Building permits, zoning and septic rules in King and Queen County, Virginia

At a glance

Building permit

Required for residential construction⁷

Zoning

Yes; the county administers zoning and subdivision rules⁸³

Septic permit

Required from the Virginia Department of Health where public sewer is unavailable⁹⁵

RV living

Not allowed for permanent living or sleeping on a residential lot or other location not approved for RV use¹⁰

Tiny home

No countywide occupancy rule confirmed; zoning and building approval still matter¹¹⁷

Owner-builder

Contractor-license exemption for one owner-occupied primary residence in a 24-month period; permits still apply¹²

Septic soil suitability

Only 0.2% of soils rate without severe limits for a conventional drain field¹³

Property tax

0.5% effective rate; median bill about $1,261 per year¹⁴¹⁵

Who to call

Contact details are copied from each office’s official page and were checked against it on October 10, 2026.

Do you need a building permit in King and Queen County, Virginia?

Yes. Building and construction work in King and Queen County, including residential dwellings and manufactured homes, requires a county building permit and inspections under Virginia's Uniform Statewide Building Code¹¹⁶. Working without a permit is a violation and doubles the permit fee¹. The current statewide code is the 2021 Uniform Statewide Building Code, effective January 18, 2024¹⁷. Virginia exempts some limited work from permit applications, including a qualifying one-story detached tool shed, storage shed, playhouse or similar structure no larger than 256 square feet¹⁸. A qualifying farm building used primarily for farm purposes and not as a residence is exempt from the Building Code, although a farm structure in a floodplain remains subject to applicable flood-protection rules¹⁹. All permits require a final inspection, and the county may require additional inspections when a residential project has special conditions¹⁶. A certificate of occupancy is required before occupying a dwelling or manufactured home, and the Health Department must first issue an Operations Certificate¹²⁰.

Who is the King and Queen County building department, and how do you reach it?

King and Queen County Building Inspection handles permitting, inspections and code enforcement from 242 Allens Circle, Suite L, King and Queen Court House, Virginia; call (804) 785-5975 or email buildingofficial@kingandqueenco.net²¹. The county's IWorQ portal lets applicants submit projects, track progress and request inspections online²¹. Virginia requires a permit application to go to the building official before covered work begins, although special timing applies to emergency work²². An owner may perform or supervise work on one primary residence owned for personal use during a 24-month period without a contractor license, but that exemption does not remove building-code, permit or inspection requirements¹². Local permit fees can depend on square footage, volume, construction cost or another locally selected measure, and Virginia adds a code-academy levy equal to 2% of permit fees in most localities²³.

Does King and Queen County have zoning?

Yes. King and Queen County administers zoning within the county through its Comprehensive Plan and its Zoning and Subdivision Ordinances⁸³. Depending on the proposal, county review can include a zoning application, site plan, conditional-use approval or variance¹¹. The Planning & Zoning Department is the practical first call for a parcel-specific use question; it can be reached at (804) 785-5975 x2, option 1⁴. For new lots created through the county's one- or two-lot and related family-subdivision procedures, the published minimum is 2 or 3 acres with 200 or 300 feet of road frontage, as applicable²⁴. Setbacks are not safely reduced to one countywide figure: plats for newly created parcels must show building setback lines, while the applicable distance depends on the cited zoning provisions and special corner-lot rules²⁵.

How do septic permits work in King and Queen County?

For King and Queen County property without public sewer, the owner must obtain a Virginia Department of Health permit to construct a sewage disposal system before the county will issue a building permit⁵. An existing system needs health-department adequacy certification or a construction permit for required upgrades⁵. The local contact is the King & Queen County Health Department at 167 Courthouse Landing Road; call 804-785-6154⁶. Virginia requires written approval before a sewage system is constructed, operated, expanded or modified, and the statutory application fee is $75, subject to the stated waiver and refund provisions²⁶. Only 0.2% of county soils rate without severe limits for a conventional drain field, so make the site evaluation an early purchase contingency and allow for a nonconventional design¹³. The county also inspects the septic or sewer-line connection before backfilling²⁷.

Can you live in an RV or tiny home on your land in King and Queen County?

King and Queen County's ordinance bars using a recreational vehicle for permanent living, sleeping or other occupancy when it is parked or stored on a residential lot or any other location not approved for such use¹⁰. The ordinance makes an exception for locations approved for recreational-vehicle use, so ask the Planning & Zoning Department whether any approved location applies. We could not confirm a county rule that allows a tiny home as a permanent dwelling. Because the county administers zoning, ask the Planning & Zoning Department whether the proposed use is allowed in the parcel's district and what approvals apply¹¹⁴. Virginia's campground law excludes some camping by an individual property owner from the campground definition, but that exception does not establish a right to occupy an RV as a residence or override county zoning, private restrictions or sanitation requirements²⁸. A tiny home intended as a dwelling must still clear county zoning and the building-permit process applicable to residential construction¹¹⁷. A manufactured home in King and Queen County needs a building permit and must be skirted, and a replacement home requires removing the old home within 60 days of occupying the new one¹. Starting July 1, 2027, Virginia law will generally treat qualifying accessory dwelling units as permitted accessory uses in single-family residential districts, subject to permits and the statute's conditions and exceptions²⁹.

