Home › Employment background check laws › Virginia
Virginia background check laws for employers
Virginia has no ban-the-box law for private employers; its ban-the-box statute covers state agencies only. Employers may not require applicants to disclose expunged or sealed records, and old simple marijuana possession records are now sealed. Background check companies must delete sealed Virginia records and add a dated notice to every Virginia criminal record they report.
Have a whole roster to keep current every month? DOT fleets: Pact's monthly DOT program, $25 a driver a month ($99 minimum), or $19 a month for an owner-operator. Nursing homes, hospice and home care: staff credential tracking, $10 a staff member a month ($250 minimum). First month free.
Fair-chance hiring (criminal history)
- Virginia's ban-the-box law covers only state agencies, not private employers (Va. Code § 2.2-2812.1).
- State agencies may not ask about arrests, charges, or convictions on the application and may ask only during or after a staff interview (Va. Code § 2.2-2812.1(B)-(C)).
State consumer report rules
- A business screening service must promptly delete any Virginia criminal or traffic record it knows has been sealed, whatever the source (Va. Code § 19.2-392.16(B)).
- A business screening service must include the date it collected each Virginia record and a notice that the information may include records sealed since that date (Va. Code § 19.2-392.16(D)).
- A business screening service must investigate disputes free of charge, delete sealed records, and tell the person the result within 30 days (Va. Code § 19.2-392.16(E)).
- A business screening service must register with the State Police to get electronic notices of sealing orders (Va. Code § 19.2-392.16(C)).
- Violations carry $1,000 or actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees, and Attorney General penalties up to $2,500 per willful violation (Va. Code § 19.2-392.16(G)-(H)).
- Virginia's consumer reporting agency chapter covers security freezes and medical debt only and adds no employer steps beyond federal FCRA (Va. Code §§ 59.1-444.1 to 59.1-444.4).
How far back a report can go
- Employers may not require an applicant to disclose an expunged arrest, charge, conviction, or civil offense (Va. Code § 19.2-392.4(A)).
- Private employers that are not subject to federal hiring laws or regulations may not require applicants to disclose sealed arrests, charges, or convictions (Va. Code § 19.2-392.15(A)).
- If an employer's application asks about criminal history, it must tell applicants that sealed records do not have to be disclosed (Va. Code § 19.2-392.15(F)).
- The sealed-record limits do not apply to police jobs, jobs where Virginia or federal law requires the question, or national-security jobs (Va. Code § 19.2-392.15(B)).
- A willful violation of the sealed-record rules is a Class 1 misdemeanor for each violation (Va. Code § 19.2-392.15(G)).
- Any charge or conviction for simple marijuana possession under former § 18.2-250.1 is sealed without a court order (Va. Code § 19.2-392.6:1(A)).
- The older marijuana-record law, § 19.2-389.3, was repealed effective July 1, 2026 (2025 Va. Acts cc. 634, 671).
- No Virginia law found that sets a 7-year reporting limit beyond federal FCRA.
Credit checks
- No Virginia statute limiting employer use of credit reports was found in the state's employment law chapter (Va. Code Title 40.1, ch. 3).
Also good to know
- Licensed nursing homes, home care organizations, and hospices may not hire people with listed barrier-crime convictions and must get a state criminal history record or clearance within 30 days of hire, before any direct patient contact (Va. Code §§ 32.1-126.01, 32.1-162.9:1).
Common questions
Can Virginia employers run a background check?
Virginia has no ban-the-box law for private employers; its ban-the-box statute covers state agencies only. Employers may not require applicants to disclose expunged or sealed records, and old simple marijuana possession records are now sealed. Background check companies must delete sealed Virginia records and add a dated notice to every Virginia criminal record they report.
Does Virginia have a ban-the-box law for private employers?
Virginia's ban-the-box law covers only state agencies, not private employers (Va. Code § 2.2-2812.1).
How far back does a background check go in Virginia?
Employers may not require an applicant to disclose an expunged arrest, charge, conviction, or civil offense (Va. Code § 19.2-392.4(A)).
Can Virginia employers run credit checks on applicants?
No Virginia statute limiting employer use of credit reports was found in the state's employment law chapter (Va. Code Title 40.1, ch. 3).
Some rules for Virginia weren't confirmed from an official source. Check with the state before relying on this page.
Sources
- Va. Code § 2.2-2812.1 (official LIS)
- Va. Code § 19.2-392.4 (official LIS)
- Va. Code ch. 23.2 (sealing) table of contents (official LIS)
- Va. Code § 19.2-392.5 (official LIS)
- Va. Code § 19.2-392.6:1 (official LIS)
- Va. Code § 19.2-392.15 (official LIS)
- Va. Code § 19.2-392.16 (official LIS)
- Va. Code § 19.2-389.3 (official LIS, repealed)
- Va. Code Title 40.1, ch. 3 table of contents (official LIS)
- Va. Code Title 59.1, ch. 35.1 table of contents (official LIS)
- Va. Code § 32.1-126.01 (official LIS)
- Va. Code § 32.1-162.9:1 (official LIS)
This page summarizes state law in plain words, with links to the law itself. It is not legal advice, and laws change: check the linked source, and talk to a lawyer about your own policy. Federal DOT testing rules are separate and override state limits for DOT-covered jobs. Checked October 2026.
More for Virginia
Virginia drug testing laws · Virginia drug-free workplace discount · All states