# Virginia

In Virginia the Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) sets training standards for jail officers and Department of Corrections (DOC) correctional officers, and decertifies jail officers through the same system as law-enforcement officers; DOC officers are outside that system. The State Board of Local and Regional Jails sets jail standards. Since 2023 the State has limited restorative housing in state prisons, restricted patrol canines, created a DOC Ombudsman, extended restraint limits for pregnant prisoners to local jails, adopted conduct standards for certified jail officers, and required pregnancy and restraint data reporting.

Source: https://uscli.org/corrections-tracker/virginia

## At a glance

- **Certifying body:** DCJS, under the Criminal Justice Services Board, sets compulsory minimum entry-level and in-service training standards for jail officers and deputy sheriffs and for DOC correctional officers ([6VAC20-50](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title6/agency20/chapter50/section20/); 6VAC20-100; 6VAC20-30), and certifies and decertifies jail officers along with law-enforcement officers (Va. Code 15.2-1707, 15.2-1708); see the [Virginia Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/virginia). DOC correctional officers must meet DCJS training standards, but decertification covers “certified law-enforcement officers and certified jail officers” only. The State Board of Local and Regional Jails sets jail operating standards; DOC runs state prisons and probation and parole.
- **Statute:** Va. Code 9.1-102 (DCJS powers); [15.2-1705](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/15.2-1705/) to 15.2-1708 (qualifications and decertification); [Title 53.1](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title53.1/): 53.1-5 (State Board of Local and Regional Jails), 53.1-17.2 to 53.1-17.10 (DOC Ombudsman), 53.1-39.1 and 53.1-39.2 (restorative housing), 53.1-39.3 (canines), 53.1-40.11 to 53.1-40.16 (pregnant prisoners in state prisons), 53.1-68 (jail standards), 53.1-133.06 to 53.1-133.010 (pregnant prisoners in jails), and chapter 4 (probation and parole). Rules: 6VAC20-30, -50, -65, and -100.
- **Minimum standards:** Deputy sheriffs and jail officers must be U.S. citizens, at least 18, with a high school education or equivalent, a fingerprint-based state and FBI background check, a physical exam after a conditional offer, and no felony conviction; since 2013, also no misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, misdemeanor sex offense, or domestic assault. Hiring agencies must request prior employers’ records ([Va. Code 15.2-1705](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/15.2-1705/)). A “jail officer” is a sworn employee of a local correctional facility, other than a deputy sheriff, whose normal duties are custody of prisoners; a “correctional officer” is a sworn DOC employee with those duties in a state facility (53.1-1). No statutory hiring minimums specific to DOC correctional officers were found.
- **Basic training:** Jail officers and deputy sheriffs must complete DCJS compulsory minimum training and field training within 12 months of appointment (6VAC20-50-40). DOC correctional officers must complete the DCJS standards for DOC correctional officers and field training within 12 months ([6VAC20-100-40](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title6/agency20/chapter100/section40/)). The standards are written as performance outcomes, not total hours. Since July 1, 2025, entry-level training for jail staff who may have contact with pregnant prisoners must cover care of pregnant women and the effects of restraints, restrictive housing or solitary confinement, and body cavity searches on them (53.1-133.09).
- **In-service training:** Jailors or custodial officers: 24 hours, including 2 hours of cultural diversity and 4 hours of legal training ([6VAC20-30-30(B)](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title6/agency20/chapter30/section30/)). DOC correctional officers in the Division of Operations follow the 40-hour law-enforcement standard: 2 hours cultural diversity, 4 legal, 34 career development or electives (6VAC20-30-20(D), -30(A)). Both are due by December 31 of the second calendar year after entry training and every other calendar year after that (6VAC20-30-40). All jail staff must review policies on restraining pregnant prisoners every year (53.1-133.09).
