How to renew your Virginia RN license
Virginia RN licenses renew every two years and expire on the last day of your birth month. The renewal fee is $140, filed through the Virginia Department of Health Professions licensing portal. Instead of a flat CE-hour rule, Virginia requires you to attest to at least one of nine continued-competency options — from 30 contact hours to an active national certification or 640 practice hours plus 15 contact hours.
- Cycle
- 2 years · expires last day of your birth month
- Competency
- One of 9 continued-competency options (18VAC90-19-30)
- Fee
- $140 renewal · late fee within 1 year · reinstatement after
- Compact
- Virginia is a Nurse Licensure Compact state
- Find your birth-month expirationVirginia RN licenses expire on the last day of your birth month, on a two-year cycle. Confirm the exact date in License Lookup before you plan CE.
- Satisfy one of the nine competency optionsVirginia does not use a flat CE-hour rule. You attest to at least one of nine continued-competency activities — such as 30 contact hours, an active national certification or recertification, a refresher course, a board-approved course, an academic nursing course, evidence-based practice project, publication, teaching a nursing course, or 640 hours of practice with 15 contact hours.
- Open the renewal in the DHP licensing portalSign in at license.dhp.virginia.gov and select the Registered Nurse renewal for your license number.
- Answer the attestation and disclosure questionsAttest to competency compliance and answer the criminal conviction and disciplinary-action questions. Documentation is not uploaded — it is retained for audit.
- Pay the $140 renewal feePay online by card. Save the confirmation; the new expiration posts to License Lookup within a few business days.
- Store the proof in TrustKeep your certification, transcript, or contact-hour certificates on-device so a Board audit letter is a two-minute task instead of a hunt through email.
Requirements
Your birth month is the deadline. Virginia RN licenses expire on the last day of the month you were born, on a two-year cycle. There is no statewide cohort date, so advice built around a shared December or September deadline does not apply here — check License Lookup for your own date.
Virginia does not publish a flat contact-hour requirement. Under 18VAC90-19-30 you attest that you completed at least one of nine continued-competency options during the cycle:
- Current national certification or recertification in a nursing specialty.
- A board-approved refresher course.
- Nine semester hours (or more) of relevant academic coursework — or a completed nursing degree.
- A board-approved continuing-education course of at least 15 contact hours.
- Thirty contact hours of continuing education from an approved provider.
- Teaching or developing a nursing course or program.
- Authoring or reviewing a published nursing article, chapter, or book.
- Completing an evidence-based practice, research, or quality-improvement project.
- Practicing at least 640 hours plus 15 contact hours of continuing education.
Nothing is uploaded. You attest during the renewal application and retain documentation for audit — which is exactly the kind of paperwork that is impossible to find two years later if it lives in an inbox.
How to renew, step by step
- 01Find your birth-month expirationVirginia RN licenses expire on the last day of your birth month, on a two-year cycle. Confirm the exact date in License Lookup before you plan CE.
- 02Satisfy one of the nine competency optionsVirginia does not use a flat CE-hour rule. You attest to at least one of nine continued-competency activities — such as 30 contact hours, an active national certification or recertification, a refresher course, a board-approved course, an academic nursing course, evidence-based practice project, publication, teaching a nursing course, or 640 hours of practice with 15 contact hours.
- 03Open the renewal in the DHP licensing portalSign in at license.dhp.virginia.gov and select the Registered Nurse renewal for your license number.
- 04Answer the attestation and disclosure questionsAttest to competency compliance and answer the criminal conviction and disciplinary-action questions. Documentation is not uploaded — it is retained for audit.
- 05Pay the $140 renewal feePay online by card. Save the confirmation; the new expiration posts to License Lookup within a few business days.
- 06Store the proof in TrustKeep your certification, transcript, or contact-hour certificates on-device so a Board audit letter is a two-minute task instead of a hunt through email.
If you're late
Practicing on an expired Virginia license is unlicensed practice. Within one year of expiration you can renew late with an added late fee; you still may not work until the renewal is processed.
More than a year past expiration you file for reinstatement instead — a longer review, a higher fee, and evidence of continued competency. A birth-month reminder is a great deal cheaper than either path.
Frequently asked questions
- When exactly does my Virginia RN license expire?
- On the last day of your birth month, every two years. Two nurses renewing in the same year can have deadlines eleven months apart, which is why a generic December reminder does not work in Virginia.
- How many CE hours does Virginia require?
- There is no single hour count. Virginia uses continued competency: you meet one of nine listed options. Thirty contact hours is one route, but an active national certification, a board-approved refresher, an academic nursing course, or 640 practice hours plus 15 contact hours also satisfy it.
- Does a national certification like CCRN count on its own?
- Yes. Holding or renewing a current national certification in your specialty during the cycle satisfies the competency requirement by itself under 18VAC90-19-30.
- What happens if I renew late?
- Virginia charges a late fee if you renew within one year of expiration, and you may not practice on an expired license in the meantime. Beyond that window you reinstate rather than renew, which costs more and takes longer.
- Is Virginia a Nurse Licensure Compact state?
- Yes. Virginia is an NLC state, so you renew in your primary state of residence. If Virginia is your PSOR, your multistate privilege renews with this license.
- Do I upload my CE certificates?
- No. You attest at renewal and retain documentation for the Board's random audits. Keep it for at least the current and prior cycle.
Last verified against Virginia Board of Nursing sources:
Changelog
Every revision to this guide, newest first. Last updated .
- Reviewed and verified requirements, fees, and deadlines against Virginia Board of Nursing sources.
Trust tracks this renewal for you.
Birth-month deadlines are easy to miss. Trust stores your Virginia license and competency proof on-device and reminds you at 90, 60, 30, and 7 days before the last day of your birth month.
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