Prince William County, VA zoning › where can I put this

Where can I put a private school in Prince William County, VA?

Prince William County, VA, excluding the incorporated towns, which run their own zoning.

“private school” is Zonescore's word, not the ordinance's. This ordinance never uses it. The term it uses is Private school, and that is the term cited and quoted below. We matched them because the ordinance defines Private school as:

Private school shall mean a bona fide educational institution other than a public school

Sec. 32-100 -- Private school

“private school” is Zonescore's word, not the ordinance's. This ordinance never uses it. The term it uses is Private school (boarding prohibited), and that is the term cited and quoted below. We matched them because the ordinance defines Private school (boarding prohibited) as:

Private school shall mean a bona fide educational institution other than a public school

Sec. 32-100 -- Private school

“private school” is Zonescore's word, not the ordinance's. This ordinance never uses it. The term it uses is Private school (no boarding), and that is the term cited and quoted below. We matched them because the ordinance defines Private school (no boarding) as:

Private school shall mean a bona fide educational institution other than a public school

Sec. 32-100 -- Private school

“private school” is Zonescore's word, not the ordinance's. This ordinance never uses it. The term it uses is Private school, including boarding of students, and that is the term cited and quoted below. We matched them because the ordinance defines Private school, including boarding of students as:

Private school shall mean a bona fide educational institution other than a public school

Sec. 32-100 -- Private school

“private school” is Zonescore's word, not the ordinance's. This ordinance never uses it. The term it uses is Private schools, and that is the term cited and quoted below. We matched them because the ordinance defines Private schools as:

Private school shall mean a bona fide educational institution other than a public school

Sec. 32-100 -- Private school

“private school” matches 5 uses this ordinance names separately. We do not choose between them — they can have different answers, so every one is shown.

Private school
Private school (boarding prohibited)
Private school (no boarding)
Private school, including boarding of students
Private schools

Private school

Allowed only with a discretionary approval in 3 districts

These require a hearing or an approval from the county. They are not a “no”, and they are not a “yes” either.

District	Properties loaded	Code	What says so
A-1 the ordinance paragraph quoted here	19,528 no ZIP in the county's record (67), 20109 (270), 20110 (72), 20111 (1,509), 20112 (6,161), 20119 (53), 20136 (396), 20137 (271), 20143 (483), 20155 (1,397), 20169 (2,861), 20181 (3,433), 20187 (6), 20198 (1), 22025 (121), 22026 (128), 22134 (4), 22172 (67), 22191 (87), 22192 (986), 22193 (1,155)	Conditional	Sec. 32-301.04 item 24 Private school.
R-2 the ordinance paragraph quoted here	1,527 20112 (463), 20155 (9), 20169 (28), 22026 (60), 22191 (264), 22192 (398), 22193 (305)	Conditional	Sec. 32-303.04 item 7 Private school.
R-4 the ordinance paragraph quoted here	23,405 no ZIP in the county's record (66), 20109 (1,057), 20110 (1,342), 20111 (2,037), 20112 (2,779), 20136 (1,961), 20155 (937), 20169 (652), 20181 (165), 22025 (210), 22026 (82), 22172 (2,115), 22191 (6,570), 22192 (840), 22193 (2,592)	Conditional	Sec. 32-303.13 item 7 Private school.

Private school (boarding prohibited)

Allowed by right in 1 district

District	Properties loaded	Code	What says so
MXD-U the ordinance paragraph quoted here	4 20109 (4)	Allowed	Sec. 32-307.31 item 59 Private school (boarding prohibited).

