Business Licensing & Operations in Stafford County, VA (2026)
4 rules for unincorporated Stafford County, Virginia.
Verified from official government sources
Adult Entertainment
Stafford County requires every adult business, from adult bookstores to adult nightclubs, to hold a permit issued after a Sheriff's Office background check. Applicants pay a $95 fee per location, existing businesses had 90 days from the ordinance's effective date to apply, and operating without a permit violates County Code Chapter 4, Article IV.
Stafford County Adult Business Permits
Significant RestrictionsStafford County Code §§ 4-87, 4-92
Each adult business either operating as of the effective date of this article or thereafter desiring to operate an adult business within the county shall apply to the county for a permit to conduct such activity. No such business shall be allowed to operate in the county without such permit. ... Each applicant shall file with the county an application, and such application shall be accompanied ...
Secondhand Dealers
Stafford County requires anyone buying, selling, bartering, or exchanging secondhand articles, junk, scrap metal, rags, bottles, or similar commodities, other than paper, furniture, clothes, shoes, or stoves meant for resale, to hold a junk dealer's license from the Board of Supervisors. Licensed dealers can only buy between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., and the annual license fee is $400.
Stafford County Junk Dealer License Rules
Some RestrictionsStafford County Code §§ 14-1, 14-9, 14-31
For the purposes of this chapter, the term "junk dealer" shall mean and include any person who engages in the business of purchasing, selling, bartering or exchanging any kind of secondhand articles, junk, rags, rag cullings, bones, bottles, puer, scrap, metals, metal drosses, steel, iron, old led pipe, old bathroom fixtures, old rubber, old rubber articles or other like commodities, except pap...
Pawnbrokers
Stafford County requires anyone doing business as a pawnbroker to hold a sheriff-issued license, which costs $200 a year and needs prior authorization from the circuit court. No more than five pawnshop locations may operate in the county at once, and violators face a Class 4 misdemeanor.
Stafford County Pawnbroker License Rules
Significant RestrictionsStafford County Code §§ 19-44, 19-47, 19-61
No person shall engage in the business of a pawnbroker within the county without having a valid license in accordance with this article. ... Each pawnbroker's license application shall be submitted to the sheriff's office accompanied by a receipt from the treasurer indicating payment of an application fee of two hundred dollars ($200.00). ... any licensed pawnbroker who violates any of the prov...
Towing Companies
To perform law-enforcement-requested towing in Stafford County, a tow operator must apply to the Sheriff, pay a $100 application fee, pass an investigation, and sign a towing service agreement. A parallel article regulates trespass towing from private lots, capping fees and requiring signage.
Stafford County Towing Company Licensing Rules
Significant RestrictionsStafford County Code § 15-150
Any tow operator desiring to perform law-enforcement-requested towing services shall make application with the sheriff in conformance with the provisions of the towing policy. Said application shall be accompanied by an application fee in the amount of one hundred dollars ($100.00). After completion of an investigation, the sheriff, in his sole discretion, shall determine whether the applicant ...
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