Prince William County, VA: Auto Repair on Residential Property (2026)

Sec. 2 splits home auto work into two tracks. Ordinary repair or service, on agricultural lots under one acre or in any residential district, is limited to vehicles titled and registered to the owner or occupant of the dwelling, or to a member of their immediate family, defined in the section as offspring, spouse, sibling, grandchild, grandparent or parent. There's no separate track for a friend's car under this provision: the vehicle has to belong to someone who lives there or their family. On larger agricultural and semi-rural lots, more than one acre, the county allows repair, restoration, painting or service done "as a hobby" under a tighter set of conditions: no more than two unrelated acquaintances may join the owner or a family member in working on vehicles, no more than two vehicles can be worked on at any one time, the work has to happen inside a fully enclosed accessory building set back at least 50 feet from the nearest property line, all materials and equipment must be stored inside or screened from view of neighbors and the street, and the inoperable-vehicle storage limits of Sec.

61 still apply on top of this. Whether ordinary or hobby-track, commercial motor vehicle repair, restoration, service or painting is barred outright as a home accessory use anywhere in the county. Vehicles used for agricultural operations are exempt from all of these limits.