, prohibited places, transport & storage rules. 8 state-level rules for Virginia, each linked to its official government source.
Virginia requires a CHP for concealed carry. Open carry is legal without a permit.
CONCEALED HANDGUN PERMIT REQUIRED
Virginia
Virginia requires a CHP for concealed carry. Open carry is legal without a permit.
Authority: Va. Code § 18.2-308(A) (concealed carry ban with permit defense); exhaustive search of tit. 18.2 ch. 7 art. 6.1 for any open-carry prohibition (none exists).
Virginia has no statute making it a weapons offense to pass a private 'no firearms' sign; exclusion is enforced as trespass (Va. Code 18.2-119, a Class 1 misdemeanor), where the forbidding may be given orally, in writing, or 'by posted signs' placed where they may be reasonably seen — so going onto posted premises against the sign can itself be charged as trespass, and localities and state agencies separately restrict carry in certain government buildings under other authority.
"NO FIREARMS" SIGN LAW
VIRGINIA
Virginia has no statute making it a weapons offense to pass a private 'no firearms' sign; exclusion is enforced as trespass (Va. Code 18.2-119, a Class 1 misdemeanor), where the forbidding may be given orally, in writing, or 'by posted signs' placed where they may be reasonably seen — so going onto posted premises against the sign can itself be charged as trespass, and localities and state agencies separately restrict carry in certain government buildings under other authority.
Authority: Va. Code § 18.2-119 (trespass after having been forbidden; notice by posted signs; Class 1 misdemeanor).
Virginia: Carry prohibited in courthouses (§ 18.2-283.1, Class 1 misd.), air carrier airport terminals (§ 18.2-287.01, Class 1 misd.), on child-day-center and K-12/preschool property and school buses (§ 18.2-308.1 — Class 6 felony for firearms), and in the Capitol, Capitol Square, and buildings or offices of the Commonwealth or its agencies (§ 18.2-283.2, Class 1 misd.). Federal law separately restricts K-12 school zones and federal facilities.
PROHIBITED PLACES - WHERE YOU CANNOT CARRY
Virginia
Virginia: Carry prohibited in courthouses (§ 18.2-283.1, Class 1 misd.), air carrier airport terminals (§ 18.2-287.01, Class 1 misd.), on child-day-center and K-12/preschool property and school buses (§ 18.2-308.1 — Class 6 felony for firearms), and in the Capitol, Capitol Square, and buildings or offices of the Commonwealth or its agencies (§ 18.2-283.2, Class 1 misd.). Federal law separately restricts K-12 school zones and federal facilities.
Authority: Va. Code § 18.2-283.1 (courthouses); § 18.2-308.1 (schools); § 18.2-283.2 (Capitol Square and Commonwealth buildings); § 18.2-287.01 (air carrier airport terminals).
Virginia has no 'Stand Your Ground' statute, but under longstanding common law (Foote v. Commonwealth, 1990; McCoy v. Commonwealth, 1919) a person who is not the aggressor and is lawfully present — including in public — has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense ('justifiable self-defense'). A person who was at fault in provoking the encounter ('excusable self-defense') must retreat as far as safely possible first — a real but separate qualification that does not apply to the lawfully-present non-aggressor population this rule addresses. Castle Doctrine also applies at home under common law (Fortune v. Commonwealth, 1922).
SELF-DEFENSE LAWS
VIRGINIA
Virginia has no 'Stand Your Ground' statute, but under longstanding common law (Foote v. Commonwealth, 1990; McCoy v. Commonwealth, 1919) a person who is not the aggressor and is lawfully present — including in public — has no duty to retreat before using force in self-defense ('justifiable self-defense'). A person who was at fault in provoking the encounter ('excusable self-defense') must retreat as far as safely possible first — a real but separate qualification that does not apply to the lawfully-present non-aggressor population this rule addresses. Castle Doctrine also applies at home under common law (Fortune v. Commonwealth, 1922).
Authority: Common law (no 'Stand Your Ground' statute exists); Foote v. Commonwealth, 11 Va. App. 61, 396 S.E.2d 851 (Va. Ct. App. 1990); citing McCoy v. Commonwealth, 125 Va. 771, 775 (1919).
Virginia: An Extreme Risk Protection Order (red flag) law is in effect (Va. Code 19.2-152.13).
RED FLAG / EXTREME RISK LAW
Virginia
Virginia: An Extreme Risk Protection Order (red flag) law is in effect (Va. Code 19.2-152.13).
Authority: Va. Code 19.2-152.13 (emergency substantial risk orders, 2020): ex parte order upon probable cause that the person 'poses a substantial risk of personal injury to himself or others in the near future'; order prohibits purchasing, possessing, or transporting a firearm; 14-day duration; substantial risk orders continue at 19.2-152.14.
Virginia: No duty to volunteer that you are carrying; a concealed handgun permittee must have the permit on their person while carrying and display it with government photo ID upon a law-enforcement officer's demand - failure to display is a $25 civil penalty (Va. Code § 18.2-308.01).
DUTY TO INFORM LAW ENFORCEMENT
VIRGINIA
Virginia: No duty to volunteer that you are carrying; a concealed handgun permittee must have the permit on their person while carrying and display it with government photo ID upon a law-enforcement officer's demand - failure to display is a $25 civil penalty (Va. Code § 18.2-308.01).
Authority: Va. Code § 18.2-308.01 (display permit and photo ID upon demand; $25 civil penalty).
Virginia has no limit on owning or possessing magazines of any capacity, but openly carrying a LOADED semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol with a magazine over 20 rounds (or a shotgun holding more than 7) in public in certain Northern Virginia, Richmond, and Tidewater cities/counties is a Class 1 misdemeanor — concealed handgun permit holders are exempt (Va. Code § 18.2-287.4).
MAGAZINE CAPACITY
VIRGINIA
Virginia has no limit on owning or possessing magazines of any capacity, but openly carrying a LOADED semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol with a magazine over 20 rounds (or a shotgun holding more than 7) in public in certain Northern Virginia, Richmond, and Tidewater cities/counties is a Class 1 misdemeanor — concealed handgun permit holders are exempt (Va. Code § 18.2-287.4).
Authority: No possession/ownership limit, BUT Va. Code § 18.2-287.4 bans CARRYING certain loaded firearms with >20-round magazines in listed localities (Class 1 misdemeanor; concealed handgun permit holders exempt).
Virginia: Without a permit, anyone who may lawfully possess a firearm may keep a loaded handgun in a personal private vehicle if it is secured in a container or compartment — a closed glovebox or console qualifies and need not be locked (Va. Code 18.2-308(C)(8)); a handgun in plain view (open carry) is also lawful without a permit; concealed carry on your person in the vehicle requires a concealed handgun permit (18.2-308(A)); Virginia imposes no unloaded, cased, or separate-ammunition requirement for private-vehicle transport.
VEHICLE CARRY - LOADED HANDGUN OK IN SECURED CONTAINER/COMPARTMENT WITHOUT PERMIT
Virginia
Virginia: Without a permit, anyone who may lawfully possess a firearm may keep a loaded handgun in a personal private vehicle if it is secured in a container or compartment — a closed glovebox or console qualifies and need not be locked (Va. Code 18.2-308(C)(8)); a handgun in plain view (open carry) is also lawful without a permit; concealed carry on your person in the vehicle requires a concealed handgun permit (18.2-308(A)); Virginia imposes no unloaded, cased, or separate-ammunition requirement for private-vehicle transport.
Authority: Va. Code 18.2-308(A), (C)(8).
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