Home Business in Virginia (2026)

Albemarle County's Zoning Ordinance lets homeowners in Albemarle County outside Charlottesville and Scottsville run a…

Alexandria permits home occupations in residential dwellings under Zoning Ordinance Section 7-300, but only within…

A home occupation is allowed by right if it meets county standards: no more than two clients on-site at once, only…

Anyone running a home-based business in Fairfax County needs an administrative permit under Zoning Ordinance §…

Frederick County's Zoning Ordinance, § 165-702.05, lets residents outside Winchester, Stephens City and Middletown run…

Hampton allows home occupations as an accessory use only when clearly subordinate to the home's residential character…

Hanover County allows home occupations in Hanover County outside the Town of Ashland only if they meet ten standards in…

Henrico does not require a distinct home-occupation license; a home occupation is allowed as an accessory use if it…

Herndon permits home occupations as accessory uses in residential zones subject to a home occupation permit from the…

Running a home-based business in unincorporated Loudoun County requires a Zoning Permit under Zoning Ordinance Section…

Lynchburg allows home occupations such as licensed professional offices, personal or medical services, and artists or…

In Montgomery County outside Blacksburg and Christiansburg, a home occupation must stay clearly incidental to…

Newport News allows home occupations by right in all nine residential zoning districts, R1 through R9, under the…

Norfolk requires home occupations to comply with zoning standards limiting external evidence, customer visits, and…

Portsmouth permits up to two home occupations per residence under Sec. 40.2-217(I)(3)(g), capped at 25 percent of the…

Prince William County zoning permits a home occupation as a business activity conducted entirely within a dwelling by…

Richmond allows home-based businesses under Section 30-694.1's home occupation rules, but only within the dwelling or…

Roanoke permits home occupations in dwellings citywide under Sec. 36.2-413, but caps the use at 250 square feet of…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), a home business is zoned as either a…

Home occupations are allowed in any dwelling unit in Spotsylvania County under Sec. 23-5.4.1, subject to zoning…

Stafford County's zoning code lets residents run a home occupation or Home Business I/II from a single-family dwelling…

Suffolk allows home occupations as an accessory use in residential districts under UDO Sec. 31-707, but a home…

Virginia Beach requires every home-based business to obtain a Home Occupation Permit from the Planning Department…

Alexandria's home occupation rules ban signage outright. Zoning Ordinance Section 7-301(E) states no sign shall…

Frederick County's Zoning Ordinance bars any exterior sign, display or indication that a home occupation exists on a…

Norfolk bars all exterior evidence of a home occupation. The Zoning Ordinance allows no sign, no exterior display, and…

Section 30-694.1(4) bars any sign for a home-based business beyond what Article V of the zoning code specifically…

Roanoke home occupations may not post any sign advertising the business on the property. Sec. 36.2-413(d)(13) makes…

Virginia Beach's zoning ordinance bars any sign for a home occupation. City council can grant a single exception…

Fairfax County bars home-business signs except yard signs on residential lots.

Home occupations in Hampton may display only one wall sign, capped at one square foot, under the zoning ordinance's…

A home occupation in Hanover County outside the Town of Ashland may display no more than one nonilluminated sign…

A Loudoun County home occupation cannot advertise itself with any visible signage beyond what Chapter 8 already allows…

Prince William County limits a home employment business to one unlighted facade sign no larger than one square foot, or…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), a Type I home occupation can't…

Spotsylvania County splits home-based work into two zoning categories with opposite sign rules. A home occupation, the…

Chesterfield's home occupation standards require the home to keep its residential character with no external…

A Henrico home occupation may display no more than two non-illuminated signs totaling two square feet and no taller…

Lynchburg caps a home-based business's identification sign at one square foot, wall-mounted flat to the building, with…

Montgomery County's zoning ordinance allows one nonilluminated sign of up to four square feet per side for a home…

Portsmouth gives home occupations no special sign allowance: any sign for a home-based business must meet the city's…

Suffolk permits one non-illuminated minor sign for a home occupation, mounted flat against the wall, as defined in UDO…

A home business sign in Albemarle County outside Charlottesville and Scottsville doesn't need a sign permit as long as…

Fairfax County bars walk-in customers at home businesses without a special permit.

