New River Valley Business License: Montgomery County Has None, Blacksburg and Christiansburg License

If you run a business in the New River Valley, whether you owe a local business license depends on which side of a town line your address sits. Montgomery County VA does not issue a general Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL). Blacksburg and Christiansburg do, and so do Radford VA and Pulaski County VA. This guide explains how the system works, what each locality charges on its published schedule, and which office to call before you open.

This guide is informational, not legal or tax advice. Several figures below are reported rather than confirmed, and each one is marked. Confirm those with the named office before you rely on them.

How Virginia business licensing works

Virginia has no general state business license. The State Corporation Commission (SCC) forms your entity and files your paperwork, but it issues no business license. The local license is the Business, Professional and Occupational License (BPOL), a local license tax under Va. Code 58.1-3700 et seq. Each locality administers its own BPOL, usually through the Commissioner of the Revenue or the town treasurer or finance office.

Not every locality levies a general BPOL. Va. Code 58.1-3704 allows a locality to levy none, and Montgomery County VA is one of them. Towns can also displace the county tax inside their limits, so two businesses in the same county can owe different local licenses. Population sets a floor as well. A locality over 50,000 people cannot require a license for gross receipts under $100,000. A locality of 25,000 to 50,000 people cannot require one under $50,000. No floor applies to a locality under 25,000 people. Localities over 50,000 people may waive the license up to $200,000 of receipts (verify the waiver ceiling with the locality).

Localities set their own rates and filing deadlines, so the same business can owe very different amounts a few miles apart. Treat the rates below as a starting point and confirm them before you file.

Montgomery County VA: the key finding

Montgomery County VA does not issue Business, Professional and Occupational licenses. A county economic development page says so and adds that a business in unincorporated Montgomery County VA may need a license from Blacksburg or Christiansburg if it does business there. That page is partly dated, so confirm with the Commissioner of the Revenue at 540-382-5710 before you assume you owe nothing locally.

Because the county does not license, the town license is the only gross receipts license inside Blacksburg and Christiansburg. If your office is in unincorporated Montgomery County VA but your customers, job sites or deliveries are in either town, ask the Commissioner whether a town license applies to that activity.

Christiansburg VA: the reported rate schedule

The Town of Christiansburg charges $30 for a new application. Renewal rates apply per $100 of gross receipts unless the table says otherwise.

Category	Renewal rate
Contractors	$0.13 per $100
Retail	$0.175 per $100
Professional, financial and real estate	$0.39 per $100
Repair, business and personal services	$0.28 per $100
Wholesale	$0.05 per $100 of purchases
Food trucks	$300
Beer and wine, on and off premises	$50
Beer and wine, on-only or off-only	$37.50
Mixed beverages, seating of 50 to 100	$200
Mixed beverages, seating of 101 to 150	$350
Mixed beverages, seating of 151 and up	$500

Pay through the Town Treasury at 100 E Main St, 540-382-6128. Renewals can be paid online. Confirm the renewal due date with the town. Before you apply, you need either Planning and Zoning approval for a home occupation or a Business Occupancy Application. The town does not license a business without a physical address, so a home-based business should clear zoning first. The reported professional and retail rates are among the lowest in this group.

Blacksburg VA: confirm before you file

Blacksburg has about 45,100 people, including students, and a tiered schedule. Every figure in this section is as reported. Confirm it with the Department of Financial Services at 540-443-1050.

• Gross receipts above $50,000: retail 0.20 per $100; contractors 0.10 per $100; business services 0.23 per $100; professional services 0.37 per $100; wholesale 0.05 per $100 of purchases; utilities 0.5 percent.
• Small businesses: flat fees of $30 to $50 on tiered brackets of receipts. Confirm the brackets.
• Peddler: $30. Itinerant: $500. Mobile food vendor: $100.

The renewal date is March 1. In 2026 the date was printed as March 2 because March 1 fell on a Sunday. State law caps the late penalty at 10 percent. New businesses estimate gross receipts and license before they open, so do not wait for the first renewal cycle.

On the population bands above, a locality of about 45,100 people falls in the 25,000 to 50,000 band, which would set the floor at $50,000 of receipts. Confirm the floor that applies with the Department of Financial Services, because population figures differ by source.

Virginia Tech is state property, so liability depends on your business address, not on whether you operate on campus. Check the address before you assume an exemption.

Radford VA: an independent city

Radford VA is an independent city, separate from Montgomery County VA. With about 17,200 people, it falls under the 25,000 population line, so no statutory floor applies. The reported city rates are:

• Retail: 0.135 per $100 of gross receipts, with a $30 fee on receipts of $22,222 or less
• Wholesale: 0.068 per $100 of purchases
• Contractor: 0.125 per $100
• Professional: 0.365 per $100, with a $30 fee on receipts of $8,219 or less
• Service: 0.14 per $100
• Telecommunications: 0.5 percent
• Coin-operated: 0.17 per $100
• Flea market: $30
• Peddler or food truck: $50
• Beer and wine: $30
• A $0.75 fee per license, with a $30.75 minimum

Radford VA renews by March 1. All Radford VA rates sit below the state caps. A contractor with less than $25,000 of work in Radford VA may be able to file a license from another locality instead, so confirm that with the city before you rely on it.

