Where Nobody May Smoke
Va. Code 15.2-2825 — no smoking in any restaurant, or its restroom, with listed exceptions
Restaurants. Smoking is prohibited, and no person smokes, in any restaurant in the Commonwealth or in any restroom within it, except in the places the section lists.
- An outdoor area of a restaurant, roofed or not, when it is not enclosed by screened walls, roll-up doors, windows or other seasonal or temporary enclosures.
- A portion of a restaurant structurally separated from the rest, entered through a door, and separately vented, with its own requirements.
- A portion used exclusively for private functions, if it meets the separation requirements.
- Restaurants on the premises of a manufacturer of tobacco products, and operations that prepare or store food for distribution, such as catering services, pushcarts and hotdog stands.
Virginia's broader rules on smoking in other public places are in other sections of the same article. Cannabis smoking, local ordinances that go further, rules in rental leases, and how a complaint is made and enforced are outside this page. Whether a particular place falls inside an exception is a question for a licensed Virginia attorney or the agency that enforces the law.
Sources for this section (1)
- Va. Code 15.2-2825 — Smoking in restaurants prohibited; exceptions; posting of signs; penalty for violation
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Virginia attorney.