A standard Roanoke home occupation cannot receive customers or clients at the dwelling at all under Sec…

A Spotsylvania County home occupation cannot receive any customers or clients at the property at all under Sec…

Albemarle County caps how much customer traffic a home-based business can generate in the Rural Areas zoning district…

Alexandria caps home-based businesses at 12 patrons or students a day under Zoning Ordinance Section 7-301(D), with no…

A home occupation in Frederick County outside Winchester, Stephens City and Middletown can't bring more than five…

Hanover County's Zoning Ordinance restricts home occupations to the hours of 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday…

Client and delivery traffic to a Loudoun County home occupation is capped at 10 extra vehicle trips a day. Section…

Lynchburg's home occupation rule bars serving walk-in customers: clients can only visit by appointment, never on a…

A home occupation or home business in Montgomery County's unincorporated area cannot generate more traffic than a…

Newport News caps every home occupation at 400 square feet of floor space and bars any activity that changes how the…

A Norfolk home occupation must not draw customer traffic or deliveries beyond ordinary residential levels. The Zoning…

Portsmouth limits home-based personal service businesses, hair stylists, tutors, estheticians, and the like, to one…

Prince William County caps home employment businesses at five customers a day, by appointment only, with no more than…

Home occupations in Richmond cannot draw more than four client, customer or delivery vehicles a day, or host more than…

In Roanoke County, Virginia (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem), a home-based business can't turn the…

Stafford County caps customer visits to a Home Business I at five per day, by appointment only, within set weekday…

Suffolk caps a home occupation at 6 customers or clients per day, with customer hours limited to 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m…

Virginia Beach caps the traffic and parking a home-based business can generate. Under Zoning Ordinance § 234, client…

Virginia lets a resident make and sell a specific list of shelf-stable foods out of a private home with no Virginia…

Chesterfield sets no separate cottage food rule; Virginia's home food exemption governs. Under Virginia Code Section…

Henrico zoning lets a home occupation sell home cooking and packaged food made on site, along with handicrafts and…

Prince William County follows Virginia's home food processing exemption. Under VA Code 3.2-5130, certain non-hazardous…

Alexandria permits certain homemade food products to be sold directly to consumers under cottage food laws. Products…

Virginia Cottage Food Law (VA Code 3.2-5130) allows home production of non-hazardous foods like baked goods and jams…

Norfolk follows Virginia Cottage Food Law (VA Code 3.2-5130) allowing home kitchen production of non-hazardous foods…

Richmond follows the Virginia Cottage Food Law under VA Code 3.2-5130 allowing sale of certain non-potentially…

Suffolk residents may sell many homemade foods under Virginia's home food processing exemption, Virginia Code §…

Virginia does not issue a microenterprise home kitchen permit, and it cannot: the Board of Health food regulation at…

Virginia requires a state license for family day homes caring for five to twelve unrelated children under Va. Code…

A Lynchburg home caring for fewer than six children or adults is a by-right "small family day home" needing only state…

Norfolk requires a city license, issued by the Department of Human Services, to run a family day home caring for one to…

A family day home caring for five to twelve children under 13 is a permitted use in Portsmouth's residential districts…

Operating a family day-care home in a Virginia Beach residential district requires a conditional use permit from city…

Albemarle County treats a home-based daycare for four or fewer children as an ordinary single-family use with no…

Alexandria treats a home offering child care for up to nine kids as a 'child care home' under Zoning Ordinance Sec…

Arlington County requires a license from the Department of Human Services to operate a family day care home caring for…

Caring for up to four children (plus your own) is treated as residential use and needs no zoning approval. Caring for…

Operating a home child care facility in Fairfax County without a permit is unlawful under County Code Section 30-3-1…

Hanover County zoning treats in-home child care for up to four kids under 13 as a 'family day home,' which County Code…

Henrico zoning defines a family day home as in-home care for up to 12 children. A small family day home (five or fewer…

A Child Day Home in unincorporated Loudoun County must be the provider's principal residence, may care for no more than…

A commercial day care operation in Montgomery County's A-1 district needs board-of-supervisors approval of a special…

In-home child care in Prince William County follows Virginia law. Under VA Code 22.1-289.02, home-based child care…

Running a licensed family day care home in Roanoke County (outside the independent cities of Roanoke and Salem) is a…

Stafford County treats care for five or fewer children as a "small" family day care home, a by-right accessory use…

A Suffolk family day home for one to four children is a permit-exempt home occupation; caring for five to twelve…

In Frederick County outside Winchester, Stephens City and Middletown, the zoning ordinance recognizes in-home child…

Roanoke lets residents run a home-based daycare by right in every zoning district, no special exception needed. A 'day…