- **Decertification:** Jail officers are decertified through the law-enforcement system: on an agency’s notice of listed convictions, training failures, drug-test results, or misconduct separations, the Criminal Justice Services Board “shall immediately decertify,” with DCJS review under the Administrative Process Act (Va. Code 15.2-1707, 15.2-1708, as revised effective July 1, 2024); details are on the [Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/virginia). Since February 1, 2026, certified jail officers must follow statewide conduct standards (6VAC20-65-20). No public list: decertification records for an identifiable officer “shall not be disclosed” under FOIA (15.2-1708(F)). DOC correctional officers are not in this system.
- **Jail standards:** State Board of Local and Regional Jails, 11 members since 2023. It develops operational and fiscal standards for local, regional, and community correctional facilities, reviews inmate deaths, and sets health care standards with quarterly quality reports (Va. Code 53.1-5). It sets minimum standards for construction, equipment, administration, and operation of local facilities and must make at least one unannounced inspection of each facility a year, with an exception in certification-audit years ([53.1-68](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/53.1-68/)). The Board sits within DOC for administration.
- **Probation and parole officers:** DOC’s state probation and parole officers supervise people on probation and parole ([Va. Code 53.1-145](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/53.1-145/)). They are DOC employees trained under DCJS standards for DOC personnel; no separate DCJS certification or decertification for them was found. After arresting a probationer without a warrant, the officer must, within three business days, file the written statement and case numbers with the Commonwealth’s attorney and the circuit court clerk and ask the sentencing court to promptly issue a capias or bench warrant ([53.1-149(B)](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/53.1-149/), amended 2025, ch. 412).
- **Restrictive housing:** Since July 1, 2023, a person in a state facility may be placed in “restorative housing” only (i) on request with informed voluntary consent, (ii) for the person’s own protection, (iii) to prevent an imminent threat of physical harm, or (iv) when the person’s behavior threatens orderly operation. People in restorative housing must be offered at least four hours a day of out-of-cell programming or group activity, except in exceptional circumstances or a lockdown; placements are reviewed weekly with a written reason why a less restrictive setting could not be used and a transition plan; and medical and mental health evaluations are due within one workday ([Va. Code 53.1-39.2](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/53.1-39.2/)). DOC reports restrictive housing data every year by October 1 (53.1-39.1). No statute governs restrictive housing in local jails, apart from the training on its effects on pregnant prisoners (53.1-133.09).
- **Corrections use of force:** Canines: since July 1, 2024, state correctional staff may not use a patrol or security canine unless they reasonably believe it is immediately necessary to protect a prisoner, officer, or employee from serious bodily injury or death, or have prior approval of the warden or a supervisor to intervene in an incident among three or more prisoners; a warning is required if feasible, and DOC must track and publish all canine uses of force ([53.1-39.3](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/53.1-39.3/)). Pregnant prisoners: state prisons may not use leg restraints, rear wrist restraints, or restraints connecting inmates on known-pregnant prisoners without an individualized risk finding, and restrict restraints in postpartum recovery (53.1-40.12, 53.1-40.13, since 2020). Since July 1, 2025, jails may restrain a prisoner known to be pregnant, in labor or delivery, or in postpartum recovery only on an individualized determination of harm, flight risk, or serious security risk, using the least restrictive restraint. For restraints during labor, delivery, or postpartum recovery, the officer must report by the end of the shift and the supervisor to the sheriff or superintendent within 72 hours ([53.1-133.07(B)](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/53.1-133.07/), [53.1-133.08](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/53.1-133.08/)).

