How to start a business in Virginia

Get a federal EIN

Apply free on the IRS website and get the number immediately. You'll need it for the state tax registration, a business bank account, and payroll. Opening a new location? You already have one; the same EIN works in every state.

Sign an operating agreement

This internal document sets out who owns what, how decisions get made, and what happens if an owner leaves. It isn't filed with the state, but banks often ask for it, and it helps protect your liability shield. Single-owner LLCs need one too.

Open a business bank account

Bring your EIN letter, filed formation documents, and operating agreement or bylaws. Keeping business and personal money separate is one of the main things that protects your personal assets.

Check industry licenses and permits

Many businesses need a license or permit before opening, separate from registering the company. Check three levels: the state licensing board for your field, your city or county, and any federal agency that regulates your industry.

• Trades and construction: general contractors, electricians, plumbers, HVAC and roofers usually need a state or local license, and often a bond
• Personal services: salons, barbers, nail and esthetics shops need a shop license plus licensed staff; massage and tattoo studios are licensed too
• Professional services: accounting, engineering, architecture, law, real estate and insurance require state licenses for the people and sometimes the firm
• Child care, elder care and home care need a state facility or agency license and background checks
• Retail with restricted products: alcohol, tobacco and vape, cannabis, firearms (federal FFL), pawn and secondhand dealers
• Auto, transport and logistics: auto dealers and repair shops, towing, movers, and trucks that need a USDOT number
• Money and finance: lenders, mortgage brokers, debt collectors and money transmitters are licensed by the state, often through NMLS
• Local permits for almost everyone: city business license or tax registration, zoning or home occupation permit, sign permit and fire inspection

Decide on S corp tax treatment (optional)

If you want S corp taxation, file IRS Form 2553. The deadline is tight: generally within 2 months and 15 days after the start of the tax year you want it to apply. See Business basics for when it makes sense.

File Articles of Organization with the SCC

File online through the State Corporation Commission's Clerk's Information System. Online filings can be processed within a day.

Name a Virginia registered agent

Virginia's rules are stricter than most: the agent must be a Virginia resident who is an owner, manager, officer, or Virginia attorney, or a business authorized as a registered agent in Virginia. A registered agent service is the easy route.

File an assumed name certificate if you use a different name

Only needed if you'll operate under a name other than your registered legal name.

Register with Virginia Tax

Register online for each tax account you need. You'll get account numbers and, if you sell, a sales tax certificate.

• Employer withholding, if you'll have Virginia employees
• Sales and use tax, if you sell taxable goods
• Have your EIN, Virginia start date, and NAICS code ready

Check your city or county business license (BPOL)

Most Virginia cities and counties require a local business license and charge a BPOL tax based on gross receipts. Check with the commissioner of the revenue where your location is.

Register to collect sales tax

Virginia calls it a Sales Tax Certificate of Registration (Form ST-4), issued with a 15-digit sales tax account number. Register with the Virginia Department of Taxation (Virginia Tax) through Virginia Tax online business registration (or paper Form R-1) before you make your first taxable sale in Virginia. You'll collect tax from customers and send it to the state.

• State rate: 4.3%
• Local taxes: Every locality adds 1%, for a 5.3% base. Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads and Central Virginia are 6%; Charlotte, Gloucester, Halifax, Henry, Northampton, Patrick and Pittsylvania counties and Danville are 6.3%; and the Historic Triangle (James City County, Williamsburg, York County) is 7%. Local tax is filed on the same state return.
• Services are generally not taxed, and SaaS and electronically delivered software are not taxed.

Buy items you resell tax-free with a resale certificate

Give your supplier Form ST-10, Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Exemption (resale, lease or rental, packaging) so you don't pay tax on inventory you'll resell. A registered Virginia dealer fills it out with its Virginia account number; the seller keeps one on file and it stays valid until the Department revokes it in writing. Keep certificates your own customers give you, too.

Selling into Virginia from another state? Watch the threshold

Out-of-state sellers must register once sales into Virginia pass $100,000 or 200 transactions (previous or current calendar year), even with no office here.

• Counts gross retail sales to Virginia customers; remote sellers count only direct sales, not sales made through a marketplace facilitator.
• Marketplace facilitators over $100,000 or 200 transactions must collect for all their marketplace sellers unless Virginia grants a waiver; sellers who sell only through a facilitator do not register.

