                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PRIOR CONVICTIONS NOT TO ABRIDGE RIGHTS (§ 54.1-204)

A. A person shall not be refused a license, certificate, or registration to
practice, pursue, or engage in any regulated occupation or profession solely
because of a prior criminal conviction, unless the criminal conviction directly
relates to the occupation or profession for which the license, certificate, or
registration is sought. A regulatory board shall not use vague or arbitrary
terms, including &#8220;good moral character&#8221; or &#8220;moral
turpitude&#8221; to refuse a license, certificate, or registration.

B. In determining whether a criminal conviction directly relates to an
occupation or profession, the regulatory board shall consider the following
criteria:

   1. The nature and seriousness of the crime;

   2. The relationship of the crime to the purpose for requiring a license to
   engage in the occupation;

   3. The extent to which the occupation or profession might offer an opportunity
   to engage in further criminal activity of the same type as that in which the
   person had been involved;

   4. The relationship of the crime to the ability, capacity, or fitness required
   to perform the duties and discharge the responsibilities of the occupation or
   profession;

   5. The extent and nature of the person&#8217;s past criminal activity;

   6. The age of the person at the time of the commission of the crime;

   7. The amount of time that has elapsed since the person&#8217;s last
   involvement in the commission of a crime;

   8. The conduct and work activity of the person prior to and following the
   criminal activity; and

   9. Evidence of the person&#8217;s rehabilitation or rehabilitative effort
   while incarcerated or following release.

C. A regulatory board may require any applicant for registration, licensure, or
certification to submit to fingerprinting and to provide personal descriptive
information to be forwarded along with the applicant&#8217;s fingerprints
through the Central Criminal Records Exchange to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation for the purpose of obtaining criminal history record information
regarding such applicant. Such applicant shall pay the cost of the
fingerprinting or a criminal records check or both.
			The regulatory board may enter into a contract to obtain the fingerprints and
descriptive information as required for submission to the Central Criminal
Records Exchange in a manner and format approved by the Central Criminal Records
Exchange.
			The Central Criminal Records Exchange, upon receipt of an applicant&#8217;s
record or notification that no record exists, shall make a report to the
regulatory board or its designee, who must belong to a governmental entity. If
an applicant is denied a registration, license, or certificate because of the
information appearing in his criminal history record, the regulatory board shall
notify the applicant in writing of the specific offense or offenses that
contributed to such denial, how the criminal history directly relates to the
occupation pursuant to subsection B, and how the regulatory board weighed the
rehabilitation factors in subsection B when making its decision. The information
shall not be disseminated except as provided for in this section.

D. A regulatory board shall consider the criminal information as contained in
the applicant&#8217;s state or national criminal history in lieu of the
applicant providing certified copies of such court records in determining
whether a criminal conviction directly relates to an occupation or profession or
if an applicant is unfit or unsuited to engage in an occupation or profession.
The regulatory board may request additional information from the applicant in
making such determination.

HISTORY: 1979, c. 408, § 54-1.21; 1988, c. 765; 2003, c. 582; 2009, c. 667;
2025, c. 505.