## Changes, 2023 to 2026

- Jul 1, 2026 — **Prisons and jails must report pregnancy, postpartum, and restraint data** — 2026 Acts ch. 685 (HB 861), amending Va. Code 53.1-40.14 and adding 53.1-133.010 · Effective July 1, 2026; the session summary notes no delayed effective date — State prisons housing women must compile a monthly summary (53.1-40.14). Each quarter, jails must send the State Board of Local and Regional Jails a summary of all written reports under 53.1-133.07 and 53.1-133.08, which cover restraint use on pregnant or postpartum prisoners and body cavity searches of pregnant prisoners. They must also submit to the Compensation Board, through the Local Inmate Data System, counts of known-pregnant prisoners, prisoners in postpartum recovery, women prisoners, total prisoners, and deaths of pregnant or postpartum prisoners. “Data received pursuant to this subsection shall be shared by the Compensation Board with the Maternal Mortality Review Team” and the Courts of Justice committee chairs (53.1-133.010). The Division of Legislative Services summary describes the jail counts as going to the Board; the codified text sends them to the Compensation Board. — **For corrections staff:** Each restraint report you file on a pregnant or postpartum prisoner now feeds a quarterly summary to the state jail board. — [Va. Code 53.1-133.010](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/53.1-133.010/)[DLS 2026 Session Summary](http://dls.virginia.gov/pubs/summary/2026/summary2026.pdf)
- Jul 1, 2026 — **Jail board must set standards on inmates’ access to counsel** — 2026 Acts ch. 73 (HB 126), adding Va. Code 53.1-68(D) · Effective July 1, 2026; the session summary notes no delayed effective date; standards due January 1, 2027 — “The Board shall establish standards to ensure access to counsel, including access to attorneys, paralegals, investigators, and other legal staff, for inmates held in any local, regional, or community correctional facility,” following the Administrative Process Act. The standards must require, subject to safety, space, and resource constraints, in-person confidential access inside the facility and secure telephone or video access “that is not recorded or monitored by any person,” available during regular business hours and at least some evenings and weekend days each week. Facility procedures for requesting and scheduling access must be publicly posted, counsel must be promptly told of a delayed, canceled, or restricted visit, and any denial or postponement must be approved by a supervisor in the facility with a rationale, given in writing on counsel’s request. The Division of Legislative Services summary gives January 1, 2027 as the deadline for the standards. — **For corrections staff:** Once the standards are adopted, a supervisor must approve any denial or postponement of a legal visit and record the reason. — [Va. Code 53.1-68](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/53.1-68/)[DLS 2026 Session Summary](http://dls.virginia.gov/pubs/summary/2026/summary2026.pdf)
- Feb 1, 2026 — **Statewide standards of conduct for certified jail officers** — 6VAC20-65-10 to -40 (new), Virginia Register vol. 42, iss. 10 · Effective February 1, 2026 — DCJS’s final regulation under Va. Code 9.1-102(60) sets professional standards of conduct and due process for decertification based on serious misconduct. “All certified law-enforcement officers and certified jail officers must comply with the following standards,” which include obeying federal and state law and agency policy, treating all persons with dignity, preserving life, and upholding public trust. — **For corrections staff:** Jail officers can be decertified for serious misconduct as this rule defines it, not only for criminal convictions. — [6VAC20-65-20](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title6/agency20/chapter65/section20/)[Virginia Register vol. 42, iss. 10](https://register.dls.virginia.gov/vol42/iss10/v42i10.pdf)
- Jul 1, 2025 — **Jails: restraint limits for pregnant and postpartum prisoners and required staff training** — 2025 Acts ch. 698 (HB 2235), new Va. Code 53.1-133.06 to 53.1-133.09 · Effective July 1, 2025; the session summary notes no delayed effective date — Extends to local and regional jails restraint limits like those already in place in state prisons. Restraints on a prisoner known to be pregnant need an individualized determination by a deputy sheriff or jail officer of harm, flight risk, or serious security risk, must be the least restrictive available, and must be removed at a treating provider’s request if they threaten health (53.1-133.07(A)). Restraints during labor, delivery, or postpartum recovery also require an end-of-shift report by the officer and a report by the supervisor to the sheriff or superintendent within 72 hours (53.1-133.07(B), 53.1-133.08(A)). A body cavity search by an employee who is not a licensed provider is allowed only on “a reasonable belief that such prisoner is concealing contraband,” with a written report to the sheriff or superintendent within 72 hours (53.1-133.07(C)). Pregnant prisoners get the lowest bed. DCJS entry-level training for jail staff who may have contact with pregnant prisoners must cover pregnancy care and the effects of restraints, restrictive housing or solitary confinement, and cavity searches, and “All staff shall annually review policies related to restraining pregnant prisoners” (53.1-133.09). — **For corrections staff:** Restraint during labor, delivery, or postpartum recovery needs an individualized finding and an end-of-shift written report. — [Va. Code 53.1-133.07](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/53.1-133.07/)[Va. Code 53.1-133.09](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/53.1-133.09/)[DLS 2025 Session Summary](http://dls.virginia.gov/pubs/summary/2025/summary2025.pdf)
