The official board
Virginia nursing licensure is regulated by the Virginia Board of Nursing. That is where applications, renewals, endorsement, and official forms live. Requirements and fees are board-set and change, so we point you to the official site rather than list figures that could go stale.
Official Virginia licensure resources
- Verify a license: Nursys QuickConfirm (national) or the board — see our Virginia verification guide.
- Apply by endorsement: through the Virginia Board of Nursing — see the Virginia endorsement guide.
- Renew a license: through the board — see the Virginia renewal guide.
- Compact status: is Virginia a compact state? See the Virginia compact status page.
The law that governs this in Virginia
Licensing a nurse in Virginia happens under Virginia’s own nurse practice act — the same act that defines what practice means here — administered by the Virginia Board of Nursing. That act is Va. Code tit. 54.1, ch. 30 (Nursing).
The compact itself is separate law. Virginia adopted it at Va. Code tit. 54.1, ch. 30, art. 6.1 (§ 54.1-3040.2 et seq.), which is what allows a multistate license issued elsewhere to reach Virginia at all — the practice act still decides what you may do once it does.
What Virginia runs itself
Beyond the national systems, Virginia Board of Nursing publishes its own primary-source lookup — Virginia DHP License Lookup. Where a board runs its own, that is the record the board itself works from, which can matter when a national system and a board disagree or lag. How Virginia’s route actually behaves, including what an empty result means there, is on verifying a Virginia license.
Official vs independent
The Virginia Board of Nursing and Nursys are the authorities — they make decisions and hold the records. CompactStates.com explains how Virginia licensure works and gets you to those sources quickly. We never charge for or monetize official board or Nursys links.
What the Virginia Board of Nursing controls
Because Virginia is in the compact, this board does two jobs at once: it licenses Virginia residents — including issuing multistate licenses, which it has done since January 19, 2018 — and it regulates every nurse practicing in Virginia on another state’s multistate license. A visiting compact nurse answers to this board while working here, even though it never issued them anything.
Its authority comes from Va. Code tit. 54.1, ch. 30 (Nursing), and its compact role from Va. Code tit. 54.1, ch. 30, art. 6.1 (§ 54.1-3040.2 et seq.). You can read the law rather than take our word for it.
The board runs its own license lookup — Virginia DHP License Lookup — separate from Nursys. Where the two disagree, the board’s record controls.