# Virginia HB1117: Professional and Occupational Regulation, Department of; universal license recognition.

Virginia HB1117, Professional and Occupational Regulation, Department of; universal license recognition., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by May Nivar (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-08 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0448)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1117-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB1117
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Professional and Occupational Regulation, Department of; universal license recognition.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-14
- Last action: 2026-04-08, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0448)
- Sponsor: May Nivar (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 7 (219 yes, 1 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation; universal license recognition. Reduces from three years to one year the number of years an individual is required to have held a professional or occupational license or government certification in another state in order to apply to the regulatory board within the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation and be issued an occupational license or government certification under the universal license recognition program.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Faster Virginia licensing for out-of-state workers: benefit, low. Virginia’s professional and occupational licensing boards recognize qualifying out-of-state licenses and government certificates when workers apply. The required holding period drops from three years to one year. Recognition covers other U.S. states, territories, possessions, and jurisdictions. You…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: May Nivar (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-23 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 38 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-20 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-20 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-18 | Senate | Reported from General Laws and Technology | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-09 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 97 | 1 |   |
| 2026-02-03 | House | Reported from General Laws | pass | 21 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-29 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 9 | 0 |   |

## Actions (27)

- 2026-04-08: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0448) (Governor)
- 2026-04-08: Approved by Governor-Chapter 448 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-10: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 (House)
- 2026-02-25: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1117) (House)
- 2026-02-25: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1117ER) (House)
- 2026-02-25: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-02-25: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-02-23: Passed Senate Block Vote (38-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-02-20: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Reported from General Laws and Technology (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-10: Referred to Committee on General Laws and Technology (Senate)
- 2026-02-10: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-09: Read third time and passed House (97-Y 1-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-06: Moved from Uncontested Calendar to Regular Calendar (House)
- 2026-02-06: Read second time and engrossed (House)
- 2026-02-05: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-03: Reported from General Laws (21-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-02-03: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1117) (House)
- 2026-01-29: Subcommittee recommends reporting (9-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-27: Assigned HGL sub: Professions/Occupations and Administrative Process (House)
- 2026-01-14: Referred to Committee on General Laws (House)
- 2026-01-14: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26103756D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217803.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217802.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-02-25: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177907.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177906.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-14: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087498.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087497.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217803.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217802.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177907.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177906.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087498.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1087497.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
- [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills)
- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1117-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).