Virginia’s online permitting system gains traction

Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Friday shared that the state’s online Virginia Permit Transparency system won the 2025 Commonwealth Technology Award for Innovative Use of Technology at the Commonwealth of Virginia Innovative Technology Symposium Conference.

The online system that allows residents to search for and track permits was launched in January of 2024. It came after an online permitting pilot program at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality was successfully conducted in 2022. The environmental department’s pilot was expanded last year to include additional agencies and launched as the VPT dashboard. It now includes permit and license applications from 10 state agencies and processes 100,000 applications per year.

VPT has also allowed agencies to expedite the processing of permit and license applications, and the environmental department claims it has cut permit processing times by 65% since launching the pilot program in 2022.

Other state agencies have reportedly also made reductions in their processing times of at least 10% with the tool, including the Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Energy, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services, the Marine Resources Commission and Virginia State Police.

Following the portal’s launch, Youngkin signed an executive order last year that directed state agencies to eliminate unnecessary permits or licenses, digitize all parts of the permitting and licensing processing, and to speed up the issuance process. So far, the state’s Department of Agricultural and Consumer Services, the Virginia Department of Education, the Virginia Department of Taxation, Department of Environmental Quality, the Marine Resources Commission and the Virginia Department of Transportation have simplified their permit application processes or eliminated unnecessary permit types. 

Over the next several months, Virginia agencies have said they will continue to move all permitting and licensing activity online and further reduce processing times under the executive order.

In a news release, Youngkin said the system has brought a new level of transparency to the permitting and licensing process, and it has become the model for similar innovations in other states and in the federal government. 

“VPT has made life easier for thousands of Virginia businesses and families,” Youngkin said in the release. “When permits move quickly, businesses can grow and professionals can succeed. VPT takes the guesswork out of the process and gives agencies the tools to deliver faster, more transparent results. This award is a proud recognition of Virginia’s leadership in cutting red tape and driving innovation in government.”