Fairfax County, VA Animal Ordinances: Pet Store Rules (2026)

1-3-2 is triggered three ways: when a pet shop or a dealer's premises is newly constructed, when one is extensively remodeled, or when an existing structure is converted for use as a pet shop. In each case, properly prepared plans and specifications are submitted to the Director of Health for approval before the work is begun, and the section lists exactly what those plans must show: layout, entrances, partitions, window openings, ventilation, animal enclosures, storerooms, grooming areas, toilets, water supply, waste connections, sanitary equipment, and other details the Director may require.

That level of detail lets the Health Department check that animal areas, storage, and waste handling are designed correctly before a shop opens rather than after. The article's other rules follow the same sanitation focus: pet shops must maintain separate washrooms, human food storage must be kept away from animal areas, and the Director may order the humane destruction of turtles that test positive for salmonella. Just as notable is what the code leaves out. It contains no ban on pet shops selling dogs or cats and no adoption-only mandate, so Fairfax County governs how shops are built and kept clean, not which animals they may sell.