Virginia Gun Laws
Gun Laws Overview
RIFLES & SHOTGUNS | HANDGUNS | |
---|---|---|
Permit to Purchase | No | No |
Registration of Firearms | No | No |
Licensing of Owners | No | No |
Permit to Carry | No | Yes |
The list and map below are included as a tool to assist you in validating your information. We have made every effort to report the information correctly, however reciprocity and recognition agreements are subject to frequent change. The information is not intended as legal advice or a restatement of law and does not include: restrictions that may be placed on non-resident permits, individuals under the age of 21, qualifying permit classes, and/or any other factor which may limit reciprocity and/or recognition. For any particular situation, a licensed local attorney must be consulted for an accurate interpretation. YOU MUST ABIDE WITH ALL LAWS: STATE, FEDERAL AND LOCAL. Virginia only honors permits or licenses of individuals who are 21 years of age or over. Wisconsin honors Virginia non-resident permits only. |
STATE STATUS | |
---|---|
Castle Doctrine | No Law |
No-Net Loss | No Legislation |
Right to Carry Confidentiality | Provisions Enacted |
Right to Carry in Restaurants | Legal |
Right To Carry Laws | Shall Issue |
Right To Carry Reciprocity and Recognition | Outright Recognition |
Right to Keep & Bear Arms State Constitutional Provisions | With Provisions |
Laws on Purchase, Possession and Carrying of Firearms
Purchase and Possession
No state permit is required to otherwise purchase or possess a rifle, shotgun or handgun. Virginia residents may purchase firearms from any licensed Federal Firearms Licensee, even if they are out of state. MORE |
Carrying
The open carrying of a handgun in Virginia is lawful. MORE |
Antiques and Replicas
Antique firearm means any firearm manufactured in or before 1898 and any replica of such a firearm if such a replica is not designed or redesigned for using rimfire or conventional center-fire ammunition or uses rimfire or conventional center-fire ammunition which is no longer manufactured in the U.S. and which is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade. This exception applies only to sales by federally licensed gun dealers. The restrictions on concealed carrying and possession by prohibited persons otherwise apply. |
Machine Guns
A machine gun is defined as a weapon that shoots or is designed to shoot, automatically without manual reloading more than one shot by a single function of the trigger. MORE |
"Sawed Off" Shotguns and Rifles
A “sawed-off” shotgun is defined as any weapon loaded or unloaded, originally designed as a shoulder weapon, utilizing a self-contained cartridge from which a number of ball shot pellets or projectiles may be fired simultaneously from a smooth or rifled bore by a single function of the firing device and which has a barrel length of less than 18 inches for smooth bore weapons and 16 inches for rifled weapons. Weapons of less than .225 caliber shall not be included. MORE |
Preemption
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, MORE |
Range Protection
No local ordinance regulating any noise shall subject a sports shooting range to noise control standards more stringent than those in effect at its effective date. The operation or use of a sports shooting range shall not be enjoined on the basis of noise. MORE |
Miscellaneous
It is unlawful to discharge a firearm in or across any road, or right-of-way, except at an approved firing range. MORE |
Footnote
1. “Assault firearm” means any semi-automatic center-fire rifle or pistol which is equipped with a magazine which will hold more than twenty rounds of ammunition or designed by the manufacturer to accommodate a silencer or equipped with a folding stock. |
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
Join NRA-ILA for the annual 2021 NRA-ILA Firearms Law & The Second Amendment Symposium on Saturday, October 23rd, at ...
Tuesday, September 7, 2021
Today, the Herndon Town Council will hold a public hearing at 7PM on an ordinance to restrict firearms ...
Friday, August 20, 2021
Thank you to the Second Amendment supporters who gathered in front of the Albemarle County Office Building yesterday ...
Wednesday, August 18, 2021
Today, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors will hold a vote on banning firearms in certain public places. ...
Friday, July 16, 2021
On July 21st, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors will consider banning firearms in certain public places. Second ...
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
On August 5th, the Surry County Board of Supervisors will consider banning firearms in certain public places. Second Amendment ...
Monday, July 12, 2021
One of the more common tactics of anti-gun extremists is to make some dramatic statement comparing our nation’s ...
Friday, June 18, 2021
No summary available
Monday, April 26, 2021
Loudoun County, Virginia, is now home to planned communities filled with countless government contractors and bureaucrats.
Thursday, March 18, 2021
Virginia is creating a confusing patchwork of gun laws. This past Monday, the City of Roanoke became the latest ...