Business Licensing & Operations in Virginia (2026)

Anyone wanting a business license to run an adult business in Chesterfield County must first get a $25 permit from the…

Adult entertainment establishments in Fairfax County need a special permit and can only operate in a regional shopping…

In Frederick County outside Winchester, Stephens City and Middletown, an adult retail use must sit at least 2,500 feet…

Hampton confines adult entertainment establishments to the C-3 and M-2 zoning districts and requires at least 1,000…

Hanover County's Zoning Ordinance keeps adult book stores, adult theaters and massage parlors or health clubs away from…

Henrico requires anyone operating an adult bookstore, adult motel, adult nightclub or similar business to hold a $200…

Newport News confines adult uses to C1, C2, and C3 zoning districts and requires a conditional use permit under City…

Portsmouth restricts Adult Entertainment Establishments, defined to include adult hotels, motion picture arcades and…

Operating an adult bookstore, adult motel, adult movie theater or similar adult business in Prince William County…

Richmond's zoning code keeps adult entertainment establishments, adult bookstores, adult motion picture theaters and…

Roanoke's zoning code keeps adult bookstores, adult theatres, adult model studios, and similar adult uses at least…

Anyone operating or wanting to operate an adult business in Roanoke County, outside the independent cities of Roanoke…

Spotsylvania County confines adult oriented businesses to its I-1 and I-2 industrial districts and requires a…

Stafford County requires every adult business, from adult bookstores to adult nightclubs, to hold a permit issued after…

Virginia Beach permits adult bookstores only in the RT-3 Resort Tourist District, and only when the store sits at least…

Montgomery County's code does not license massage establishments; instead Sec 7-6 makes it unlawful for any massage…

Alexandria does not license massage establishments; instead City Code Sec. 11-4.2-2 makes it unlawful for anyone to…

Every massage therapy establishment in Chesapeake needs an annual operator's permit from the Health Department under…

Chesterfield County requires every massage clinic and licensed massage therapist to hold a county permit issued by the…

Operating a massage establishment in Fairfax County without a valid, unsuspended permit from the Department is…

Hampton requires anyone operating a massage parlor to hold a permit from the director of public health under Chapter…

Newport News massage parlors and health clubs may not let staff perform massage or physical-contact services on clients…

Norfolk requires anyone operating a massage or bodywork business, defined in its code as a 'health parlor,' to hold an…

Operating a massage establishment in Prince William County without a valid permit from the Health District director is…

Every massage parlor doing business in Roanoke must hold a $5,000 annual license under City Code § 19-74.1, due each…

Running a massage parlor in Roanoke County requires a permit from the director of public health under Chapter 11, not…

Operating a massage establishment in Spotsylvania County without a valid permit is a Class 1 misdemeanor under County…

Frederick County requires every massage parlor to hold a business license under Code § 155-96C(3), at a flat $200 per…

Hanover County makes it unlawful for a massage establishment to have staff provide physical contact with a client of…

Henrico County only allows a massage in exchange for payment when a state-certified massage therapist performs it for…

Loudoun County has no standalone massage-parlor license. Codified Ordinances Chapter 820, Massage Regulation, was…

Richmond only lets a certified massage therapist give a massage for consideration, and Section 6-62 confines where that…

Virginia Beach requires every massage provider to hold state certification under Code of Virginia § 54.1-3029 and post…

Hampton's zoning ordinance flatly excludes body piercing and tattoo parlors from the home occupation use, so operating…

Tattoo and piercing shops in Chesapeake need an annual body art establishment permit from the Health Department under…

Operating a tattoo establishment or body piercing salon in Newport News requires an annual $1,500 permit from the city…

Norfolk requires anyone running a tattoo parlor to hold a permit from the director of the Department of Public Health…

Tattoo parlors and body piercing shops need a $1,200 annual permit from the Virginia Beach health department and are…

Chesterfield County has no standalone tattoo-shop permit. Instead, tattoo artists are taxed and licensed as a "personal…

Fairfax County requires every tattoo establishment to get Director of Health Services approval and a permit before…

Portsmouth requires every body art studio, tattoo artist, and body piercer to hold an annual permit from the Portsmouth…

Before inking anyone, a Richmond tattoo artist must explain the risks under Section 6-97(b) and get the client's…

Spotsylvania County zones tattoo parlors as a personal service establishment, the same use category as barber shops and…

