VMRC Permits and Subaqueous Lands in Virginia

What VMRC oversees

VMRC’s Habitat Management Division handles permitting for piers, docks, marinas, channel dredging, shoreline stabilization, and similar activities that use or disturb state-owned water bottoms. It also covers tidal wetlands, dunes, and beaches.

VMRC no longer receives your application — it still reviews it

For years, VMRC was the clearinghouse for Joint Permit Applications: you mailed the JPA to its Habitat Management Division and VMRC distributed it to the other agencies. That changed on September 1, 2025, when a federal mandate made the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers the central point of receipt for all JPAs in Virginia, filed through the Corps’ online Regulatory Request System. VMRC’s role in reviewing and permitting encroachments on state-owned bottom is unchanged — only where the application is submitted has moved.

Source: USACE Norfolk District, Notice of Change in Joint Permit Application Submission Process (effective September 1, 2025)

How your project gets evaluated

VMRC weighs applications case by case against the public interest, asking whether the project can be done with less environmental impact and whether it meets legal requirements. Public comment is solicited. Recommendations go to the Commissioner or the nine-member Commission. Fees, rents, or royalties may apply depending on the project type and scope. The state permit fee for encroachment on subaqueous land is modest, $25 for projects costing $10,000 or less and $100 for projects above that.

Habitat engineers are a real resource

VMRC assigns habitat engineers by territory and they answer homeowner questions directly. A contractor who regularly builds in your waterway will know the local engineer by name. That working relationship is one of the practical advantages of hiring someone with local permit experience.