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Fairfax County residents, businesses and government agencies can now place legally required public notices with a local online-only news outlet after a circuit court judge approved a petition from Local News Now LLC in December.
The authorization follows a Virginia law enacted last July that made the state the first in the nation to permit online-only local news sites to publish legal notices.
The notices will appear on the outlet’s homepage, a dedicated landing page and in its email newsletter. Submissions can be made through an online form and will typically be published within one business day.
Arlington-focused ARLnow and Alexandria-focused ALXnow have also been authorized to carry legal notices. The sister sites are the first online-only publications in the D.C. area to receive that option.
Legal notices, also called public notices, are paid advertisements required for certain government, legal and business matters. They may involve public hearings, proposed ordinances, estate sales or applications from businesses seeking Virginia ABC permits.
Fairfax County has traditionally placed notices about public hearings, proposed ordinances and other government actions in The Washington Times, which charges $30 per publication. The Washington Post and Fairfax County Times also offer legal advertising services.
The GazetteLeader, which covered Arlington and parts of Fairfax County, carried legal notices until Local News Now acquired the newspaper last September.