A vehicle control apparatus includes: a brake control portion which is configured, when a vehicle is stopped, to cause a braking apparatus to keep a stopped state in which the vehicle is held stopped independently of operation of a brake pedal of the vehicle; a driver-assistance control portion which is configured to start a driver assistance operation in response to a manual operation made by the operator, and which is configured, when the stopped state is kept by the brake control portion, to withhold start of the driver assistance operation; and a withhold cancel portion which is configured, when a returning operation of the brake pedal has been made by the operator, to cause the driver-assistance control portion to cancel withhold of the start of the driver assistance operation.