- Jul 1, 2024 — **Decertification overhaul covers jail officers** — 2024 Acts ch. 494 (SB 88), amending Va. Code 15.2-1707 and 15.2-1708 · Effective July 1, 2024 — Revises decertification for law-enforcement and jail officers: wider mandatory reporting of terminations and resignations, including for acts that are exculpatory or impeachment evidence; DCJS decertification review hearings under the Administrative Process Act, with appeal to the Board and then to court; and FOIA closure of decertification records for an identifiable officer. DCJS says the procedures “have been revised due to the passage of SB88(2024). Updates became effective on July 1, 2024.” — **For corrections staff:** A jail officer who resigns during a serious-misconduct investigation can still be reported and decertified. — [2024 Acts ch. 494](http://legacylis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+CHAP0494)[DCJS decertification page](https://www.dcjs.virginia.gov/law-enforcement-decertification)
- Jul 1, 2024 — **Limits on patrol canines in state prisons; public tracking of canine force** — 2024 Acts ch. 99 (HB 159), new Va. Code 53.1-39.3 · Approved March 20, 2024; effective July 1, 2024 — State correctional staff may not use a patrol or security canine unless they reasonably believe it is immediately necessary to protect a prisoner or staff member from serious bodily injury or death, or they have prior approval of the warden or a supervisor to intervene in an altercation among three or more prisoners. “If feasible, the correctional officer shall provide a warning to the subject of any canine use of force prior to the deployment of a canine.” DOC must publish canine policies and handler training requirements and track and publicly report every canine use of force and every incident where canines were present or requested. Detector canines and escape tracking are excluded. The act also bars patrol canines in juvenile correctional facilities. — **For corrections staff:** K-9 handlers need an immediate threat of serious injury or a supervisor’s approval for a fight among three or more prisoners, and every deployment is publicly reported. — [2024 Acts ch. 99](http://legacylis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+CHAP0099)[Va. Code 53.1-39.3](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/53.1-39.3/)
- Jul 1, 2024 — **DOC Ombudsman and Corrections Oversight Committee created** — 2024 Acts chs. 392 (HB 555) and 393 (SB 456), new Va. Code 53.1-17.2 to 53.1-17.10 · Approved April 4, 2024; effective July 1, 2024 — Creates an Office of the DOC Ombudsman in the Office of the State Inspector General and a Corrections Oversight Committee. The Office monitors conditions, investigates complaints, reports every year, and must inspect each state facility at least once every three years, and every year for maximum security facilities and facilities where it finds cause for more frequent inspection. It must keep personal identifying information about corrections staff confidential, and may not further disclose staff identifying information it receives that is unrelated to an investigation. “Prior to the disclosure of any such information, the Office shall provide notice to the applicable staff person and the Director.” The Office must enter a memorandum of agreement with DOC on coordination with employees. — **For corrections staff:** Expect Ombudsman inspections and interviews; your identity is protected unless relevant to an investigation, and you get notice before any disclosure. — [2024 Acts ch. 392](http://legacylis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+ful+CHAP0392)[Va. Code 53.1-17.2](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/53.1-17.2/)
- Jul 1, 2023 — **Restorative housing limited to four grounds, with four hours a day out of cell** — 2023 Acts chs. 392 (HB 2487) and 393 (SB 887), new Va. Code 53.1-39.2 · Effective July 1, 2023 — Restorative housing, defined as special purpose bed assignments operated under maximum security regulations, is allowed in state facilities only on request with informed consent, for the person’s own protection, to prevent an imminent threat of physical harm, or when behavior threatens orderly operation. Protective placements get activities similar to general population and a chance to contest removal. “An incarcerated person who has been placed in restorative housing shall be offered a minimum of four hours of out-of-cell programmatic interventions or other congregate activities per day,” except in exceptional circumstances or a lockdown. Weekly reviews with written reasons, a documented transition plan, and medical and mental health evaluations within one workday are required. — **For corrections staff:** Document the statutory basis, the weekly review, and the daily out-of-cell offers for every restorative housing placement. — [2023 Acts ch. 392](http://legacylis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+CHAP0392)[Va. Code 53.1-39.2](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/53.1-39.2/)
- Jul 1, 2023 — **State Board of Local and Regional Jails expanded to 11 members** — 2023 Acts chs. 657 (HB 2438) and 658 (SB 797), amending Va. Code 53.1-2 · Effective July 1, 2023 — The Board that sets and enforces jail standards, “which shall consist of 11 residents of the Commonwealth,” grows from nine members, adding seats for a former sheriff and a former superintendent of a regional jail among other required appointees. — **For corrections staff:** Jail operators have designated former-sheriff and former-superintendent seats on the standards board. — [2023 Acts ch. 657](http://legacylis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+ful+CHAP0657)[Va. Code 53.1-2](https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/53.1-2/)
- Jul 1, 2023 — **Designated DOC employees may carry and give naloxone** — 2023 Acts ch. 115 (HB 1709); identical SB 1424 · Effective July 1, 2023 — “Adds employees of the Department of Corrections designated by the Director of the Department to the list of persons who are authorized to possess and administer naloxone or other opioid antagonists.” Before, only DOC employees designated as probation and parole officers or as correctional officers had that authority (DLS 2023 Session Summary). — **For corrections staff:** Counselors, medical staff, and other DOC employees who are not officers can be designated to carry naloxone. — [HB 1709 bill history](http://legacylis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?231+sum+HB1709)[DLS 2023 Session Summary](http://dls.virginia.gov/pubs/summary/2023/summary2023.pdf)

