New to Prince William County? Welcome Home!

Prince William County is a great place to live, work and play! If you are new to the area, the following information may help you become established in your new community. As new residents move into Prince William County, they need information about government agencies, public utilities and community services. This section highlights services that may be useful for newcomers:

County Government Hours
Most Prince William County government agencies are open Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Some agencies, however, have additional hours on evenings and weekends. Because some processes may take extended periods of time, Prince William County encourages customers to plan ahead and arrive as early as possible to conduct your business in a timely manner. When in doubt about specific agency hours, please call the agency before you visit it (Contact Numbers). Here are Directions to County Facilities. Click for County Holidays.

The Police Department, Fire and Rescue Service, Homeless Prevention Center, Juvenile Detention Home, Juvenile Emergency Shelter Home and Adult Detention Center operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

County Vehicle Decals - No Longer Required

Vehicles normally garaged or parked in Prince William County are no longer required to display a County decal. This change affects the local registration of vehicles and display of a County decal as follows:

• The elimination of the requirement to display a County decal does not change the filing requirement for vehicles, and vehicle owners must still report to the Tax Administration Division new vehicles moved into Prince William County and vehicles sold or moved out. This can be done using eXpress Tax or by contacting us by phone at 703-792-6710.
• The County will still levy and collect an annual license fee of $24 for autos/trucks and $12 for cycles along with the personal property tax due Oct. 5 for all vehicles located in Prince William County on Aug. 1, but will no longer issue County decals. Vehicles moved in after Aug. 1 of any year will also be charged an annual license fee of $24 for autos/trucks and $12 for cycles, but the fee will be waived if the new vehicle is a replacement for a vehicle sold or moved out.

In order to dispose of trash or yard waste at any of the County's solid waste facilities (main landfill, Balls Ford compost facility, and rural park-out locations), County residents may request a free Solid Waste Disposal Decal (information and application). For information call 703-792-6710; Metro 703-631-1703 ext. 6710 or send your question by e-mail toTaxpayer_Services@pwcgov.org.

State Vehicle Registration
Virginia requires that vehicles newly arrived in the state be registered and licensed no later than 30 days after arriving. To do this, certain inspection and minimum insurance requirements must be met. Vehicle emission requirements also must be met in Prince William County.

New drivers in the state must have a Virginia operator's license no later than 30 days after arriving. For information, call the Department of Motor Vehicles' toll free number at 1-866-368-5463.

Student Registration
Parents should enroll school-age children as soon as they arrive in Prince William County. Register your child at the school he or she will attend. To determine the appropriate school(s), call 703-791-7200 or visit the Prince William County Public Schools website.

The general requirements for registration are:

• Certified copy of a birth certificate;
• Certificate of physical examination for kindergarten through seventh graders;
• Evidence of immunizations; and
• A Social Security number.

To determine specific requirements, please call the school(s) designated for your child(ren) before visiting.

Local Taxes
In Prince William County, personal property taxes are levied on motor vehicles including trucks, automobiles,  trailers and motorcycles. Personal property taxes are due on October 5 and are based on the number of months the motor vehicle was located in the County during the calendar year. Passenger cars, trucks and motorcycles used for non-business purposes qualify to have all or a portion of the tax amount reduced. The reduction is shown on the tax bill and the taxpayer pays the reduced tax instead of the full amount. The reduction amount applies only to the first $20,000 of value. For Personal Property Tax information, click here.

For real property owners, a real estate tax also is levied. The Board of County Supervisors sets annually a countywide tax rate plus special district tax rates for real estate in April when it adopts the County's operating budget. The special district levies fund the operations of the volunteer fire and rescue companies, the gypsy moth abatement program and certain public services requested by the property owners to be funded through special real property levies. Real estate taxes are due in two installments. First half real estate taxes are due July 15, and the second half is due on December 5. Along with real estate taxes, improved properties are also billed fees for storm water management and solid waste. Storm water management and solid waste fees are split into two equal installments and are due along with real estate taxes.

Police Department
In an EMERGENCY, dial 911 for Police Department services.

In non-emergency situations, two substations are the center of Police Department operations. The Eastern District sub-station is located at 15948 Donald Curtis Drive in Woodbridge, 703-792-7200. The Western District sub-station is located in Manassas at 8900 Freedom Center Boulevard in Manassas, 703-792-6515.

The Neighborhood Watch program is also highly active throughout the County. If you are interested in participating, call  Crime Prevention at 703-792-7270.

