Weapons Charges in Virginia: Statutes, Penalties & Outcomes

According to 23,793 public court records from 2025, Weapons Offense cases across 99 Virginia jurisdictions have an average dismissal rate of 64.5% and an average conviction rate of 32.8%.

Weapons offenses are the widest charge category in Virginia's criminal courts — not one statute but a family of them, ranging from a Class 1 misdemeanor for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit to felonies carrying mandatory minimum prison terms that must run consecutively with any other sentence. In 2025, 22,951 weapons-offense cases were filed across 99 Virginia jurisdictions. Many weapons charges are filed alongside other charges — a firearm count added to a drug case, or a § 18.2-53.1 count attached to a robbery — so understanding exactly which statute is on the summons, and what it alleges, is the starting point. This page lays out the statute structure, the classifications and statutory penalties, and what the public court record shows about how these cases resolved.

Types of Weapons Charges in Virginia

Carrying a Concealed Weapon (§ 18.2-308)

Carrying a pistol, revolver, or other enumerated weapon "hidden from common observation" without a valid permit is a Class 1 misdemeanor — up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. The statute reaches more than firearms: dirks, bowie knives, ballistic knives, machetes, metal knucks, blackjacks, nunchaku, and throwing stars are all listed. Repeat violations escalate sharply — a second offense is a Class 6 felony, and a third or subsequent offense is a Class 5 felony (one to 10 years, or up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine at the discretion of the court or jury).

Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon (§ 18.2-308.2)

The most frequently charged felony weapons statute in the 2025 record. Knowingly possessing or transporting a firearm after a felony conviction is a Class 6 felony. Two mandatory minimums attach: a prior conviction for a violent felony triggers a mandatory minimum of five years, and any other prior felony conviction within the previous 10 years triggers a mandatory minimum of two years. The statute directs that these mandatory terms "shall be served consecutively with any other sentence." The prohibition also reaches certain persons adjudicated delinquent as juveniles.

Use or Display of a Firearm in a Felony (§ 18.2-53.1)

A separate, additional felony for using, attempting to use, or displaying a firearm in a threatening manner while committing or attempting an enumerated felony — murder, rape, forcible sodomy, object sexual penetration, robbery, carjacking, burglary, malicious wounding, abduction, and others. It carries a mandatory minimum of three years for a first conviction and five years for a second or subsequent conviction, and the statute requires that the punishment be "separate and apart from, and … run consecutively with," the sentence for the underlying felony. This is the classic stacking count: it cannot stand alone, and it adds fixed prison time on top of whatever the primary felony carries.

Brandishing (§ 18.2-282)

Pointing, holding, or brandishing a firearm — or an air- or gas-operated weapon, or any object similar in appearance, whether capable of being fired or not — in a manner that reasonably induces fear in another person is a Class 1 misdemeanor. On school property, or on public property within 1,000 feet of school property, it becomes a Class 6 felony. The statute expressly does not apply to excusable or justifiable self-defense.

Weapons on School Property (§ 18.2-308.1)

Three tiers, by weapon and by conduct. Knowingly possessing a stun weapon, most knives, or other listed weapons on school property is a Class 1 misdemeanor. Knowingly possessing a firearm on school property is a Class 6 felony. Possessing a firearm inside a school or child day center building while intending or attempting to use it, or displaying it in a threatening manner, is a Class 6 felony with a mandatory minimum of five years, served consecutively with any other sentence. Coverage extends to school buses and school-sponsored functions.

Firearms and Controlled Substances (§ 18.2-308.4)

Simultaneously possessing a firearm and a Schedule I or II controlled substance is a Class 6 felony. If the firearm is on or about the person, a two-year mandatory minimum applies. Possessing or using a firearm while manufacturing, selling, or distributing a Schedule I or II substance — or more than one pound of marijuana — carries a five-year mandatory minimum, consecutive with the drug sentence. Like § 18.2-53.1, this statute exists to stack onto another charge.

Reckless Handling of a Firearm (§ 18.2-56.1)

Handling any firearm recklessly "so as to endanger the life, limb or property of any person" is a Class 1 misdemeanor. No injury is required — the endangerment itself is the offense.

Shooting At or Within Occupied Buildings (§ 18.2-279)

Maliciously discharging a firearm within an occupied building in a manner that endangers life, or maliciously shooting at an occupied dwelling or building, is a Class 4 felony (two to 10 years and a fine of up to $100,000). The same conduct done unlawfully but not maliciously is a Class 6 felony. Willfully discharging a firearm within or shooting at a school building — occupied or not — is a Class 4 felony.

Why Weapons Charges Often Appear Alongside Other Charges

Several weapons statutes are structurally companion counts. § 18.2-53.1 only exists in relation to an underlying felony; § 18.2-308.4 only exists in relation to a drug offense. When a case involves multiple counts, each charge resolves on its own record — one count may be dismissed while another proceeds, and plea negotiations frequently resolve several counts together. If you are reading a court record or a summons, identify the specific code section on each count: the difference between § 18.2-308 (a first-offense misdemeanor) and § 18.2-308.2 (a felony with a possible mandatory minimum) is the difference between two entirely different cases.

Court Outcomes for Weapons Offenses in Virginia (2025)

In 2025, 22,951 weapons-offense cases were filed across 99 Virginia jurisdictions. Of the 12,890 cases that reached a final disposition during the year, the public court record shows:

• 64.6% ended in dismissal — includes judicial dismissals and nolle prosequi (prosecutor declining to pursue).
• 32.8% ended in conviction — includes guilty pleas and findings of guilt.
• Outcomes vary materially by statute and by jurisdiction. These are rates among resolved cases, not among all filed cases — cases still pending or certified onward are not in the denominator.

For current jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction data — dismissal rates, conviction rates, and median case durations — see the weapons offense jurisdictional outcomes page, or the statute-anchored data pages for § 18.2-308, § 18.2-308.2, § 18.2-53.1, and § 18.2-282.

What Happens After a Weapons Charge

Misdemeanor weapons charges — first-offense concealed carry, brandishing, reckless handling — begin and typically end in General District Court, which has original jurisdiction over Class 1 misdemeanors. Felony charges — felon in possession, § 18.2-53.1 counts, school-property firearm charges — begin in General District Court with a preliminary hearing, then are certified to Circuit Court for grand jury consideration and trial. Certified felony cases run materially longer than misdemeanor cases, and where a weapons count is attached to another felony, the counts generally travel together through Circuit Court.

Related Data

• Weapons Offenses — Court Outcomes by Virginia Jurisdiction
• § 18.2-308.2 — Statute-Anchored Outcome Data
• § 18.2-308 — Statute-Anchored Outcome Data
• Methodology — How These Numbers Are Computed