## Enacted, not yet in force, pending, and bills that did not pass

- **Public employee collective bargaining (HB 1263 / SB 378, 2026):** the 2026 Session Summary lists both as passed with Governor’s recommendations. They repeal the prohibition on collective bargaining by public employees, create a Public Employee Relations Board to set bargaining units and run certification and decertification elections for state and local government employees, and require good-faith bargaining on wages, hours, and other terms. The summary says that, except for emergency rulemaking, the provisions have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027; regulations are due by July 1, 2028, and until then no petitions or elections may take place except under a local ordinance or resolution adopted under current law. The chapter numbers were not confirmed. The current Code section, Va. Code 40.1-57.2, still bars bargaining and, in subsection D, bars constitutional officers such as sheriffs and their employees from it; whether the acts reach DOC officers, probation and parole officers, or sheriffs’ jail staff was not confirmed from the enacted text. [DLS 2026 Session Summary](https://dls.virginia.gov/pubs/summary/2026/summary2026.pdf)
- **Attorney communication with jail inmates (HB 1392 / SB 83, 2026):** listed as passed with Governor’s recommendations. A telephonic, electronic, or web-based communication system that a sheriff or jail superintendent offers prisoners must include a confidential means for a prisoner to communicate with the prisoner’s attorney at regular and reasonable times; the bills also change courthouse security screening for attorneys. The final chapter and effective date were not confirmed. [DLS 2026 Session Summary](https://dls.virginia.gov/pubs/summary/2026/summary2026.pdf)
- **Jail Board work group (report due November 1, 2026):** 2026 HB 1421 directs a work group to study moving the State Board of Local and Regional Jails out of DOC to another agency or an independent oversight body.
- **Jail standards on access to counsel (due January 1, 2027):** the State Board of Local and Regional Jails must adopt the access-to-counsel standards that 2026 HB 126 (2026 Acts ch. 73, Va. Code 53.1-68(D)) requires; see the July 1, 2026 entry. The deadline is from the Division of Legislative Services summary; whether the Board has adopted them was not checked.
- **Jail lactation standards (due December 1, 2028):** 2026 HB 860 requires the Board to set them.

Carried over to the 2027 Session: 2026 HB 35 (ban on “isolated confinement” in state prisons, with reviews every two business days) and HB 1508 (State Police to investigate serious violent incidents in DOC facilities that result in the death of an inmate or officer, and suspected inmate suicides). Passed and vetoed: isolated confinement bills in 2024 (HB 1244 / SB 719) and 2025 (HB 2647 / SB 1409), and 2025 HB 1894 (a 65 to 80 degree temperature range in state prisons). [DLS 2026 Session Summary](https://dls.virginia.gov/pubs/summary/2026/summary2026.pdf)

## Checked and unchanged

- Va. Code 15.2-1708 (decertification notice and review) lists 2026 Acts chs. 798 and 828 in its history, and its current text allows notice “by certified mail or trackable courier service with signature requirement.” What those chapters changed was not compared.
- 2025 and 2026 chapter texts were not read directly: the legacy LIS host returned “document does not exist” for 2025 chapters. Entries for those years rest on current Code text, Code history citations, and the Division of Legislative Services session summaries.
- Not verified: 2026 HB 1441 / SB 783 (limits on federal immigration agreements, with an exception for detainer transfers of violent felons from correctional facilities); 2025 HB 2105 (regional jails must report acts of violence to police and file investigation policies with the Board); 2025 SB 1283 (no new private management contracts for prisons and regional jails without General Assembly approval); and 2024 HB 611 (in-custody death reporting). Each is listed as passed in a session summary, but its final status or codified text was not checked.