Virginia background check laws for employers (2026): what you can check and when

Virginia's background check rules for private employers center on cleared records. Employers may not require applicants to disclose expunged arrests, charges or convictions, and most private employers may not require disclosure of sealed records either; any application that asks about criminal history must say sealed records need not be disclosed. Willful violations of either rule are Class 1 misdemeanors. Schools, child care and nursing homes have mandatory checks, and we found no Virginia ban-the-box, credit check or lookback law for private employers as of October 2026.

This page covers those record rules, the application notice, how the Virginia State Police check works, and the jobs with mandatory screening. Virginia's newer salary history and pay range rule is covered on Virginia's salary history ban, and the federal steps are in our FCRA background check process guide.

Virginia background check rules at a glance

Can Virginia employers ask about expunged records?

No. Va. Code § 19.2-392.4(A) says "an employer or educational institution shall not, in any application, interview, or otherwise, require an applicant for employment or admission to disclose information concerning any arrest, criminal charge against him, conviction, or civil offense that has been expunged." The applicant "need not, in answer to any question concerning any arrest, criminal charge, conviction, or civil offense, include a reference to" an expunged record. Subsection (C) makes a willful violation a Class 1 misdemeanor "for each violation." The rule covers every employer, with no size threshold.

Can Virginia employers ask about sealed records?

Most cannot. Va. Code § 19.2-392.15(A) says that state and local agencies, "private employers that are not subject to federal laws or regulations in the hiring process, and educational institutions shall not, in any application, interview, or otherwise, require an applicant for employment or admission to disclose information concerning any arrest, charge, or conviction against him that has been sealed." The applicant need not mention a sealed record in answering any criminal history question.

The exceptions

Subsection (B) lifts the rule when:

1. the person is applying to work or volunteer with the State Police or a state or local police department or sheriff's office;
2. the Code of Virginia requires the employer to make the inquiry;
3. federal law requires the employer to make the inquiry;
4. the position, or access to its premises, is subject to a national security requirement under a federal contract, statute, regulation or executive order; or
5. rules and procedures adopted under Va. Code §§ 9.1-128 and 9.1-134 allow the employer to access sealed records.

"Private employers that are not subject to federal laws or regulations in the hiring process" is not defined in the section. Almost every employer is subject to some federal hiring law, so do not read the phrase as a general exemption; treat the rule as applying unless counsel tells you a specific federal requirement covers the role.

The notice every Virginia application needs

Subsection (F) is the practical step: if an application includes "a question about a prior arrest, charge, or conviction," it "shall include, or such entity or person shall provide, a notice to the applicant that information concerning an arrest, charge, or conviction that has been sealed does not have to be disclosed in the application." Applications for the exempt roles in subsection (B) need not include it. Willful violations are Class 1 misdemeanors (subsection (G)). Combine the two Virginia rules into one line under any criminal history question, for example: "You do not need to disclose any arrest, charge or conviction that has been expunged or sealed."

Automatic sealing

Va. Code § 19.2-392.6 orders automatic sealing of certain listed misdemeanor convictions once seven years have passed since the conviction without a new conviction that must be reported to the Central Criminal Records Exchange, traffic infractions excluded. The candidate may not know their record was sealed, so a commercial report showing an old misdemeanor may conflict with their answer. Use the federal pre-adverse action window to sort that out.

How does a Virginia State Police record check work?

The Virginia State Police runs the state check:

• SP-167. Generated online, then signed before a notary by the person being checked (the affidavit for release) and by the requester. The State Police say it "will return a complete Virginia criminal history record," with processing of about 15 business days after the form is received. There is no expedited service.
• SP-230. The form for approved businesses requesting a check on an applicant.
• National fingerprint checks. Under the National Child Protection Act and Volunteers for Children Act, employers hiring people with access to children, the elderly or individuals with disabilities can request a national fingerprint-based check after getting a tracking number from the State Police's accounts section.

A name-based state record is not a full background check: it does not cover other states or federal courts, and it should not return sealed records. If a screening company prepares your report, the federal FCRA disclosure, authorization and adverse action steps apply to it.

Which Virginia jobs require fingerprint or criminal record checks?

• Public schools. "As a condition of employment," school boards must require any applicant "who is offered or accepts employment," full or part time, permanent or temporary, to be fingerprinted for an FBI check through the Central Criminal Records Exchange (§ 22.1-296.2).
• Child day programs. Licensed child day centers, home-based child care and related programs may not hire anyone convicted of a barrier crime or with a founded child abuse or neglect complaint, and all applicants must undergo a national background check before employment and every five years (§ 22.1-289.035).
• Nursing homes. A licensed nursing home may not hire people convicted of listed barrier crimes, with a five-year exception for one non-abuse misdemeanor; applicants give a sworn statement of convictions and pending charges; the home must obtain a criminal record clearance or history within 30 days of employment; and no one may work in direct patient contact before it arrives unless directly supervised. If an applicant is denied because of the record, the home must give them a copy of the information (§ 32.1-126.01).

These are the cases where "the Code requires the employer to make such an inquiry," so the sealed-record exception in § 19.2-392.15(B)(2) can apply to them. Confirm which records each statute reaches.

Does Virginia limit timing, lookbacks, credit checks or salary history?

• Timing. We found no statewide ban-the-box rule for private employers; see ban-the-box laws and interview questions.
• Lookback. No state statute found; the federal FCRA bars reporting arrests and other non-conviction items older than seven years unless the job pays $75,000 or more, and sets no limit for convictions (15 U.S.C. § 1681c).
• Credit checks. Virginia is not among the states in our credit check laws guide; the FCRA disclosure and notices govern.
• Salary history. § 40.1-28.7:12 bars employers from seeking a prospective employee's wage or salary history or relying on it; see Virginia's salary history ban.

What this means for staffing agencies

• Your application needs the Virginia line. If your candidate form asks about criminal history, add the expunged and sealed notice; the sealed-record rule applies to the form whoever the end client is.
• Do not pass along what you cannot ask for. If a candidate mentions an expunged or sealed record, leave it out of notes and the submittal. See what not to write in interview notes.
• Health care and child care placements need the statutory check. Agree with the client who runs the nursing home clearance or child care national check and who holds the result.

A Virginia background check checklist

1. Every application with a criminal history question carries the expunged and sealed records notice.
2. No interviewer asks about expunged or sealed records, or about cases a candidate says were cleared.
3. Federal stand-alone disclosure and written authorization signed before ordering a report; SP-167 notarized if using the State Police check.
4. No salary history questions.
5. Before a decision: federal pre-adverse action notice with the report and summary of rights, then the final notice.
6. School, child day program and nursing home roles run through the statutory check.

Hiring in nearby states? See the companion pages for North Carolina and Ohio.