Building a home in King and Queen County: the steps, in order

1. Ask Planning & Zoning to confirm the parcel's allowed residential use, setbacks and any site-plan or land-use approvals⁸⁴.
2. Arrange the sewage-site review early; where public sewer is unavailable, obtain the Virginia Department of Health septic permit before the county building permit⁵.
3. Settle access before finalizing the site plan. An entrance connecting to a VDOT-maintained highway needs a VDOT land-use permit³⁰. For a one- or two-lot subdivision using direct road access, the plat may have to require both lots to share the ingress-and-egress easement and state that no other entrance will be approved³¹.
4. Submit the building application to King and Queen County Building Inspection through the county's permit portal or office²¹²².
5. Schedule the required county inspections in sequence; rough-ins must be complete before framing, the septic or sewer connection is checked before backfilling, and every permit receives a final inspection¹⁶²⁷.
6. Get the Health Department's Operations Certificate, then obtain the certificate of occupancy before moving into the completed home¹²⁰.

What should you check before buying land in King and Queen County?

Start with septic feasibility: only 0.2% of King and Queen County soils rate without severe limits for a conventional drain field, so a parcel can need a more complex system even when the land looks buildable¹³. Confirm the zoning district, permitted residential use and setbacks with Planning & Zoning⁸⁴. If the purchase depends on dividing land, confirm lot area, road frontage and access before closing: the county's one- or two-lot and related family-subdivision procedures call for 2- or 3-acre minimum lots and 200 or 300 feet of frontage, as applicable, and review can also involve health, wetlands, erosion, easements and private roads²⁴³². Check flood status before designing, because Virginia allows the building official to require permits for otherwise exempt work in a special flood hazard area³³. For context, 74.2% of the county is wooded and 82.4% of its land has slopes of 15% or less³⁴³⁵. The effective property-tax rate is about 0.5%, and the median annual property-tax bill is about $1,261¹⁴¹⁵.

Watch-outs

• Do not plan to live in an RV on your King and Queen County lot: the county ordinance bars permanent living, sleeping or other occupancy of an RV on a residential lot or other unapproved location, and a tiny home's occupancy was not confirmed, so ask Planning & Zoning¹⁰⁴.
• A septic permit or adequacy certification must be in hand before the county will issue the building permit for property without public sewer⁵.
• Do not assume newly divided lots can each have a separate entrance: in the county's one- or two-lot subdivision context, both lots may have to share access and the plat must state that no other entrance will be approved³¹.

Sources

1. Land Disturbance, Zoning & Building Checklist, quoted and re-checked
2. § 36-98. Board to promulgate Statewide Code; other codes and regulations superseded; exceptions (Virginia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
3. Planning and Zoning - King and Queen County, quoted and re-checked
4. King and Queen County Planning & Zoning Department (kingandqueenco.net)
5. Permits To Construct a Sewage Disposal System and/or Private Well, quoted and re-checked
6. King & Queen County Health Department (vdh.virginia.gov)
7. Land Disturbance, Zoning & Building Checklist (2026 county census)
8. Planning and Zoning - King and Queen County, quoted and re-checked
9. Virginia Department of Health - Onsite Sewage and Water Services (2026 county census)
10. Sec. 3-34. Use of recreational vehicles for permanent living quarters, quoted and re-checked
11. Planning and Zoning - King and Queen County (2026 county census)
12. § 54.1-1101. Exemptions; failure to obtain certificate of occupancy; penalties (Virginia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
13. Share of soils USDA rates "not limited" for a conventional septic drain field (SSURGO). A strict rating: the median county is about 6% and a tenth of counties are 0%, so a low figure means most lots need a site evaluation or an engineered system, not that septic is impossible. Cite it only with that caveat: Bolthole Index county data
14. Effective property tax rate: Bolthole Index county data
15. Median property tax bill: Bolthole Index county data
16. Mandatory Building Inspections - King and Queen County, quoted and re-checked
17. Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC) (Virginia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
18. 13VAC5-63-80. Section 108 Application for permit (Virginia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
19. Code of Virginia § 36-99. Provisions of Code; modifications (Virginia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
20. 13VAC5-63-160. Section 116 Certificates of occupancy (Virginia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
21. King and Queen County Building Inspection (kingandqueenco.net)
22. 13VAC5-63-80. Section 108 Application for permit (Virginia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
23. 13VAC5-63-70. Section 107 Fees (Virginia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
24. Family Subdivisions and One & Two Lot Subdivisions - King and Queen County, quoted and re-checked
25. Family Subdivisions and One & Two Lot Subdivisions - King and Queen County, quoted and re-checked
26. 12VAC5-610-240. Permits; general (Virginia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
27. Mandatory Building Inspections - King and Queen County, quoted and re-checked
28. Code of Virginia, Title 35.1 — Hotels, Restaurants, Summer Camps, and Campgrounds (Virginia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
29. Code of Virginia § 15.2-2292.4 — Development and use of accessory dwelling units (Virginia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
30. Land use permits (Virginia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
31. Family Subdivisions and One & Two Lot Subdivisions - King and Queen County, quoted and re-checked
32. Family Subdivisions and One & Two Lot Subdivisions - King and Queen County, quoted and re-checked
33. 13VAC5-63-80. Section 108 Application for permit (Virginia statewide rule), quoted and re-checked
34. Wooded share of land: Bolthole Index county data
35. Share of land at 15% slope or less: Bolthole Index county data

Written October 10, 2026 from the rules quoted below, each taken from an official source and re-checked by an independent reviewer. This is research, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the office before you buy or build.