Fire and Rescue Services/Hospitals
For fire or emergency medical services, call 911. To contact the Department of Fire and Rescue for non-emergency services, please call 703-792-6810.         Two hospitals operate in the County: Prince William Hospital, 8700 Sudley Road, and Potomac Hospital, 2300 Opitz Boulevard, Woodbridge. For emergency medical treatment, call 911.

Commuter Transportation
VRE - The Virginia Railway Express (VRE) runs on weekdays to and from Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. The VRE serves County residents with stops at Woodbridge, Rippon, Quantico, Broad Run, Manassas, and Manassas Park. For route and schedule information, call 703-684-1001 or 1-800-RIDE-VRE.

OmniMatch - The Potomac Rappahannock Transportation Commission  (PRTC) coordinates car, van pool, and ride-sharing networks. Call OmniMatch at 703-730-OMNI (6664) or 888-730-OMNI.

OmniRide - Express commuter bus service to/from nearby Metro Stations, Prince William County Park and Ride locations, Pentagon, Tyson's Corner, Crystal City and downtown DC. Call OmniRide at 703-730-OMNI (6664) OR 888-730-OMNI.

OmniLink - A local transit service operates on weekdays along major routes in the County. For information and reservations, call OmniLink at 703-730-OMNI (6664) or 888-730-OMNI.

For more information on commuting, click this link.

Refuse Disposal/Recycling
Residential and commercial trash removal services are performed by independent haulers who are licensed in Prince William County. Haulers are listed in the yellow pages under Garbage Collection and Rubbish.

Residents also may choose to use the Sanitary Landfill at Independent Hill for refuse disposal.

On Sept. 1, 1998, the Board of County Supervisors established a County-wide solid waste fee to fund the landfill operation and repay debt. The fee replaces the current tipping fees at the landfill - as of Jan. 1, 1999, there will be NO charge to dispose of waste at the landfill for residents, businesses or refuse haulers. The solid waste fee will appear as a separate line item on the semi-annual real estate property tax bill. The annual fee for a single-family home is $70.

Recycling is mandatory in the County. Your trash hauler must offer a curbside recycling program. There also are recycling drop-off sites located throughout the County. A composting facility also operates on Balls Ford Road.

Learn more about the County Solid Waste Division's programs and services at Trash Disposal & Recycling. 

Leisure
More than 14 million visitors come to Prince William County each year to enjoy its natural and man-made attractions--including two national parks, a state park, public recreation areas, historic sites, and shopping malls.

One of our newest attraction is the Sean T. Connaughton Community Plaza, located in the center of Prince William County at the County complex between the James J. McCoart Administration Building and the Development Services Building. The Plaza is an outdoor venue which hosts concerts and performances of all varieties. for a list of events, visit the Plaza Web page. The Plaza is also available to rent for your special event.

The Prince William County Park Authority (www.pwcparks.org) is a unique organization providing a full range of traditional recreational facilities from neighborhood parks, playgrounds and ballfields, swimming pools, tennis courts, picnic pavilions, hiking trails and open space.

Prince William County Regional Parks include nationally-ranked facilities such as Splash Down Waterpark, WaterWorks, Forest Greens Golf Club, Lake Ridge Golf Course, Chinn Aquatics and Fitness Center, SkateNation, and G. Richard Pfitzner Stadium at the Prince William County Stadium Complex.

Other features of our park system are the marinas at Lake Ridge and Locust Shade, the Civil War Manor house and historic rose garden at Ben Lomond Park, the Scott D. Eagles Skateboard Park and the amphitheater at Locust Shade Park, home of a summer outdoor concert series.

These parks offer activities, programs and special events for all ages, day camps and after-school care for children, working adults and senior citizens. All persons, including those with special needs or disabilities are encouraged to enjoy the parks. For a complete listing of parks, visit the Prince William County Park Authority’s parks database Web page.

You may wish to plan a visit to the Tourist Information Center at 200 Mill Street in Occoquan. The center is open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Call 703-491-4045.

Library System

Prince William County offers a comprehensive Library System, which offers activities for everyone from children to adults at the convenient locations throughout the County. Special features of the Library System included the Ruth E. Lloyd Information Center (RELIC), a special collection devoted to genealogy and local history with a focus on Virginia and Prince William County and MAGIC, your source for information relating to Manassas, Manassas Park, Prince William County, Virginia and the United States. Access the Library Web pages quickly at www.pwcgov.org/library.

Services & Utilities

Information and a link to a list of Service and Utilities companies service Prince William County may be found here.

Voter Information

If you are new to our community, you will need to change your address on your voter registration. For information on the Basics of Voting and Elections, visit www.pwcgov.org/vote.