Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
Virginia County
Northampton County, Virginia
Cape Charles and Eastern Shore Chesapeake Bay - from Cape Charles (the southern terminus of Virginia's Eastern Shore, Cape Charles is a beautifully preserved Victorian railroad town on the Chesapeake Bay whose historic Main Street, bay beach, and growing arts community have made it one of the Mid-Atlantic's most charming small coastal towns) to the Eastern Shore National Wildlife Refuge and Kiptopeke State Park (the southern tip of the Delmarva Peninsula is a world-famous migratory bird corridor where millions of hawks, songbirds, and shorebirds concentrate each fall as they prepare to cross the Chesapeake Bay, making Northampton County one of the East Coast's premier birdwatching destinations).
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Northampton County Emergency Services – 13294 Lankford Highway, P.O. Box 235, Eastville, VA 23347
Notes: Confirm current phone contact directly, as detailed contact information beyond the address was limited in available sources
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-13 (Lankford Highway) is the primary north-south corridor; the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, a 17.6-mile complex spanning the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, connects the county’s southern tip to Virginia Beach
Transit: STAR Transit provides public bus service linking Eastville with Cape Charles, Onley, and other communities across both Northampton and Accomack counties
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Northampton County Department of Planning, Permitting & Enforcement – PO Box 538, 16404 Courthouse Road, Eastville, VA 23347 | (757) 678-0443 or (757) 678-0445
Services: Permits required for all construction regulated by the Virginia USBC; applications may be mailed or hand-delivered – incomplete applications cannot be processed
Notes: Plans for structures in “V”-type flood zones MUST be sealed by a Virginia-licensed architect or engineer; plans for structures within 1,500 feet of major bodies of water must be sealed by a Registered Design Professional per the county’s RDP Policy – a meaningfully strict requirement given the county’s extensive waterfront geography. Per 2021 USBC Section 107.1.2, the county refunds 75% of permit fees upon written request if a project is revoked, abandoned, or discontinued. Real estate taxes on the parcel must be current before an application is accepted for processing.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
State VSO: Virginia Department of Veterans Services – dvs.virginia.gov (statewide office locator for the nearest Veterans Service Representative)
Notes: Confirm current local point of contact directly with dvs.virginia.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Eastern Shore Public Library – a regional system jointly serving Accomack and Northampton counties; the Northampton Free Library branch is located in Nassawadox, with the Main Library in Accomac and additional affiliated locations at Cape Charles Memorial Library and Chincoteague Island Library
Notes: The system began January 16, 1957 as a bookmobile service with 50 stops out of Accomac’s Community Hall, formalizing into a regional library system on July 1, 1958 – a genuinely long-running regional cooperative model shared between the two Eastern Shore counties.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Kiptopeke State Park, near Cape Charles, offers Chesapeake Bay shoreline access, beaches, boat ramps, and migratory bird habitat along the East Coast flyway; the park is genuinely notable for its sunken concrete “ghost ships,” deliberately scuttled offshore to protect the former ferry port from erosion during storms; the park’s name honors Kiptopeke, a Native leader documented by Captain John Smith in 1608, who served as lieutenant to his brother Esmy Shichans (“the Laughing King”) on the tribal council; Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge, 1,127 acres established 1984 on former Fort John Custis/Cape Charles Air Force Station land, still holds WWII-era gun batteries and a 16-inch Iowa-class battleship gun on display at Battery Winslow; Cape Charles, Northampton’s largest incorporated town (est. 1886, pop. ~1,000), retains the last regularly-running rail-barge in the country, crossing the Chesapeake Bay to Norfolk; the historic Eastville Courthouse Green hosts an annual reading commemoration of the Declaration of Independence (2026: August 15) as part of Virginia’s America 250 commemoration
Notes: This is genuinely rich, well-documented regional history – not tourism embellishment – spanning colonial-era Indigenous leadership, WWII coastal defense, and a still-operating piece of railroad infrastructure found nowhere else in the country.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Northampton County GIS – accessible via co.northampton.va.us, staffed by Environmental & GIS Specialist Ted Docev, ext. 526
Parcel Search: Northampton County Commissioner of the Revenue records
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Northampton County Emergency Services
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Eastern Shore Regional Animal Control Facility – 28167 Beacon Rd, Melfa, VA 23410 (shared jointly with Accomack County, staffed by the Accomack Sheriff’s Office) – 14 kennels and 60 cat cages
Report a stray for pickup: Northampton County Sheriff’s Office, (757) 678-0458
Report a lost/found pet without requesting pickup: Animal Control Facility directly, (757) 787-7091
Notes: This is a genuinely shared regional facility – Northampton and Accomack Counties jointly fund and use the same shelter, though each county’s own Sheriff’s Office handles pickup dispatch separately. Injured wildlife goes to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources helpline, 1-855-571-9003, or Shore Wildlife Rehab, (757) 709-1840. The independent Eastern Shore SPCA, PO Box 414, Cape Charles, VA 23310, is a separate volunteer-run nonprofit funded entirely by private donations that also periodically brings a discounted mobile PETA spay/neuter van to the Eastern Shore for lower-income residents – call (757) 331-2087 for current clinic dates. Under Virginia law, animal cruelty is chargeable as a Class 6 felony (1-5 years imprisonment and fines).
