Virginia ban-the-box rules: state and local jobs, sealed records and private employers

Virginia's ban-the-box law covers government jobs, not private employers, as of October 2026. Since July 1, 2020, Va. Code 2.2-2812.1 (state agencies) and Va. Code 15.2-1505.3 (cities, counties and towns) bar arrest, charge and conviction questions on applications and before a staff interview, with exceptions for sensitive and law enforcement positions. Private employers face no timing rule, but two record rules reach them: no employer may require disclosure of an expunged record, and since Virginia's record sealing law took effect on July 1, 2026, most private employers may not require disclosure of a sealed one and must say so on any application that asks.

Does Virginia have a ban-the-box law for private employers?

No. Both of Virginia's timing statutes are written for government: one in Title 2.2 for state agencies and one in Title 15.2 for localities. We found no Code of Virginia section that tells a private employer when it may ask about criminal history. A private Virginia employer may ask on the application under state law, as long as the question respects the expungement and sealing rules below.

That gap matters most in Northern Virginia, where one recruiter often fills jobs on three sides of a border. Maryland bars employers with 15 or more full-time employees from requiring disclosure before the first in-person interview, and the District of Columbia bars employers with more than 10 employees there from asking about convictions until a conditional offer. The rule follows the job's location, not the recruiter's office.

When can Virginia state agencies ask about criminal history?

Section 2.2-2812.1 was added by House Bill 757, approved March 23, 2020 as 2020 Acts chapter 422, and took effect on July 1, 2020. It says:

• "No state agency shall request a prospective employee to complete an application for employment that includes a question inquiring whether the prospective employee has ever been arrested for, charged with, or convicted of any crime." Applications or questionnaires "provided during or after a staff interview" are allowed.
• No state agency shall ask about arrests, charges or convictions "unless the inquiry takes place during or after a staff interview." A staff interview is "any interview of a prospective employee for a job by current state agency staff."
• Information received during or after the staff interview may be considered.
• The rule does not apply to positions designated as sensitive under Va. Code 2.2-1201.1, to law enforcement positions or positions related to law enforcement agencies, or to agencies that federal or state law expressly permits to ask about arrests or charges.

Sensitive positions include those responsible for the health, safety and welfare of citizens or the protection of critical infrastructure, and those with access to sensitive information such as federal tax information. Final candidates for them must submit fingerprints, which go through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the FBI for a criminal history check.

When can Virginia cities and counties ask?

Section 15.2-1505.3, from the same 2020 act, applies the same structure to every locality: no arrest, charge or conviction question on the application, and no inquiry "unless the inquiry takes place during or after a staff interview." Its exceptions differ slightly. It does not apply to:

1. law enforcement agency positions or positions related to law enforcement agencies;
2. positions with the local school board;
3. sensitive positions, defined the same way as for state agencies, plus positions otherwise required by law to be designated sensitive; or
4. applications or questionnaires provided during or after a staff interview.

The section governs a locality's own hiring. It does not regulate private employers that contract with the city or county; any hiring conditions for vendors would be in the contract itself.

Can a Virginia employer ask about expunged or sealed records?

Expunged records: every employer

Va. Code 19.2-392.4 says an employer "shall not, in any application, interview, or otherwise, require an applicant for employment" to disclose an arrest, criminal charge, conviction or civil offense that has been expunged, and the applicant need not mention one in answering any question. A willful violation is a Class 1 misdemeanor for each violation.

Sealed records: most employers, since July 1, 2026

Virginia's record sealing law took effect on July 1, 2026, according to the Virginia State Crime Commission. Va. Code 19.2-392.15 says state and local government agencies, "private employers that are not subject to federal laws or regulations in the hiring process," and educational institutions shall not require an applicant to disclose a sealed arrest, charge or conviction. Subsection F adds a notice duty: if an application asks about a prior arrest, charge or conviction, it must include, or the employer must provide, "a notice to the applicant that information concerning an arrest, charge, or conviction that has been sealed does not have to be disclosed." A willful violation is a Class 1 misdemeanor.

The exceptions cover State Police and police or sheriff's positions, inquiries the Code of Virginia or federal law requires, positions subject to federal national security requirements, and employers allowed access to sealed records under the Department of State Police's rules. The statute does not define which private employers are "subject to federal laws or regulations in the hiring process," so a client in a federally regulated industry should confirm its status with counsel. How sealed and expunged records appear on reports is covered in Virginia background check laws.

What federal rules still apply in Virginia?

• Title VII. The EEOC rescinded its 2012 guidance on arrest and conviction records on October 28, 2026, but Title VII and its disparate impact provision, 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(k), still apply. A job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it and the nature of the job) is still the safe practice.
• Federal contractors. Virginia has many. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, 41 U.S.C. 4714, bars contractors from requesting criminal history before a conditional offer for positions related to work under a federal contract, for contracts awarded under solicitations issued after its effective date, except where earlier review is required by law or the job involves classified information or sensitive law enforcement or national security duties.
• The FCRA. Reports from screening companies need a stand-alone disclosure, written authorization and the adverse action steps in the FCRA background check process.

Virginia criminal history rules at a glance

What should staffing agencies and recruiters do in Virginia?

• Add the sealed-records notice. If your candidate portal or application asks about arrests, charges or convictions, add the notice that sealed information does not have to be disclosed, and say expunged matters need not be listed either.
• Public roles: for state agency and locality roles, keep the question out of applications and your screens; the employer's staff interview comes first.
• Federal contract roles: ask whether the job relates to work under a federal contract before any criminal history question.
• Regional desks: record whether the job sits in Virginia, Maryland or D.C., and apply that jurisdiction's rule.
• Licensing and the rest of the state rules: see Virginia staffing agency licensing and hiring employees in Virginia, which also covers the July 2026 pay range and salary history law.

Questions to settle with a Virginia client at intake

• Is the client a state agency, a locality, a federal contractor or a private employer?
• For a public role, is the position designated sensitive or related to law enforcement?
• Is the client subject to federal laws or regulations in hiring that require it to ask about sealed records?
• Does the client's application carry the sealed-records notice, and does it exclude expunged matters?
• Who orders the background check and sends the FCRA notices?

A script for Virginia screens

Candidate asks if a sealed case counts: "Under Virginia law you don't have to disclose a sealed or expunged record to most employers. I don't ask about records on my screen, so let's keep to the job."

County client wants you to pre-screen for records: "Virginia localities ask during or after their own staff interview, unless the job is sensitive or law enforcement. Is this one designated sensitive? If not, I'll leave it to your interview."

Candidate volunteers a conviction: "Thanks for telling me. It isn't part of my screen and I won't note it. Any background check happens later, and you'd see anything they rely on."

A Virginia checklist for recruiting desks

1. Add the sealed-records notice to every Virginia application that asks about criminal history, and exclude expunged matters.
2. For state agency and locality roles, wait for the employer's staff interview unless an exception applies and is documented.
3. Keep criminal history out of recruiter screens and submittals; see what not to write in interview notes.
4. Route screening company reports through the FCRA steps and record the job-related reason for any decision.
5. For the federal picture and scripts used in stricter states, see ban-the-box laws and interview questions.