The Fairfax County Code requires that all street addresses be clearly visible and readable from the street. In an emergency, precious seconds or minutes could be lost if police, fire or rescue personnel are unable to identify an address promptly.

Each home or business in the County must have an address clearly marked at the front entrance. The Fire and Rescue Department has several recommendations to aid in prompt identification:

Be sure that shrubbery or long driveways do not obscure numbers.
• Use block letters rather than script lettering.
• While painting address numerals on curbs is a useful means of identification, your primary means of posting addresses should be on your home, because parked cars can block curb numbers.
• Make sure numbers are large enough and contrast sharply with their background.
• Illuminate numbers or find other ways to make them visible from the street at night, such as using reflective numbers.
• Be sure all numbers are posted at all times.
• If you live on a corner lot, be sure numbers are visible from the street named in your address.
• If you share a private pipestem driveway, be sure to post numbers at the front entrance of the home in addition to those posted at the driveway entrance.