Roanoke classifies tattoo parlors and body piercing establishments as 'personal service establishments' under the…

Virginia requires retail tobacco and liquid nicotine sellers to comply with state licensing under Code 58.1-1021.04:1…

Hanover County zones tobacco, vape, hemp and kratom retail as 'Recreational Substances, retail stores' under Section…

Newport News bars vape shops within 2,000 feet of a school or child day center, sets 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. hours, and bans…

Roanoke County's zoning ordinance bars the retail sale of vape and nicotine-vapor products, other alternative nicotine…

Tobacco and vape retailers in Fairfax County need a BPOL plus a Virginia tobacco retail certificate. State law sets…

Loudoun County requires any retail store selling cigarettes to be a properly registered and licensed dealer, buying…

Richmond requires tobacco retailers to hold a city business license under Chapter 6 and comply with Virginia Code…

Virginia Beach tobacco retailers must hold a state retail tobacco license and a city Business Professional and…

Anyone buying precious metals or gems from the public in Albemarle County, such as a pawn or secondhand gold shop, must…

Alexandria requires anyone who buys or pawns junk, antiques, or secondhand articles for resale to hold a police-issued…

Pawnbrokers, junk dealers, antique dealers and secondhand-goods dealers in Chesapeake must check every seller's ID…

Anyone buying precious metals or gems, or lending against them as security, in unincorporated Chesterfield County must…

Buying secondhand precious metals or gems in Fairfax County without a Chapter 33 dealer permit is unlawful under…

Anyone buying secondhand gold, silver, platinum or gems in Hanover County needs an annual $200 Sheriff's permit under…

Dealers buying secondhand gold, silver, platinum or gems in Montgomery County need a sheriff-issued permit under Code…

Secondhand paper and junk dealers in Newport News need a $225 annual license, but no license issues until the dealer…

Norfolk requires anyone buying or canvassing for secondhand furniture, appliances, or similar goods to hold a one-year…

Prince William County requires every pawnbroker and secondhand merchant, dealers in used electronics, tools, appliances…

Richmond secondhand dealers must hold a merchant's license plus a Chief of Police permit, keep a permanent purchase…

Roanoke County Code Chapter 16.1 requires anyone who buys secondhand precious metals or gems in the county, defined in…

Spotsylvania County requires anyone who buys secondhand precious metals or gems, chapter 17's 'dealer', to hold a…

Virginia Beach junk and secondhand dealers must get a police permit before receiving a business license, then file…

Arlington County requires a $200 annual police-issued license to buy, sell or barter secondhand goods, bars purchases…

Frederick County requires junk dealers with an established place of business to hold a business license under Code §…

Hampton doesn't gate a secondhand dealer's business license behind a special permit, but chapter 27 lets a judge revoke…

Henrico taxes junk dealers and secondhand paper dealers the same way it taxes wholesale merchants: on purchases, not…

Any Loudoun County business that resells used electronics, GPS units, musical instruments, power tools, small…

Lynchburg junk dealers and junk collectors keep a written register of every purchase, recording the seller's name…

Portsmouth requires anyone dealing in junk or secondhand paper to pay an annual license tax under City Code § 20-22…

Roanoke defines anyone who buys, sells, barters or exchanges discarded or abandoned used personal property for resale…

Stafford County requires anyone buying, selling, bartering, or exchanging secondhand articles, junk, scrap metal, rags…

Albemarle County caps pawnshop licenses at ten countywide. The Director of Finance issues no more than that number and…

Arlington County caps the number of pawnshops at four countywide and requires anyone lending against pledged property…

Chesapeake will not issue a pawnbroker business license until the circuit court authorizes it under state law, and…

Fairfax County caps pawnbrokers at 12 licensed locations countywide and makes the license hard to get: circuit court…

Before Hampton will issue a pawnbroker's business license, the applicant must present the commissioner of the revenue…

No one may operate as a pawnbroker in Hanover County without a license from the Sheriff under Code § 12.5-31, which…

Henrico caps pawnshops at ten countywide, spaced at least a mile apart, and requires a $200 license from the chief of…

Loudoun County caps pawnshops at eight countywide, including any inside Leesburg or the other incorporated towns, and…

Lynchburg does not run its own pawnshop code: Sec. 23-7 adopts the Code of Virginia's pawnbroker statute by reference…

Anyone operating as a pawnbroker in Newport News needs both a license authorized by the circuit court and a business…