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality – deq.virginia.gov
Notes: Contact Northampton County Administration directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details, as specifics were not independently confirmed for this entry
NOTES
Northampton County, the southern tip of Virginia’s Eastern Shore, blends genuine coastal recreation – Kiptopeke State Park’s sunken “ghost ships” and the historic Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel – with real WWII coastal-defense history at the Eastern Shore National Wildlife Refuge and a still-operating rail-barge in Cape Charles found nowhere else in the country. The county shares both its library system and its animal control shelter jointly with neighboring Accomack County, a genuinely cooperative regional model reflecting the Eastern Shore’s close-knit character. All contact information above was sourced from official county and regional-agency pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Northampton County
Northampton County is Virginia’s Eastern Shore southern tip – Cape Charles’s Victorian revival, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel’s landfall, and the globally significant fall hawk migration at Kiptopeke make this narrow peninsula county one of Virginia’s most distinctive coastal communities between the Bay and the Atlantic.
Eastville (the county seat, population ~200) is one of Virginia’s smallest county seats, with Cape Charles serving as the county’s primary commercial and tourism hub at the southern end of the Delmarva Peninsula.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Northampton County Assessor at 16404 Courthouse Road, Eastville, VA 23347, phone 757-678-0446. VA assessed at 100% fair market value.
Courts & Legal
Northampton County Circuit Court at 5229 The Horns, Eastville, VA 23347, phone 757-678-0465, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CIRCUIT COURT CLERK
16404 Courthouse Rd, Eastville, VA 23347
(757) 678-0465
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Northampton Circuit Court Clerk’s Office, Eastville (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Northampton County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Northampton Circuit Court 5229 The Hornes, PO Box 36, Eastville, VA 23347 (757) 678-0465
Northampton County, together with Accomack County, forms Virginia’s Eastern Shore on the Delmarva Peninsula, county seat Eastville. Virginia has NO separate probate court – probate (“qualification”) is handled entirely by the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office, which maintains a dedicated Deputy Clerk position for Financial and Probate matters.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Virginia calls the probate process “qualification” rather than “appointment,” and it happens administratively at the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office, not before a judge, unless a dispute arises.
Small Estate Affidavit (Va. Code § 64.2-601, the “Virginia Small Estate Act”) – available when the decedent’s entire personal probate estate (excluding real estate) does not exceed $75,000, at least 60 days have passed since death, and no personal representative has been appointed or has a pending application in any jurisdiction. If a will exists, it must first be admitted to probate (recorded with the Clerk) even though no executor is appointed. As of July 1, 2026, the affidavit must be filed on the statewide form (CC-1685).
Single Small Asset Release (Va. Code § 64.2-602) – any person or institution holding a single asset of $35,000 or less may release it directly to a successor once 60 days have passed since death and no personal representative has qualified, without any affidavit required at all.
Real Estate Affidavit (Form CC-1612) – if the decedent owned only real estate, this can be recorded directly in land records without full probate. Real estate generally cannot be transferred through the small estate affidavit process.
Full Qualification / Administration – the standard path for larger or more complex estates. The personal representative appears before the Clerk, takes an oath, files the will and death certificate, and typically posts a surety bond. The estate is then supervised by a Commissioner of Accounts throughout administration.
Step 2: filing for administration
The person seeking to qualify as executor or administrator brings the original will (if any) and a certified death certificate to the Northampton Circuit Court Clerk’s Office.
The Clerk reviews the will’s validity and admits it to probate.
The personal representative takes an oath and qualifies, posting a bond if required; the Clerk issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The Commissioner of Accounts oversees the estate going forward.
The personal representative notifies creditors, pays valid debts, and manages estate assets.
Remaining assets are distributed to beneficiaries or heirs, and the estate is closed once final accounting is approved.
What it costs
Virginia imposes a PROBATE TAX on most wills admitted to probate and grants of administration: $1 state tax + $0.33 local tax for every $1,000 of estate value. No tax is imposed on estates valued at $15,000 or less.
Filing fees for qualification vary by estate size; confirm current Northampton County fees directly.
Virginia does NOT impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax – repealed for deaths on or after July 1, 2007. Only the federal estate tax may apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
16404 Courthouse Rd, Eastville, VA 23347
(757) 678-0458
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
VOTER REGISTRAR
16404 Courthouse Rd, Eastville, VA 23347
(757) 678-0480
ELECTIONS
Northampton County Electoral Board, 16404 Courthouse Rd, Eastville, VA 23347
(757) 678-0480
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health District
Eastern Shore Health District, 5228 Bayside Rd, Cheriton, VA 23316
(757) 678-5187
Department of Social Services
16400 Courthouse Rd, Eastville, VA 23347
(757) 678-0463
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Eastern Shore Health District (Virginia Department of Health) – serves Northampton County
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
Notes: Virginia delivers public health primarily through regional Virginia Department of Health districts rather than standalone county health departments
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Eastville
Population: 11,500
Established: 1634
Tier: 3
Public Records
TruthFinder
Search public records for Northampton County residents.
