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Prince William County

Prince William County Department of Development Services, Building Development Division and Land Development Division

In short

Prince William County Department of Development Services, Building Development Division and Land Development Division issues 6 permits we publish for Prince William County, last verified 2026-10-02. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.

What this agency issues

Permits required, with issuing agency, fee, renewal term and the date each record was last verified against its source
Certificate of Use and Occupancy — Change in Use or OwnershipPrince William County Department of Development Services, Building Development Division and Land Development Division$183.20 one-time, per occupancy change, as published in the adopted FY2027 Building Development Division Fee Scheduleone-time, per occupancy change2026-10-02
Temporary Certificate of Occupancyonly if it applies to youPrince William County Department of Development Services, Building Development Division and Land Development Division$183.20 for first issuance of a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy; $244.90 to renew an expired Temporary Certificate of Occupancy.temporary, renewable2026-10-02
Tenant Layout Building PermitPrince William County Department of Development Services, Building Development Division and Land Development Division$0.0824 per square foot base plus $0.0207 per square foot in surcharges, totaling $0.1031 per square foot of tenant floor area, subject to the fee schedule's own minimum fee per structure or tenant space of $368.45 ($294.48 base plus $73.97 surcharges).per permit2026-10-02
Foundation and Soil Management Application Feeonly if it applies to youPrince William County Department of Development Services, Building Development Division and Land Development Division$100.00 for an individual applicant; $250.00 for Common Interest Properties. Both figures are non-refundable.per application2026-10-02
Home Business Permitonly if it applies to youPrince William County Department of Development Services, Building Development Division and Land Development Division$110.65 one-time, as published in the adopted FY2027 Building Development Division Fee Scheduleone-time2026-10-02
VESMP Land-Disturbance Permitonly if it applies to youPrince William County Department of Development Services, Building Development Division and Land Development DivisionInitial VESMP permit fee by disturbed acreage, total fee / county portion / state portion: $450 ($315/$135) for 2,500 SF up to 1 acre; $4,100 ($2,870/$1,230) for 1 to 5 acres; $5,100 ($3,570/$1,530) for 5 to 10 acres; $6,800 ($4,760/$2,040) for 10 to 50 acres; $9,100 ($6,370/$2,730) for 50 to 100 acres; $14,300 ($10,010/$4,290) for more than 100 acres. Annual Permit Maintenance Fees (county only), same tiers: $80 / $650 / $800 / $1,050 / $1,450 / $2,250. A separate Modification/Transfer of Registration Statement fee (county only), same tiers: $30 / $320 / $400 / $480 / $720 / $1,120.per project, plus an annual maintenance fee for the life of the permit2026-10-02

Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.

About each permit

Certificate of Use and Occupancy — Change in Use or Ownership

A new tenant moving into existing nonresidential space in unincorporated Prince William County — a retail store, restaurant, coffee shop, salon, fitness studio, auto-repair shop, or childcare facility taking over a space without any construction permit involved — pays $183.20 for a Certificate of Use and Occupancy covering the change in use or ownership. This figure, and the identical first-issuance Certificate of Use and Occupancy fee for new nonresidential structures, come from the Building Development Division's adopted FY2027 Fee Schedule, effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, under Ordinance No. 26-24, the current, non-superseded schedule as of today. This Certificate is separate from the Home Business Permit and Temporary Certificate of Occupancy fees recorded as a separate requirement.

Temporary Certificate of Occupancy

A business in any of the ten industries covered here that needs to occupy a nonresidential space in unincorporated Prince William County before final inspection and sign-off are complete pays $183.20 for the first issuance of a Temporary Certificate of Occupancy, or $244.90 to renew one that has expired, under the Building Development Division's adopted FY2027 Fee Schedule, effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, under Ordinance No. 26-24. This fee is distinct from the standard Certificate of Use and Occupancy and the Tenant Layout building permit recorded as a separate requirement.

Tenant Layout Building Permit

A retail store, restaurant, coffee shop, salon, fitness studio, auto-repair shop, childcare facility, or veterinary practice building out a new or renovated tenant space in unincorporated Prince William County pays this Tenant Layout permit fee: $0.0824 per square foot base plus $0.0207 per square foot in surcharges, totaling $0.1031 per square foot of tenant floor area, under the Building Development Division's adopted FY2027 Fee Schedule, effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, under Ordinance No. 26-24. The schedule separately sets a minimum fee of $368.45 (base $294.48 plus surcharges $73.97) described as a minimum fee 'per structure or tenant space.' The schedule does not label that minimum fee as applying specifically to Tenant Layout in so many words, but it is the schedule's only minimum fee framed that way, and Tenant Layout is defined in the schedule as a Building Permit rather than the schedule's separately listed, lower Minimum Trade Permit category that applies only to single-trade permits such as electrical or plumbing work.

Foundation and Soil Management Application Fee

A new-construction project in unincorporated Prince William County subject to PWC Code Chapter 34's Foundation and Soil Management regulation pays a non-refundable application fee of $100.00 for an individual applicant or $250.00 for Common Interest Properties, printed directly inside the Building Development Division's adopted FY2027 Fee Schedule, effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, under Ordinance No. 26-24, alongside the same schedule's Contractor License fees, which the schedule also describes as non-refundable. This fee is separate from the Tenant Layout building permit and the VESMP land-disturbance permit recorded as a separate requirement.

Home Business Permit

A home-based childcare provider, fitness instructor, or salon operator in unincorporated Prince William County pays $110.65 for a Home Business Permit once the business has been approved by Zoning, under the Building Development Division's adopted FY2027 Fee Schedule, effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, under Ordinance No. 26-24. This is a one-time permit fee, separate from the recurring BPOL business license each of these industries also holds under the classifications recorded as a separate requirement.

VESMP Land-Disturbance Permit

A new construction project in unincorporated Prince William County that disturbs 2,500 square feet or more of land within a common plan of development or sale — for example, a new auto-repair shop, retail pad site, or restaurant building on undeveloped land — needs a Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program (VESMP) permit from the Land Development Division, with a one-time initial fee split between the county and the state and set by disturbed acreage, plus a recurring Annual Permit Maintenance Fee and, if the registration statement is modified or transferred, a separate fee, all at the same acreage tiers. These figures come from the Land Development Division's adopted FY2027 Fee Schedule, effective July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, under Ordinance No. 26-24 — the actual adopted schedule, not the county's earlier proposed April 2026 budget legal notice, though the two match figure-for-figure. This permit is distinct from the Tenant Layout building permit and the Foundation and Soil Management fee recorded as a separate requirement.

Contact

Jurisdiction
Prince William County
Phone
703-792-6930

Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.

Sources

Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.

  1. Building Development Division Fee Schedule, ADOPTED, effective July 1, 2026-June 30, 2027 (Ord. No. 26-24)Prince William County Department of Development Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  2. Department of Development Services — Fees page, links to the current adopted fee schedulesPrince William County Department of Development Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02
  3. Land Development Fee Schedule, ADOPTED, effective July 1, 2026-June 30, 2027 (Ord. No. 26-24) — VESMP fee tablesPrince William County Department of Development Services · primary source · retrieved 2026-10-02

Other offices serving Prince William County

The full permit list for this jurisdiction

Industry permit lists that include this agency

Virginia jurisdictions

Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.