Chesterfield County ADU rules — what you can build and when.
Still a public-hearing county today — and the jurisdiction SB 531 will change most.
Verify locally — rules are changing ahead of July 1, 2027. This page reflects our working understanding at publication. Always confirm with the Chesterfield County zoning department before you design or file. We handle that verification as part of every Readiness Assessment.
Chesterfield in one screen.
- No by-right ADU today — Conditional Use Permit required
- Board of Supervisors hearing after Planning Commission review
- Accessory buildings combined may not exceed the main home's gross floor area
- SB 531 forces by-right approval starting July 1, 2027
Reading between the lines.
Chesterfield is, as of today, one of the harder Richmond-area counties in which to add a second dwelling. There is no by-right accessory-apartment provision; the path runs through a Conditional Use Permit with Planning Commission review and a Board of Supervisors hearing, which realistically means months, not weeks.
That also means there is no published ADU size standard to design against. What governs instead is the general accessory-building rule — all accessory buildings combined may not exceed the primary dwelling's gross floor area, and height is capped at half the principal building's height or 25 ft.
Two things are worth watching. Chesterfield is midway through a full zoning ordinance modernization (ZOMod, new Chapter 19.2), and SB 531 takes effect July 1, 2027. Between the two, the county's ADU posture is very likely to move. If you are planning a Chesterfield project, the sequencing question is whether to pursue a CUP now or design toward the by-right window.
Chesterfield answers.
Can I build an ADU in Chesterfield County right now?
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Generally not by-right. Chesterfield requires a Conditional Use Permit approved by the Board of Supervisors after Planning Commission review, which is a multi-month public-hearing process.
Will SB 531 change Chesterfield's ADU rules?
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Yes, significantly. From July 1, 2027, SB 531 requires localities to treat ADUs as a permitted accessory use on single-family lots, which a Conditional Use Permit regime cannot satisfy.
How big can an accessory building be in Chesterfield?
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There is no ADU-specific cap. Under the general rule, all accessory buildings combined may not exceed the primary dwelling's gross floor area, with height limited to half the principal building's height or 25 ft.
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