Pulaski County VA and the Town of Pulaski VA

Pulaski County VA issues a license. The 2026 application was due March 2, 2026, with a 10 percent penalty and 10 percent a year interest on late payments. That date has passed, so confirm the next due date with the county. Check the category rates with the county as well.

Contractors need a DPOR license number. Since July 1, 2025, Virginia contractor license classes are Class C for over $1,000 to under $30,000, Class B for $30,000 to under $150,000, and Class A for $150,000 or more. Confirm your class with the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation before you bid.

The Town of Pulaski VA, with about 8,800 people, reports these rates. Verify each one with the town before you rely on it: contracting and retail 0.16 per $100 of gross receipts; finance, real estate and professional 0.40 per $100; repair and personal services 0.20 per $100; and a $30 minimum.

Floyd and Giles counties

Floyd County reports a merchants' capital tax. Check the current rate with the county before you assume how it applies to your business. For Giles County, check with the Commissioner of the Revenue on whether a license applies and what it costs.

Worked example and comparison

Take a professional firm with $200,000 of gross receipts. On the reported professional rates:

Locality	Professional rate	Tax on $200,000
Christiansburg VA	$0.39 per $100	$780
Blacksburg VA (reported)	$0.37 per $100	about $740
Radford VA	$0.365 per $100	about $730

These figures apply the professional rate to $200,000 of receipts. They leave out flat fees, minimums and the first-year application fee, so ask each office for the full bill.

Locality	General BPOL	Confirm with
Montgomery County VA	No general license	Commissioner of the Revenue, 540-382-5710
Christiansburg VA	Yes	Town Treasury, 540-382-6128
Blacksburg VA	Yes	Department of Financial Services, 540-443-1050
Radford VA	Yes	City of Radford
Pulaski County VA	Yes	Pulaski County
Town of Pulaski VA	Yes, as reported	Town of Pulaski
Floyd County	Merchants' capital tax reported	Floyd County
Giles County	Check	Commissioner of the Revenue

State filings to plan alongside the local license

• LLC formation: Articles of Organization (Form LLC1011), $100, filed online through the SCC Clerk's Information System at https://cis.scc.virginia.gov/. Expedited service is next day for $50 or $100, or same day for $200. It is online only and nonrefundable.
• LLC annual registration fee: $50 to the SCC. Virginia LLCs file no annual report. The fee is due the last day of the 12th month after the month the LLC was organized, then every year. A late payment adds a $25 penalty, and the LLC is canceled at the end of the third month after the due date.
• Stock corporation: Articles of Incorporation (Form SCC619), $75. The annual report and registration fee is $100 for up to 5,000 authorized shares plus $30 for each additional 5,000 shares (check the SCC annual fee schedule).
• Name reservation: $10 for 120 days, renewable in the 45 days before it expires.
• Assumed name (DBA): $10, filed with the SCC, not the circuit court. No newspaper publication is required.
• Registered agent: must be a Virginia resident with a Virginia street address, available during business hours, and either a member of the Virginia State Bar or a member, manager, officer, trustee or general partner of the entity. An entity cannot be its own agent.
• Sales tax: the base rate is 5.3 percent statewide plus local, with higher rates in some localities. Confirm your rate and apply for a permit through Virginia Tax at https://www.tax.virginia.gov/sales-and-use-tax.

Your next steps

1. Confirm whether your business address is inside a town or in unincorporated county land.
2. If you are in unincorporated Montgomery County VA, call the Commissioner of the Revenue at 540-382-5710 and ask whether a town license applies to your activity.
3. If you are in Blacksburg, estimate receipts with the Department of Financial Services at 540-443-1050 and license before you open.
4. If you are in Christiansburg, clear Planning and Zoning or file the Business Occupancy Application, then pay at the Town Treasury, 540-382-6128.
5. Calendar renewals. Blacksburg and Radford VA renew by March 1. Confirm the dates for Christiansburg, Pulaski County VA and the Town of Pulaski VA.
6. If you do contracting work, confirm your DPOR class before you bid.
7. Use the State Corporation Commission at https://www.scc.virginia.gov/businesses/ for entity filings, and the Virginia Small Business Development Center network at https://www.virginiasbdc.org/ for free advising.

This guide is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Entity choice, licensing and tax treatment depend on your facts. Consult a qualified Virginia attorney or CPA for complex situations, such as multi-member structures, operations in more than one locality, or contracting work.