Norfolk pawnbrokers hold a city-issued license that can be revoked on conviction for violating Chapter 38, must keep…

Portsmouth pawnbrokers must log every loan or purchase with the pledgor's identity and description of goods, file a…

Prince William County caps pawnbroker locations at twelve countywide and requires a police-issued license, Circuit…

Richmond caps pawnbroker licenses at 12 citywide and requires a Chief of Police and Circuit Court certificate before…

Pawnbrokers in Roanoke County need two approvals before opening: a business license taxed at 0.36 percent of gross…

Stafford County requires anyone doing business as a pawnbroker to hold a sheriff-issued license, which costs $200 a…

Virginia Beach limits the city to fifteen licensed pawnshops at any one time, and won't issue a local license until the…

Every pawnbroker doing business in Chesterfield County must file a daily electronic report with the police chief by…

Frederick County requires anyone running a pawnbroking business in the unincorporated county to hold a business license…

Roanoke does not run its own separate pawnbroker licensing scheme: City Code § 29-96 instead adopts the Commonwealth's…

Spotsylvania County defines and regulates pawnbrokers under chapter 17.1, requiring every pawnbroker to file a daily…

Alexandria bans motor vehicle repair, sales, and engine work as a home occupation outright. Zoning Ordinance Section…

Hampton's zoning ordinance expressly excludes vehicle repair, sales, or storage for other than the owner's personal…

Hanover County's Zoning Ordinance flatly excludes automobile, motorcycle and truck repair, body work and painting from…

Lynchburg zoning does not list auto repair among the home occupations a resident may run. Home occupations are capped…

Newport News doesn't allow a motor vehicle repair or service facility in any residential zoning district; §45-402's use…

Portsmouth's zoning code flatly excludes vehicle repair from the list of allowed home occupations. Sec…

Richmond flatly bans vehicle and engine repair as a home occupation. Section 30-694.1(7) prohibits repairing vehicles…

Virginia Beach's zoning ordinance expressly excludes auto repair shops from the list of permitted home occupations, so…

Fairfax County's home-business rules give a closed list of allowed uses that excludes auto and vehicle repair entirely.

A residential auto-repair operation in Frederick County outside Winchester, Stephens City and Middletown must meet the…

A motor vehicle repair business run from a Roanoke home may operate only as office functions under Sec. 36.2-413(g)(2)…

Spotsylvania County allows a small automobile, tractor, or trailer repair shop in its rural and agricultural districts…

Prince William County zoning limits at-home auto repair to vehicles owned by the resident or an immediate family…

Alexandria caps what a tow truck service can charge to remove a vehicle from private property without the owner's…

Arlington County caps non-consent trespass towing fees under Chapter 14.3: $160 for vehicles up to 7,500 pounds, $250…

Chesapeake caps what a non-consent tow truck service can charge at $200.00 for hookup and initial towing of a vehicle…

Fairfax County requires a $50 Operator Permit from Cable and Consumer Services before any company can trespass-tow or…

Prince William County requires every tow truck company to hold a valid county (or specified town) business license…

Richmond bars charging any towing or storage fee for removing a vehicle from private property without the owner's…

Spotsylvania County limits sheriff-requested vehicle towing to firms on its towing rotation list. Sec. 12-226 creates a…

To perform law-enforcement-requested towing in Stafford County, a tow operator must apply to the Sheriff, pay a $100…

Chesterfield County requires every licensed vehicle removal operator, salvage dealer, demolisher or rebuilder to report…

Hampton caps what tow operators on its police rotation list can charge for a police-requested tow, including a $125…

Henrico County Code lets a parking lot, building or lot owner have an unauthorized vehicle towed once it has sat…

Outside Blacksburg and Christiansburg, a tow truck company or operator cannot remove a vehicle from private property…

Newport News caps the basic charge a tow firm can bill for a non-consent private-property tow at $175 for light…

Norfolk requires any private property owner who wants unauthorized vehicles towed to post specific signage at every…

Portsmouth caps what a wrecker company can charge and runs a police-maintained rotation list for accident and…

Roanoke's zoning code requires any towing service use to sit on a lot of at least 20,000 square feet and bars keeping…

Tow companies that remove vehicles from private property without the owner's consent must hold a city business license…

Roanoke County doesn't license towing and wrecker companies directly. Instead, County Code § 12-14 creates a towing…