Virginia's poultry compliance program runs through the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for bird health and eggs, and the Department of Environmental Quality for CAFO coverage. VDACS splits its animal health work across the Office of the State Veterinarian and the Office of Meat and Poultry Services, and the egg program sits with Consumer Protection under Code of Virginia Title 3.2, Chapter 42. Poultry Log's Virginia catalog records each requirement with its agency, authority, trigger, retention period, and official source link, reviewed against the VDACS and Virginia DEQ program portals.
Animal Health Layer: VDACS State Veterinarian
- Importation - poultry, hatching eggs, or other fowl entering Virginia must meet State Veterinarian importation and health requirements under Code of Virginia Title 3.2, including a permit, certificate of veterinary inspection, or NPIP and Pullorum-Typhoid evidence required for the class of bird.
- Exhibitions - poultry exhibited at a Virginia show must originate from a Pullorum-Typhoid-clean or NPIP-participating flock or have a negative test within 90 days of the event, enforced at check-in, with NPIP program status able to substitute for the separate test while the documentation requirement remains.
- Hatcheries and breeding flocks - a Virginia hatchery, chick dealer, or seller of hatching eggs must participate in the state poultry health program, keeping source, lot, and testing records, with the VDACS NPIP program handling the documentation. Chicks, poults, or hatching eggs for sale must come from clean or NPIP-participating breeding flocks, tested at least annually, with reactors removed.
- Reportable disease and disposal - a suspected or confirmed reportable poultry disease event, including avian influenza, must be reported immediately to the Virginia State Veterinarian's Office at 804-692-0601. Carcasses must be disposed of promptly by an approved method under Code of Virginia Title 3.2 and DEQ disposal requirements, with dated records of each event.
Egg and Processing Layer: VDACS Consumer Protection and Meat Services
Under Code of Virginia Title 3.2, Chapter 42, a person who grades, candles, packages, or sells eggs as a dealer must hold a Virginia egg dealer license, displayed at the point of sale, and meet grading, candling, refrigeration, and labeling requirements. A producer selling only eggs from their own hens, without purchasing eggs from others, may operate under the producer exemption, but eggs must still be clean, wholesome, and honestly represented, and graded eggs must be labeled with grade, size, packer name and address, and pack date, and refrigerated. For poultry processing, the VDACS Office of Meat and Poultry Services administers the exemption path: a producer must use a licensed or USDA-inspected establishment unless every condition of Virginia's on-farm or custom exemption is met, including processing only its own birds with the required labeling and annual bird limits, keeping slaughter and sales records.
Environmental Layer: Virginia DEQ
A poultry operation that is a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation must obtain NPDES or state CAFO permit coverage from the Virginia DEQ before discharging or operating its waste management system, under 40 CFR Part 122, implementing a nutrient management plan and keeping production-area and land-application records. The catalog records the below-threshold position: an operation under the large CAFO threshold (fewer than 125,000 broilers or pullets, or 82,000 laying hens without a wet handling system, or 55,000 turkeys in grow-out) that does not discharge is generally not required to hold a CAFO permit, though designation can change that. Records are kept for the period the permit requires, commonly five years, and covered CAFOs submit the annual report under 40 CFR 122.42(e)(4).
Where Poultry Log Fits
Poultry Log's Virginia catalog carries these requirements with official source links and form templates, in the same workspace as the daily records that feed them. The egg layer connects to the wholesale egg dealer records guide, the NPIP layer to the NPIP participation records guide, and the CAFO layer to the CAFO permit guide. Confirm current requirements with VDACS and Virginia DEQ; completing a checklist does not certify legal compliance. Start free at poultrylog.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
What permits do Virginia poultry farms need?
Virginia layers duties across agencies: VDACS's Office of the State Veterinarian for importation, exhibitions, hatcheries, breeding flocks, reportable disease, and carcass disposal under Code of Virginia Title 3.2; VDACS Consumer Protection for egg dealer licensing under Title 3.2, Chapter 42; the VDACS Office of Meat and Poultry Services for processing exemptions; and Virginia DEQ for CAFO NPDES coverage under 40 CFR Part 122.
Who do Virginia poultry farms report disease to?
The Virginia State Veterinarian's Office at 804-692-0601, immediately upon diagnosis, confirmation, or suspicion of a reportable poultry disease event including avian influenza, under Code of Virginia Title 3.2 and the VDACS reportable disease protocol.
Do Virginia egg producers need a dealer license?
A person who grades, candles, packages, or sells eggs as a dealer must hold a Virginia egg dealer license under Code of Virginia Title 3.2, Chapter 42. A producer selling only eggs from their own hens, without purchasing eggs from others, may use the producer exemption, but graded eggs must still be labeled with grade, size, packer name and address, and pack date, and refrigerated.