§ 54.1-3501 Exemption from requirements of licensure
The requirements for licensure in this chapter shall not be applicable to:
1. Persons who render services that are like or similar to those falling within the scope of the classifications or categories in this chapter, including persons acting as members of substance abuse self-help groups, so long as the recipients or beneficiaries of such services are not subject to any charge or fee, or any financial requirement, actual or implied, and the person rendering such service is not held out, by himself or otherwise, as a person licensed under this chapter.
2. The activities or services of a student pursuing a course of study in counseling, substance abuse treatment or marriage and family therapy in an institution accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the Board or under the supervision of a person licensed or certified under this chapter, if such activities or services constitute a part of the student’s course of study and are adequately supervised.
3. The activities, including marriage and family therapy, counseling, or substance abuse treatment, of rabbis, priests, ministers or clergymen of any religious denomination or sect when such activities are within the scope of the performance of their regular or specialized ministerial duties, and no separate charge is made or when such activities are performed, whether with or without charge, for or under auspices or sponsorship, individually or in conjunction with others, of an established and legally cognizable church, denomination or sect, and the person rendering service remains accountable to its established authority.
4. Persons employed as salaried employees or volunteers of the federal government, the Commonwealth, a locality, or of any agency established or funded, in whole or part, by any such governmental entity or of a private, nonprofit organization or agency sponsored or funded, in whole or part, by a community-based citizen group or organization. Any person who renders psychological services, as defined in Chapter 36 (§ 54.1-3600 et seq.) of this title, shall be subject to the requirements of that chapter. Any person who, in addition to the above-enumerated employment, engages in an independent private practice shall not be exempt from the requirements for licensure.
5. Persons regularly employed by private business firms as personnel managers, deputies or assistants so long as their counseling activities relate only to employees of their employer and in respect to their employment.
6. Persons regulated by this Board as professional counselors or persons regulated by another board within the Department of Health Professions who provide, within the scope of their practice, marriage and family therapy, counseling or substance abuse treatment to individuals or groups.
7. Any practitioner of a profession regulated by the Board who is licensed in another state, the District of Columbia, or a United States territory or possession and who is in good standing with the applicable regulatory agency in that state, the District of Columbia, or that United States territory or possession who provides behavioral health services, as defined in § 37.2-100, to a patient located in the Commonwealth when (i) such practice is for the purpose of providing continuity of care through the use of telemedicine services as defined in § 38.2-3418.16 and (ii) the practitioner has previously established a practitioner-patient relationship with the patient. A practitioner who provides behavioral health services to a patient located in the Commonwealth through use of telemedicine services pursuant to this subdivision may provide such services for a period of no more than one year from the date on which the practitioner began providing such services to such patient.
History
This law was first created in 1976. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 608 of that year’s edition of “Acts of Assembly,” the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. Unfortunately, the 1976 “Acts” aren’t available online. It has been modified 5 times. Those modifications are cataloged by “The Acts of Assembly,” a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly’s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1986, chapter 581; in 1988, chapter 765; in 1995, chapter 820; in 1997, chapter 901; in 2022, chapter 275.
1976, c. 608, § 54-944; 1986, c. 581; 1988, c. 765; 1995, c. 820; 1997, c. 901; 2022, c. 275.