Prince William County, VA Animal Ordinances: Pet Groomer Rules (2026)

Pet grooming is one of the few home employment uses Chapter 32 names specifically rather than folding into a generic category. Sec. 3 starts from a general ban on outside storage for any home business, then carves out an exception just for groomers: they may use a portion of a rear or side yard, but only if it's blocked from view of adjacent properties by a six-foot-high solid board fence, and only for up to three pets at any one time. Subsection 15 adds a second, stricter rule aimed squarely at grooming: every animal has to be kept inside, and none may be kept overnight or boarded, which rules out any grooming operation that doubles as an overnight kennel or boarding service.

Sanitation gets its own line too: subsection 14 requires the operator to get the Zoning Administrator's approval for how grooming waste is disposed of, and specifically requires that clippings and refuse from the grooming service be cleaned up and bagged daily. weekends), and is capped at five customers a day by appointment.