It depends in 2 districts

District	Properties loaded	Code	What says so
B-2 Varies Depends: by right if the use's gross floor area is at most 12,000 sq ft, otherwise special use permit when the use's gross floor area is at most 12,000 sq ft	28 20112 (9), 20136 (10), 22191 (1), 22192 (3), 22193 (5)	Allowed	Sec. 32-401.21 item 35 Private school (boarding prohibited).
B-2 (same district) when the use's gross floor area is more than 12,000 sq ft	28 20112 (9), 20136 (10), 22191 (1), 22192 (3), 22193 (5)	Conditional	Sec. 32-401.23 item 1 Any permitted use greater than 12,000 square feet of floor area. The requirement for a Special Use Permit shall not apply to grocery stores.
V Varies Depends: by right if the use meets the development standards in Sec. 32-351.08, otherwise special use permit when the use meets the development standards in Sec. 32-351.08	167 20155 (149), 22172 (18)	Allowed	Sec. 32-351.03 item 31 Private school (boarding prohibited).
V (same district) when the use does not meet the development standards in Sec. 32-351.08	167 20155 (149), 22172 (18)	Conditional	Sec. 32-351.08 Nonresidential and mixed-use buildings shall comply with the following standards, except upon approval of a Special Use Permit that assesses the proposal's impact on the village context and imposes conditions to make the development consistent with the village context:

Private school (no boarding)

Allowed by right in 5 districts

District	Properties loaded	Code	What says so
B-1 the ordinance paragraph quoted here	2,146 no ZIP in the county's record (65), 20109 (498), 20110 (29), 20111 (203), 20112 (68), 20136 (9), 20155 (180), 20169 (10), 20181 (55), 22025 (37), 22026 (35), 22172 (160), 22191 (415), 22192 (368), 22193 (14)	Allowed	Sec. 32-401.11 item 44 Private school (no boarding).
O(F) the ordinance paragraph quoted here	4 20109 (1), 22192 (3)	Allowed	Sec. 32-402.41 item 19 Private school (no boarding).
O(H) the ordinance paragraph quoted here	62 no ZIP in the county's record (2), 20109 (3), 20110 (1), 22191 (55), 22192 (1)	Allowed	Sec. 32-402.21 item 17 Private school (no boarding).
O(L) the ordinance paragraph quoted here	297 20109 (2), 20110 (46), 20111 (1), 20112 (2), 20136 (1), 20155 (1), 22191 (137), 22192 (90), 22193 (17)	Allowed	Sec. 32-402.11 item 16 Private school (no boarding).
O(M) the ordinance paragraph quoted here	25 20109 (1), 20112 (1), 20155 (6), 20169 (5), 22191 (2), 22192 (10)	Allowed	Sec. 32-402.31 item 16 Private school (no boarding).

Private school, including boarding of students

Allowed only with a discretionary approval in 3 districts

These require a hearing or an approval from the county. They are not a “no”, and they are not a “yes” either.

District	Properties loaded	Code	What says so
SR-1 the ordinance paragraph quoted here	2,993 no ZIP in the county's record (6), 20111 (521), 20112 (1,820), 20155 (167), 20169 (44), 20181 (47), 22192 (294), 22193 (94)	Conditional	Sec. 32-302.04 item 11 Private school, including boarding of students.
SR-3 the ordinance paragraph quoted here	no parcels loaded	Conditional	Sec. 32-302.14 item 11 Private school, including boarding of students.
SR-5 the ordinance paragraph quoted here	235 20111 (51), 20112 (15), 20143 (2), 20155 (8), 20169 (84), 20181 (48), 22192 (27)	Conditional	Sec. 32-302.24 item 11 Private school, including boarding of students.

Private schools

Allowed by right in 1 district

District	Properties loaded	Code	What says so
O(F) when the use is a type or location that Sec. 32-402.41 item 19 allows here	4 20109 (1), 22192 (3)	Allowed	Sec. 32-402.41 item 19 19. Private school (no boarding).
O(F) (same district) when the use is conducted in conjunction with, and secondary to, a permitted principal use	4 20109 (1), 22192 (3)	Allowed	Sec. 32-402.42 The following uses shall be permitted by right in the O(F) District only in conjunction with and secondary to a permitted principal use, existing or proposed for concurrent construction in accordance with the provisions of section 32-400.14:

This part is the paid tier: the property list behind these counts. Everything above it on this page is free and carries the ordinance section and quote it came from.

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This answer is good through September 9, 2025 — that is the date the ordinance we hold runs to, as published by Municode (Prince William County Code). We last checked with the county on September 24, 2026 and found nothing newer. That is a check on that date, not a promise about today.

