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FIREARM PROHIBITIONS FOR PEOPLE SUBJECT TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROTECTIVE ORDERS

Virginia law that prohibits individuals subject to emergency, preliminary, and final domestic violence protective orders from purchasing or transporting firearms.1 These protectives order are available to anyone experiencing “family abuse,” defined as “any act involving violence, force, or threats that results in bodily injury or places one in reasonable apprehension of death, sexual assault, or bodily injury and that is committed against such person’s family or household member.”2

“Family or household members” include spouses, former spouses, individuals who have children in common, individuals who cohabit or who have cohabited within the previous 12 months, and, as of July 1, 2026, intimate partners.3 “Intimate partner” is defined as “an individual who, within the previous 12 months, was in a romantic, dating, or sexual relationship with the person as determined by the length, nature, frequency, and type of interaction between the individuals involved in the relationship.”4 This definition is similar to the federal definition of “dating relationship.”5

The law also prohibits individuals subject to final domestic violence protective orders from possessing firearms, and states that within 24 hours of being served with the order, the person must surrender the firearm to law enforcement, or sell or transfer it to a dealer or any person not prohibited from possessing the firearm, who is at least 21 years old and does not reside with the subject of the protective order.6 The subject of the protective order must also, within 48 hours of being served with the order, certify in writing, that they do not possess firearms, or that all firearms have been surrendered, sold, or transferred, and file such certification with the court. The form must include the name, address, and signature of any transferee, dealer, or law enforcement agency in possession of the firearms.7

In 2020, Virginia extended the firearm restrictions to apply to protective orders issued against force or violence.8 This law also applies the same relinquishment procedures describe above to these final protective orders.9 Any person who has been the victim of a threat or act of violence or force is eligible for an order against force or violence.10

Any concealed weapon permittee who is the subject of a domestic violence protective order, including an ex parte order, is also prohibited from carrying a concealed firearm and must surrender his or her permit to the court entering the order, for the duration of the order.11

FIREARM PROHIBITIONS FOR PEOPLE Convicted of Domestic Violence misdemeanors

In 2021, Virginia enacted legislation to prohibit people convicted of some domestic violence misdemeanors from accessing firearms—namely, those convicted of the crime of “assault and battery against a family or household member” for three years following the conviction.12 In 2026, this prohibition was expanded to include those convicted of assault and battery of an intimate partner, as defined above, closing the “intimate partner loophole.”13

However, Virginia’s domestic violence gun restrictions also still do not apply to people convicted of committing other violent misdemeanors against family or household members, meaning that Virginia’s law is still weaker than federal law in this area. Federal law generally prohibits gun access by people convicted of any misdemeanor involving the use or attempted use of violence, or threatened use of a deadly weapon, against a family or household member.14

In 2026, Virginia expanded its domestic violence firearm relinquishment procedures to include individuals convicted of domestic assault and battery.15 Within 24 hours of sentencing or release from custody, the individual is required to surrender all firearms to law enforcement, or sell or transfer them to a dealer or another individual who is not prohibited from possessing the firearms, and who is at least 21 years old and does not reside with the prohibited possessor. Within 48 hours, they must certify in writing that they do not possess firearms or have surrendered or transferred all firearms, and provide the name, address, and signature of the transferee, dealer, or law enforcement agency now in possession of the firearms.4

Virginia law, however, doesnot:

  • Prohibit individuals convicted of all domestic violence misdemeanors from possessing firearms or ammunition (unlike federal law);
  • Prohibit individuals subject to ex parte restraining orders from possessing firearms; or
  • Explicitly authorize or require the removal of firearms or ammunition at the scene of a domestic violence incident.

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  1. Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-308.1:4(A).[↩]
  2. Va. Code Ann. § 16.1-228.[↩]
  3. Id. Note, this list is not exhaustive – the definition also includes other family such as direct relatives, step-relatives, and in-laws.[↩]
  4. Id.[↩][↩]
  5. 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(37).[↩]
  6. Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-308.1:4(B).[↩]
  7. Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-308.1:4(C).[↩]
  8. Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-308.1:4(A)-(B) (citing Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-152.10).[↩]
  9. Va. Code Ann.§ 18.2-308.1:4(C).[↩]
  10. Va. Code Ann. §§ 19.2-152.9-10.[↩]
  11. Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-308.1:4(A).[↩]
  12. Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-308.1:8.(A)(1).[↩]
  13. Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-308.1:8.(A)(2).[↩]
  14. 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(33); 27 CFR 478.11[↩]
  15. Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-308.1:8(D).[↩]

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