The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services regulates the movement of noxious weeds. A Noxious weed is defined as any living plant, or part thereof, declared by the Board through regulations under this chapter to be detrimental to crops, surface waters, including lakes, or other desirable plants, livestock, land, or other property, or to be injurious to public health, the environment, or the economy, except when in-state production of such living plant, or part thereof, is commercially viable or such living plant is commercially propagated in Virginia. The Noxious Weeds Law provides authority to the Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services (BACS) to add or delete weeds from Virginia’s noxious weeds list.

Proposed weeds are submitted to the Noxious Weeds Advisory Committee who assesses and recommends to BACS the addition or removal of weeds from the list.

The movement of a listed noxious weed requires a completed Noxious Weeds Permit Application. Return the completed application to noxiousweed.vdacs@vdacs.virginia.gov or the Office of Plant Industry Services, P.O. Box 1163, Richmond, VA 23218.

• Noxious Weeds Permit Application (PDF)