# Virginia HB742: Barbers; establishes licensure for barbershop trainees.

Virginia HB742, Barbers; establishes licensure for barbershop trainees., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Wren M. Williams (Republican); status in committee, last action 2026-01-27 (Continued to 2027 in General Laws (Voice Vote)) (as of 2026-10-11).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB742-2026
- As of: 2026-10-11
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB742
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Barbers; establishes licensure for barbershop trainees.
- Status: in committee
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-01-27, Continued to 2027 in General Laws (Voice Vote)
- Sponsor: Wren M. Williams (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Professions/Occupations and Administrative Process
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 2 (0 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

Barbers and cosmetologists; barbershop trainees. Establishes a path to licensure for barbershop trainees, as defined by the bill, through employment at a registered barbershop under the supervision of one or more licensed barbers. The bill allows any barbershop trainee to take the examination approved by the Board for Barbers and Cosmetology upon submission of a signed statement to the Board attesting that such trainee has the necessary skills to competently practice barbering. Barbershop trainees shall not exceed four years of training for competency-based licensure and shall pass the examination approved by the Board within four years of commencing training at any barbershop. The bill authorizes the Board to (i) develop forms for barbershop and barbershop trainee registration and the attestation required for examination; (ii) waive any part of the examination requirement for good cause; and (iii) establish penalties for any violation of the provisions of the bill.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Wren M. Williams (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-01-27 | House | Continued to 2027 in General Laws (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-22 | House | Subcommittee recommends continuing to 2027 (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |

## Actions (7)

- 2026-01-27: Continued to 2027 in General Laws (Voice Vote) (House)
- 2026-01-22: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-01-22: House committee offered (House)
- 2026-01-22: Subcommittee recommends continuing to 2027 (Voice Vote) (House)
- 2026-01-21: Assigned HGL sub: Professions/Occupations and Administrative Process (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on General Laws (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104793D (House)

## Bill text

- Substitute, 2026-01-22: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1094391.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1094390.PDF)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085717.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085716.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
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1094391.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1094390.PDF)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085717.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1085716.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-HB742-2026 (as of 2026-10-11).