Note this Virginia sales tax rule

Groceries and essential personal hygiene products are taxed at a reduced 1% rate statewide since January 1, 2023.

Complete Form I-9 and W-4 for each hire

Form I-9 is never mailed to the government. You keep it in your own files and show it only if ICE or the Department of Labor asks for an inspection.

• The employee completes Section 1 by their first day of work
• You review their original documents and complete Section 2 within 3 business days of the start date
• Keep it for 3 years after the hire date or 1 year after employment ends, whichever is later
• Store I-9s together, separate from personnel files, so an inspection doesn't expose other records
• Remote hire? Have an authorized representative check documents in person, or, if you use E-Verify, use the DHS remote video inspection option
• Also collect a federal W-4 for withholding

Post federal workplace notices

Federal posters (minimum wage, EEO, FMLA if you have 50+ employees, and others) go alongside the state ones.

Register with the Virginia Employment Commission

Register for unemployment insurance once you have employees in Virginia.

• 2026 new employer rate: 2.5%
• Taxable wage base: first $8,000 per employee
• Experienced rates range from 0.1% to 6.2%
• Quarterly tax and wage reports

Buy workers' compensation insurance

Required once you regularly have more than 2 employees (3 or more), including part-time workers. Many employers buy it earlier anyway.

Report each new hire

Report new and rehired employees to the Virginia New Hire Reporting Center within 20 days.

Check income tax reciprocity

Residents of Washington DC, Kentucky, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia who commute to work in Virginia may be exempt from Virginia withholding (conditions apply). Employees claim it on Form VA-4. Collect a VA-4 from every Virginia employee at hire.

Follow Virginia pay timing rules

Virginia's wage payment law allows penalties and attorneys' fees for late wages.

• Hourly employees: at least twice a month or every two weeks
• Salaried exempt employees: at least monthly
• Final pay by the next regular payday
• Overtime after 40 hours a week
• Give a pay statement showing hours, rate, gross pay, and deductions

Pay at least Virginia minimum wage

$12.77 an hour in 2026, rising to $13.75 on January 1, 2027 and $15.00 on January 1, 2028. Tipped cash wage: $2.13, with tips making up the difference.

Paid sick leave: home health workers only

Virginia requires paid sick leave only for certain home health care workers. Other employers set their own policies.

RetirePath Virginia: register or certify an exemption

Required for employers in business at least 2 years with 25 or more eligible employees and no retirement plan. Employees are auto-enrolled at 5%. Penalty: up to $200 per employee per year. Employers with a plan certify an exemption.

Adopt a harassment policy (training recommended)

Virginia doesn't require harassment training for private employers. A written policy and a yearly refresher are still best practice.

Post Virginia workplace notices

Including unemployment insurance, workers' comp, occupational safety, and minimum wage posters.

Collect a W-9 before the first payment

The W-9 gives you the contractor's legal name and tax ID for their 1099. Check the classification first: if you control how and when they work, they may legally be an employee.

Send Form 1099-NEC to contractors

File with the IRS and send the contractor a copy by January 31. For payments made in 2026 and later, the reporting threshold is $2,000 per contractor per year (it was $600 before).

File 1099s that show Virginia withholding

If you withheld Virginia tax from any contractor payments, file those 1099s with Virginia Tax by January 31.

Skip the FinCEN BOI report (U.S. companies are exempt)

FinCEN's final rule, effective August 14, 2026, permanently exempts companies formed in the U.S. from beneficial ownership reporting. Ignore letters or emails demanding a BOI filing fee; they're a common scam. Only companies formed outside the U.S. still file.

Pay the SCC annual registration fee

Due by the last day of the month you were formed or registered. LLCs pay $50; corporations pay based on authorized shares. Miss it and the SCC can terminate your registration.

File VEC quarterly reports and withholding returns

File VEC unemployment tax and wage reports each quarter, withholding returns on the schedule Virginia Tax assigns, and the VA-6 annual reconciliation with W-2s by January 31.

File sales tax returns on time

Monthly or quarterly based on your tax liability; returns are due the 20th of the month after the period, must be filed even with no sales, and timely filers can take a small dealer discount. File a zero return if you had no sales; skipping it can bring penalties.