The Commonwealth of Virginia has added two new state agencies to its Virginia Permit Transparency (VPT) website, which serves as an online resource featuring the vast majority of permit applications considered by Virginia agencies.
In addition to the six agencies previously incorporated into VPT, the public now can track the daily status and timeline of permits issued by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) and the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The agencies already included in VPT are the Departments of Conservation and Recreation; Environmental Quality; Energy; Health; and Transportation; and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
“Our administration consistently demonstrates its commitment to increasing transparency and efficiency in state government,” said Gov. Glenn Youngkin. “With this second expansion of the Virginia Permit Transparency platform, we are enabling and encouraging Virginia agencies to prioritize the modernization of their permitting processes. VPT benefits Commonwealth agencies, businesses, and Virginians alike.”
The VPT website is managed by the Office of Regulatory Management (ORM) in accordance with Gov. Youngkin’s Executive Order 39.
The governor’s office explained that VPT is based on a pilot program developed by the DEQ, which helped the agency reduce its average permit processing time by approximately 70 percent. The governor’s office believes that as VPT continues expanding to include other permits and licenses issued statewide, more agencies should achieve significant reductions in processing times as well.
