Virginia Criminal Record Sealing and Background Checks: What Employers Need to Know

Virginia's expanded criminal record sealing framework has changed what employers and background screening providers need to consider when dealing with criminal history information.

The state's new sealing provisions took effect on July 1, 2026, introducing processes through which certain criminal records can be sealed automatically or following a successful petition.

For employers, the practical issue is not simply that some records may become unavailable.

Virginia law also places restrictions on asking applicants about sealed arrests, charges and convictions, while establishing specific requirements affecting businesses that collect and provide criminal history information.

For organizations hiring in Virginia, this makes it increasingly important that background screening processes distinguish between information that may lawfully be considered and records that have been sealed.

What Does Criminal Record Sealing Mean in Virginia?

Sealing generally means that a criminal record is no longer publicly accessible in the same way.

Virginia's framework includes both automatic and petition-based processes.

Depending on the circumstances, eligible records can include certain misdemeanor convictions, some non-convictions, specified marijuana-related matters and other offenses that meet the statutory requirements.

Sealing does not necessarily mean that every copy of a record ceases to exist.

Certain government bodies can retain access for purposes permitted by law, and there are circumstances in which sealed records may still be accessed or disclosed.

For ordinary private-sector employment, however, the effect can be significant.

In general, an individual whose eligible record has been sealed does not have to disclose that arrest, charge or conviction to a private employer in Virginia.

Can Virginia Employers Ask About Sealed Criminal Records?

For most private employers, the answer is no.

Virginia Code § 19.2-392.15 provides that private employers not subject to applicable federal hiring laws or regulations must not require an applicant, whether through an application, interview or otherwise, to disclose an arrest, charge or conviction that has been sealed.

The individual is generally entitled to answer a criminal-history question without referring to the sealed matter.

Where an application does ask about previous arrests, charges or convictions, Virginia law also requires an appropriate notice explaining that information concerning a sealed record does not need to be disclosed.

This makes the wording of employment applications and recruitment procedures important.

A question that may have been used for years should not automatically be assumed to remain appropriate simply because it forms part of an established HR process.

There Are Important Exceptions

The restrictions are not absolute.

Virginia law identifies circumstances in which information about sealed records may still be required.

These include certain positions with law enforcement, situations where Virginia or federal law requires the employer to make the inquiry, some roles subject to national-security requirements, and other circumstances where access is specifically permitted under the relevant rules.

That distinction is important for employers operating across different industries.

A general commercial employer recruiting for an office-based position may face different requirements from an organization recruiting into a federally regulated, law-enforcement, national-security or otherwise specially regulated role.

Employers should therefore establish the legal and regulatory basis applicable to the particular position rather than applying a single criminal-record policy indiscriminately across every vacancy.

What Does This Mean for Background Checks?

Criminal record screening remains a legitimate component of many employment background checks.

The change is not that employers can no longer conduct criminal record searches.

Instead, employers and screening providers need to ensure that the information used within the hiring process remains legally reportable and relevant in the jurisdiction concerned.

This reflects a wider feature of US employment screening: criminal-record availability and use can vary considerably between states, cities and categories of employment.

Conflict International's Pre-Employment Background Checks are therefore tailored to factors including the position, jurisdiction and information lawfully relevant to the hiring decision.

The purpose of screening is to verify material information and report appropriate findings, rather than assume that every record identified in a database should automatically form part of an employment decision.

Background Screening Providers Also Have Responsibilities

Virginia's sealing legislation does not apply only to employers.

It contains specific provisions for businesses engaged in collecting, assembling, evaluating or disseminating Virginia criminal history or traffic history information.

Where a business screening service knows that a record has been sealed, Virginia law requires the service to promptly delete that record from information it disseminates.

The framework also requires relevant screening services to register with the Virginia Department of State Police to receive electronic notifications of sealing orders.

Those notifications are intended to help providers identify records that should no longer be reported.

The law additionally establishes requirements concerning the accuracy and completeness of records, procedures for handling disputes and the correction or deletion of information where appropriate.

For employers purchasing third-party background reports, this reinforces an important principle: the quality of a criminal record check depends not only on finding records, but on maintaining accurate and current information about their legal status.

Why Old Background Data Can Create Problems

Criminal-record databases can create particular challenges because the status of a record can change.

A record collected at one point may subsequently be sealed.

An arrest may result in dismissal or acquittal.

Court information may be updated after the data was originally collected.

For this reason, employers should be cautious about relying on previously obtained criminal-history information or treating historic database results as permanently current.

Virginia specifically requires business screening services disseminating criminal-history information to take steps designed to prevent inaccurate or incomplete records from being maintained or sold.

The wider lesson for employers is straightforward: a background check should reflect the candidate's current record status as accurately as reasonably possible.

Does Sealing Mean Employers Should Stop Criminal Record Checks?

No.

It means criminal record checks need to be conducted within the legal framework that applies to the position and jurisdiction.

There are many circumstances in which lawfully available criminal history remains relevant to employment screening.

Depending on the role, an employer may legitimately consider criminal-record information alongside other verification such as:

• Identity and address history.
• Employment history.
• Education and qualifications.
• Professional licenses.
• References.
• Motor vehicle records where relevant.
• Sanctions or regulatory information where appropriate.

Criminal-record screening should therefore sit within a proportionate background-checking process rather than operate as a standalone search for any adverse information associated with an applicant.

Virginia Is Part of a Wider State-by-State Compliance Picture

The Virginia changes also demonstrate why US employers cannot always operate one criminal-record screening policy nationally without considering local requirements.

Federal rules such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act may apply when employers use consumer reports for employment purposes, while individual states and local jurisdictions can impose additional restrictions concerning criminal-history inquiries, record sealing, timing and use.

Our guide to consented pre-employment screening in the US examines that broader compliance environment, including Clean Slate and Fair Chance developments across the country.

Virginia now provides a useful example of why state-level rules need to be considered as part of the screening workflow rather than added as an afterthought.

What Should Virginia Employers Review?

Organizations hiring in Virginia may benefit from reviewing several practical areas.

First, consider whether employment applications or interview materials ask candidates to disclose criminal information in a way that could capture sealed records.

Second, establish whether particular roles fall within one of the statutory exceptions that permits or requires access to information that would normally be sealed.

Third, review how criminal-record information is obtained and whether the background screening provider has processes for identifying records whose status has changed.

Finally, employers should ensure that hiring teams understand that an apparent absence of a previously known record does not necessarily represent a discrepancy by the applicant. A record may now be lawfully sealed and no longer require disclosure.

These are process questions rather than judgments about individual candidates.

Accurate Screening Requires Current Information

Virginia's expanded sealing framework illustrates a broader point about employment background checks.

The aim is not to collect the maximum possible amount of information about a candidate.

It is to establish accurate, lawfully available and appropriately relevant information for the hiring decision being made.

Criminal-history records can change status over time, and the rules determining what an employer can ask, receive or consider vary between jurisdictions and roles.

A structured screening process should account for those differences.

For employers hiring in Virginia, that now includes understanding how sealed criminal records are treated, ensuring recruitment questions are appropriate and working with screening processes capable of reflecting the current status of the records being reported.