Can you drill a well without a permit in Virginia?

Exempt — no permit or water right. Household wells are exempt from the groundwater withdrawal permit even inside a Groundwater Management Area, but a private well in a GWMA must be registered with DEQ within 30 days (Va. Code 62.1-258); a permit is triggered only at 300,000 gal/month.

Which Virginia counties have groundwater restrictions?

41 Virginia counties sit in a managed, over-appropriated, adjudicated, or critically overdrafted groundwater basin — including Caroline County, Charles City County, Chesapeake City, Chesterfield County, Essex County. Each county profile cites the specific basin and rule.

Virginia · off-grid water rights

Water rights in Virginia

Whether a new off-grid home can legally get its own water in Virginia: the state well and water-rights rules, then the 41 counties where a specific groundwater basin adds a catch — each cited to the state water agency.

Virginia water rules

Household well
Exempt — no permit or water right
Household wells are exempt from the groundwater withdrawal permit even inside a Groundwater Management Area, but a private well in a GWMA must be registered with DEQ within 30 days (Va. Code 62.1-258); a permit is triggered only at 300,000 gal/month.
Limit: < 300,000 gal/month (no withdrawal permit)
Virginia DEQ — Ground Water Withdrawal Permitting ↗
Greywater reuse
permitted
Reclaimed/alternative onsite reuse regulated with approval.
Greywater Action / EPA REUSExplorer ↗
Rainwater harvesting
encouraged
Income tax credits via Alternative Water Supply Fund.
NCSL ↗
Water rights
regulated riparian
Permits in designated management areas; domestic/small uses exempt.
National Agricultural Law Center ↗

41 constrained counties in Virginia

Over-appropriatedCaroline CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area62
Over-appropriatedCharles City CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area63
Over-appropriatedChesapeake CityEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area29
Over-appropriatedChesterfield CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area44
Over-appropriatedEssex CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area62
Over-appropriatedFairfax CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area29
Over-appropriatedFranklin CityEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area51
Over-appropriatedGloucester CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area56
Over-appropriatedHampton CityEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area28
Over-appropriatedHanover CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area49
Over-appropriatedHenrico CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area41
Over-appropriatedHopewell CityEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area51
Over-appropriatedIsle of Wight CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area51
Over-appropriatedJames City CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area48
Over-appropriatedKing and Queen CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area62
Over-appropriatedKing George CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area61
Over-appropriatedKing William CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area57
Over-appropriatedLancaster CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area59
Over-appropriatedMathews CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area55
Over-appropriatedMiddlesex CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area60
Over-appropriatedNew Kent CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area57
Over-appropriatedNewport News CityEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area20
Over-appropriatedNorfolk CityEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area29
Over-appropriatedNorthumberland CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area59
Over-appropriatedPoquoson CityEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area43
Over-appropriatedPortsmouth CityEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area42
Over-appropriatedPrince George CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area57
Over-appropriatedPrince William CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area40
Over-appropriatedRichmond CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area68
Over-appropriatedSouthampton CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area61
Over-appropriatedSpotsylvania CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area56
Over-appropriatedStafford CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area50
Over-appropriatedSuffolk CityEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area44
Over-appropriatedSurry CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area63
Over-appropriatedSussex CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area65
Over-appropriatedVirginia Beach CityEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area20
Over-appropriatedWestmoreland CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area60
Over-appropriatedWilliamsburg CityEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area49
Over-appropriatedYork CountyEastern Virginia Groundwater Management Area36
Actively managedAccomack CountyEastern Shore Groundwater Management Area52
Actively managedNorthampton CountyEastern Shore Groundwater Management Area51

The Bolthole Index Letter

One email a week: the best counties to live off-grid, rule changes that matter, and Virginia water-rule changes as basins close. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Keep exploring Virginia

See the full Virginia county ranking, compare states on the water-rights hub, or read how water access is scored. Physical water is dimmed — never erased — where a county sits in one of these basins, household-first.

General guidance, not legal advice. Off-grid, building, and land-use rules are often set at the county level and change often. Verify with your county and state before acting. Data reviewed 2026-06-26.