Fireworks Law in Virginia

Planning a fireworks celebration in your back yard? If so, please read this article. Virginia prohibits the sale, use, or possession of unlawful fireworks. So, if you find yourself traveling to Tennessee or North Carolina to purchase fireworks because you “can’t find good ones in Virginia,” you're likely breaking the law. Virginia has strict laws regarding the kind of fireworks allowed for private use.

Virginia permits only: Sparklers, fountains, pharaoh’s serpents, pinwheels, and whirligigs (I suggest googling these terms). That means firecrackers, skyrockets, torpedoes, and "other fireworks which explode, travel laterally, rise into the air, or fire projectiles into the air," are prohibited.

Breaking this law is a class 1 misdemeanor punishable with up to 1 year in jail and up to a $2,500 fine. If you are charged, the fact that you didn’t know the law and was just having innocent fun, is NO defense.

So remember, purchase your fireworks only from approved stands in Virginia and always be safe!

Read more about these laws and fireworks safety by following this link: