Selling firewood in Virginia: cords, delivery tickets and labels

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It follows the weights and measures chapter of the Code of Virginia as published by the Virginia General Assembly. No firewood page from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services was found on October 9, 2026, so the statute is the main source here, with the NIST model rule beside it.

The cord defined

In the Code of Virginia, section 3.2-5600, the definitions section of Chapter 56, a cord means the wood held in 128 cubic feet of space, ranked and well stowed.

The word cord in firewood sales

Virginia has a section written only about this word. Section 3.2-5641 is titled use of the word cord in connection with purchase or sale of wood, bark or other forest product. It says it is unlawful to use the word cord, or any abbreviation of it, to mean anything other than the standard defined in section 3.2-5600. That covers buying or selling pulpwood, firewood, tanbark or any forest product customarily measured in cords of any size, and any price quotation, measurement, settlement or payment for such wood. In plain terms the section protects the meaning of the word. It does not by itself list other unit words.

Method of sale and bulk delivery tickets

In the same chapter, section 3.2-5622 says commodities not in liquid form are sold by weight, by measure of length or area, or by count, and that counting is allowed only if it gives accurate information on the quantity. Its exemptions include concrete aggregates and loose solid materials such as earth, soil, gravel and crushed stone sold by cubic measure. Section 3.2-5635 says sales in which the buyer and seller are not both present to witness the measurement of a bulk delivery come with duplicate delivery tickets. The ticket gives the name and address of the buyer and seller, the date of delivery, the quantity delivered in pounds, tons, gallons or cubic measure, and the count of individually wrapped packages if there is more than one. Neither section names firewood or the cord, so this page reports them as written and no more.

Short quantity and rules made by the Board

In the same chapter, section 3.2-5645 lists acts that are Class 1 misdemeanors, committed by a person or by that person's servant or agent. Among them are selling or offering for sale less than the quantity represented of any commodity, thing or service, taking more than the quantity represented when the buyer furnishes the weight or measure, and keeping, advertising, offering or selling a commodity in a condition or manner contrary to law or regulation.

Section 3.2-5607 lets the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services adopt regulations for enforcing the chapter, which may include methods of sale of commodities. This page did not find a Virginia regulation that lists a firewood delivery ticket, so none is reported here. The Virginia Administrative Code chapter titled Rules and Regulations for the Enforcement of the Virginia Weights and Measures Law is marked repealed in the agency's table of contents.

Civil penalties

In the same chapter, section 3.2-5646 says the Commissioner may bring a suit to enjoin a violation of the chapter or a regulation under it. It says a person who violates the chapter or its regulations may be assessed a civil penalty by the Board not to exceed US$1,000. In setting the amount the Board considers the person's history of previous violations, the seriousness of the violation and the good faith shown in trying to comply after being notified. Penalties go into the Weights and Measures Fund, and a person may consent to abatement and pay a penalty or negotiated sum without admitting civil liability. Section 3.2-5647 says the Commissioner is not required to report minor violations and may give a written notice or warning instead.

The model rule for comparison

Section 2.4 of the uniform regulation for the method of sale in NIST Handbook 130, 2026 edition, covers fireplace and stove wood: sale by the cord, fractions of a cord or the cubic meter; no use of face cord, rack, pile or truckload; and a delivery ticket with the vendor's and purchaser's names and addresses, the date, the quantity, the price and the identity of the wood. Section 3.2-5622 says the handbook's uniform regulation for the method of sale applies in Virginia, except as the Board modifies, amends or rejects it by regulation. This page found no Board regulation doing so for firewood.

For the model rule and other places, see the firewood sale rules overview. Virginia movement rules for wood are on the Virginia moving firewood page.