Pre-trip check · VA → TN
Driving from Virginia to Tennessee?
The law changes the moment you cross the line — what's legal to carry, light, or do in Virginia can be a violation in Tennessee. Every status below is live from LawLert's database, dated, and linked to its official source.
Laws change at the state line.The free LawLert iPhone app alerts you when you cross into a state where a law you track differs: firearms, cannabis, alcohol, fireworks and 9 more. No account.Get the appWhat changes for you (11)
Home cultivation is illegal in Tennessee and is prohibited, with the risk of felony charges.
Full Tennessee rule · Official source · verified May 31, 2026
Tennessee (TCA 39-13-903) makes it a Class C misdemeanor to use a drone to capture an image of a person or private property with intent to conduct surveillance.
Full Tennessee rule · Official source · verified Jul 7, 2026
Prohibited: no commercial or tribal casinos, card rooms, or racinos. Legal in-person gambling is limited to the state lottery and certain charitable raffles.
Full Tennessee rule · Official source · verified May 31, 2026
The general state sales tax rate is 7%. Each county and/or city adds a local option sales tax on top (commonly up to 2.75%), so combined rates run about 9% to 9.75%.
Full Tennessee rule · Official source · verified Jul 18, 2026
In Tennessee, package and liquor stores may sell spirits and wine on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. only where locally approved, and Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Grocery and convenience stores sell…
Full Tennessee rule · Official source · verified May 31, 2026
Tennessee has no red-flag law (also called an Extreme Risk Protection Order, or ERPO) — a 2024 law preempts and bars local ERPO ordinances — and no assault-weapon ban or limit on magazine capacity.
Full Tennessee rule · Official source · verified May 31, 2026
In Tennessee you can buy the full consumer fireworks line year-round at licensed retailers and seasonal stands, though some counties and cities restrict them.
Full Tennessee rule · Official source · verified Jun 5, 2026
Tennessee preempts local knife regulation: state law occupies the field on the transfer, ownership, possession and transportation of knives, and no city, county or metropolitan government may regulate it (T.C.A.…
Full Tennessee rule · Official source · verified Jul 30, 2026
Tennessee requires only a rear plate: the passenger-vehicle plate is attached to the rear, and no front plate is required (TCA 55-4-110).
Full Tennessee rule · Official source · verified Aug 3, 2026
Campfires are generally allowed without a state debris-burn permit, but a state or county burn ban (proclaimed by the Commissioner of Agriculture or Governor) prohibits all open-air burning including campfires and…
Full Tennessee rule · Official source · verified Jun 18, 2026
Sunday hunting is permitted statewide in Tennessee; no day-of-week restriction for deer, turkey or other game species.
Full Tennessee rule · Official source · verified Jun 18, 2026
Same status
Matching status ≠ identical law — details, limits and penalties can still differ.
Carrying with a permit? Whether Virginia permits are honored in Tennessee is its own map — check Tennessee concealed-carry reciprocity. And federal land (national parks, forests) plays by federal rules in both states — see the federal-land guide.
Also from Virginia: VA → DC · VA → KY · VA → MD · VA → NC · VA → WV · reverse (TN → VA)
Virginia to Tennessee: common questions
- Do the laws change when you drive from Virginia to Tennessee?
- Yes — 11 of the 13 categories LawLert tracks have a different status in Tennessee than in Virginia: cannabis, drones, gambling, taxes, alcohol, firearms, fireworks, knives, driving, burn bans, hunting. Each is listed on this page with its current status, the official source it came from, and the date it was last verified.
- What are the cannabis laws in Tennessee if I'm coming from Virginia?
- Tennessee: Restricted — Home cultivation is illegal in Tennessee and is prohibited, with the risk of felony charges. In Virginia the same category is Conditional.
- What are the drones laws in Tennessee if I'm coming from Virginia?
- Tennessee: Restricted — Tennessee (TCA 39-13-903) makes it a Class C misdemeanor to use a drone to capture an image of a person or private property with intent to conduct surveillance. In Virginia the same category is Conditional.
- What are the gambling laws in Tennessee if I'm coming from Virginia?
- Tennessee: Restricted — Prohibited: no commercial or tribal casinos, card rooms, or racinos. Legal in-person gambling is limited to the state lottery and certain charitable raffles. In Virginia the same category is Permitted.
- Is my Virginia concealed carry permit honored in Tennessee?
- Permit reciprocity is decided separately from the firearms status shown on this page, so it is not answered here. LawLert publishes Tennessee's recognition list, with the statute or agency page behind it, at lawlertapp.com/firearms/TN/reciprocity. Permitless carry, where a state allows it, is a different question again — it does not make an out-of-state permit valid.
- How current is this Virginia to Tennessee comparison?
- Every rule on this page stores the date it was last checked against its source; the oldest on this comparison is 2026-05-31. Every rule LawLert publishes carries a source URL, and every correction it has made is public at lawlertapp.com/how-we-verify. Laws change — confirm anything consequential against the linked source.