Opening a Convenience Store in Virginia: Licenses & Permits

In Virginia, seats decide your food agency. A store with 15 or fewer seats and no restaurant-chain tie is permitted by the Department of Agriculture (VDACS). At 16 seats or more, or with a chain tie, it goes to the Department of Health. Virginia also added a Retail Tobacco Permit on October 1, 2026. Below is who issues what, and how each rule shapes the store you design.

Licenses and permits at a glance

Fuel tanks: local building permit, then DEQ

Virginia's tank rules (9VAC25-580) work differently from most states:

• Before installation: DEQ has no pre-installation notice. Instead, no tank may be installed or used without a local building permit and inspections under the Uniform Statewide Building Code.
• Containment: tanks and piping installed since September 15, 2010 must be secondarily contained with interstitial monitoring.
• Notification: file DEQ's notification form within 30 days of bringing the system into use, with the installer's certification. Report changes in owner, status or substance within 30 days.
• Operators: each facility designates Class A, B and C operators trained through DEQ-approved courses.
• Fund: owners need financial responsibility of $1 million per occurrence if they're fuel marketers or pump over 10,000 gallons a month. The Virginia Petroleum Storage Tank Fund pays costs above the owner's share (from $5,000 to $50,000 for corrective action), up to $1 million per occurrence.

Wine and beer: Virginia ABC

Convenience stores sell alcohol under a Retail Off-Premises Wine and Beer license from Virginia ABC (Va. Code §4.1-206.3). The state fee is $300, and ABC says processing averages 60 to 90 days.

• Eligibility: the license is for a "convenience grocery store", which Virginia defines as an enclosed room in a permanent structure displaying a variety of edible items of the kind sold in grocery stores.
• Notice: post a notice on the front door for 10 to 30 days, and publish a newspaper notice once a week for two weeks. Objections are due within 30 days, and the local governing body has 30 days to object.
• Food permit first: the application must include your food permit or inspection from VDACS or VDH, or proof that it's pending. Until it's issued, you may buy alcohol but not sell it.
• Location: there's no fixed distance rule, but ABC may refuse a site that would interfere with a church, synagogue, hospital, school, playground or government facility, or with nearby homes.

No spirits. Liquor is sold only through ABC's government stores.

Tobacco, vapor and hemp

• Retail Tobacco Permit: from October 1, 2026, each location selling tobacco needs a permit from Virginia ABC, posted where the public can see it. The application fee is $300 for ABC licensees and $400 for others and covers the first 12 months. Anyone owning 10% or more gets a background check, and you attest that staff are trained. It covers e-cigarettes and vapes, hemp wraps and glass pipes.
• Vapor directory: since December 31, 2025, only liquid nicotine and vapor products listed in the Attorney General's directory may be sold.
• Hemp: a store selling regulated hemp products needs a VDACS Regulated Hemp Product Retail Facility Registration, $1,000 per location.

Food service: VDACS or VDH

Virginia splits retail food between two agencies:

• VDACS permits convenience stores with 15 or fewer seats, counting indoor and outdoor, that aren't tied to a national or regional restaurant chain.
• The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) takes stores with 16 or more seats or a chain tie.

For VDACS, apply at least 30 calendar days before opening, with a floor plan showing hand sinks, the three-compartment sink, the mop sink and prep and storage areas. A pre-opening inspection comes before the permit. There's no permit fee, but VDACS charges a $40 annual inspection fee. For VDH, plan review is required before construction.

Sales tax, fuel pumps and lottery

• Sales tax: register online with Virginia Tax. You'll receive a Certificate of Registration (ST-4), which must be displayed.
• Fuel pumps: the VDACS Office of Weights and Measures inspects and tests commercial devices, including gasoline dispensers and scanners.
• Lottery: the Virginia Lottery licenses retailers with an initial fee of up to $100 and an annual fee of up to $70, and requires a surety bond.

What this means for your store design

• Decide the seat count early. At 16 seats, the food permit moves from VDACS to VDH. A franchise restaurant tie also moves it to VDH. See the kitchen floor plan.
• Show every sink on the plan. VDACS looks for hand sinks, a three-compartment sink and a mop sink. See food service build-outs.
• Stock real grocery items. The wine and beer license is for a convenience grocery store with a variety of grocery-type food, so plan gondola space for it.
• Wine and beer only. All alcohol space goes to the cooler wall or a beer cave.
• Get the local building permit before the tanks go in. It's the first fuel step in Virginia.

Local approvals

Your city or county also controls zoning, building permits, fire inspections and signs, and can object to your alcohol license. Our construction checklist covers the local steps.

For Virginia store design, see convenience store design in Virginia and walk-in cooler services in Virginia.

Sources

• 9VAC25-580-50 and -70 (UST technical standards and notification); 9VAC25-590 (financial responsibility and the Virginia Petroleum Storage Tank Fund); Virginia DEQ operator training.
• Code of Virginia §§4.1-100, 4.1-119, 4.1-206.3, 4.1-222, 4.1-230 and 4.1-241 to 4.1-245; Virginia ABC license definitions and tobacco permits.
• Code of Virginia §59.1-293.20; Office of the Attorney General, liquid nicotine and nicotine vapor products directory.
• VDACS, retail food permit guide and application (July 2026), hemp product retail facility registration, and weights and measures; VDH, food safety exemptions and plan review.
• Virginia Tax, business registration; Virginia Lottery, retailer information and 11VAC5-31.

This page summarizes official sources as of October 2026. It is not legal advice. Fees and rules change, so confirm each one with the agency before you apply.