Ask another one in Prince William County, VA

What this does not cover

157,019 properties are loaded, in 21 ZIP codes (20109, 20110, 20111, 20112, 20119, 20136, 20137, 20143, 20155, 20169, 20181, 20187, 20198, 22025, 22026, 22125, 22134, 22172, 22191, 22192, 22193). Properties outside those ZIPs are not counted here at all. A further 553 carry no street address in the county’s own parcel record, so they fall in no ZIP above — they are still loaded and still counted in the 157,019.
A further 76,146 properties carry a parcel zone code this page cannot match to a single column of the use table: (none), A (73 variants, e.g. A-1;A-1C), B (35 variants, e.g. B-1;CTY;M-2), CTY;M (3 variants, e.g. CTY;M-1), CTY;PBD, CTY;PMR, CTY;R (5 variants, e.g. CTY;R-4), FED, FED;PMD;PMR, FED;TWN, M (19 variants, e.g. M-1;M-2), M/T;O(F), M/T;PBD, O(L);R and 22 more.
1,503 of those lie in TWO OR MORE districts at once. Their code below holds every district the parcel really shares area with, joined by a semicolon — A-1;A-1C, A-1;B-1, A-1;B-1;CTY;M-1;M-2;M/T;PBD;R-4, A-1;B-1;M-1, A-1;B-1;M-2 and 188 more. The ordinance does not say the larger share wins, so we do not pick one: the parcel is shown as straddling and is not counted under either district.
48,352 of those carry a code that looks like one of the districts above and is not one. A-1C, R-2C, R-4C, RPC, SR-1C — these are separate zone classifications in their own right, not the same zone with something added, and the use table has no column for them. We do not fold them in.
(none) above means a parcel with no zone code assigned in the county's own data — 4 of them.
Owner filters. We have an owner of record for 153,901 of Prince William County’s 157,019 parcels, of which 18,081 are owned by a company, trust or other organization, including 1,513 owned by public bodies — governments, authorities, schools, churches. That split is Zonescore’s reading of the owner’s name, not something the county published, and we keep the two apart rather than deciding for you which counts as an investor. 5,099 have an owner whose mailing address is outside VA — the county publishes the owner’s state as its own field, so this is its answer rather than our reading of an address. It carries one for 153,880 of them; the rest are not counted either way. 29,429 are owned by somebody this county writes to at a different address — not the property itself. That is where the tax bill goes, which is not the same as where the owner sleeps — an owner can collect mail at a property they rent out, and one who is written to elsewhere may still live here. We can tell you the two addresses differ; we cannot tell you the owner does not live at the property. 24,825 of them are written to an address inside VA, so the out-of-state filter above cannot see them at all. That count is out of the 147,525 properties where we could compare the two addresses. On 6,376 more we could not — the owner is written to a post-office box, or the county’s own record of the property names a street and no building number — and those are left out rather than counted as living at home. Matching two addresses is Zonescore’s reading, not something the county published: we treat “123 Main St” and “123 Main Street” as one place, ignore an apartment number, and compare the ZIP code rather than the town name — a jurisdiction’s record of a property and its record of that property’s owner often name the same place by different towns, and treating those as two addresses would count somebody living in their own house as an absentee. Owned for (based on the last recorded transfer): under 2 years 20,000+; 2-5 years 26,000+; 5-10 years 40,000+; 10-20 years 35,000+; 20-30 years 15,000+. 30+ years: Not offered here. The conveyance records we hold for Prince William begin in about 1995, so they cannot show a 30-year hold. The county sales file we have asked for would close this. 17,000+ properties have no transfer date we can read and are in no bucket.
Owner data from Prince William County's real estate records, retrieved October 2, 2026.
554 of the properties above are listed as “no ZIP in the county’s record” in the ZIP breakdowns. 553 carry no street address at all in the county’s data and 1 carry a street but no city or ZIP — so we cannot place them in a ZIP, and we do not guess one. They are still counted in the district totals.
Overlay districts are not modeled here. An overlay can change what a property allows.
Some cells in this ordinance state two outcomes without saying what separates them; those are shown with their code and their source, and not guessed at.

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