Police Scanner Laws in Virginia (2026): Is It Legal?

The law in Virginia

Virginia does not restrict the ownership or lawful use of a police scanner, including in vehicles. However, Virginia Code § 18.2-462.1 ('Use of police radio during commission of crime,' enacted 1992) makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor to possess or use a device capable of receiving a police radio signal, message, or transmission while in the commission of a felony, and prosecution under it does not bar prosecution for the underlying crime. Lawful scanner use remains legal in vehicles, in public, and in any legal context.

Enforcement reality

No enforcement history. Scanner use is fully protected.

What you can monitor in Virginia

With a police scanner in Virginia, you can legally listen to any unencrypted public safety channel, including:

• Fire department dispatch and operations
• EMS and ambulance communications
• NOAA weather alerts and emergency broadcasts
• Unencrypted police channels (where available)

In practice, of the 59 talkgroups catalogued across Virginia in our database, 7 are recorded as being in the clear and 51 as encrypted.

The radio systems most often recorded in Virginia are Roanoke Valley Radio System (RVRS), Rockbridge, Stafford / Fredericksburg, Hampton, VA, Peninsula Regional Radio System, Richmond/Henrico/Chesterfield.

Before buying a scanner, check whether your local agencies in Virginia have encrypted their communications. If they have, your scanner won't be able to receive their transmissions regardless of legal status.

What's already encrypted in Virginia

Scanner use being legal in Virginia does not mean everything is listenable. Our database currently tracks 64 agencies in Virginia that encrypt at least some radio traffic, across 46 counties. Of those, 53 encrypt all monitored channels rather than only a few.

The encryption most commonly recorded in Virginia is P25 AES-256 (36 agencies), P25 ADP (16 agencies), and P25 DES-OFB (6 agencies).

43 of these 64 records have been verified against RadioReference system data; the remainder are unverified and may be out of date. Encryption status changes without notice — confirm the current status of any specific agency on RadioReference before relying on it.

Frequently asked questions