# Virginia HB870: Accountancy, Board of; licensing requirements, inactive and emeritus status.

Virginia HB870, Accountancy, Board of; licensing requirements, inactive and emeritus status., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Stacey Annie Carroll (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-06 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0234)); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB870-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB870
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Accountancy, Board of; licensing requirements, inactive and emeritus status.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-13
- Last action: 2026-04-06, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0234)
- Sponsor: Stacey Annie Carroll (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 7 (218 yes, 2 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

Board of Accountancy; licensing requirements; inactive and emeritus status. Directs the Board of Accountancy to establish "Inactive" and "Emeritus" CPA license statuses for licensees who no longer provide services to the public or services to or on behalf of an employer. The bill requires the Board to develop guidelines to provide active and inactive licensees additional clarity governing the manner in which such licensees should reference autobiographical and biographical information with respect to their CPA licensure to remain historically accurate and compliant with the law and relevant regulations. The bill directs the Board of Accountancy to adopt emergency regulations to implement the provisions of the bill. This bill incorporates HB 228 and is identical to SB 605.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Former accountants can describe past licenses: benefit, low. The Virginia Board of Accountancy must issue guidance allowing former licensees to describe their past CPA licenses accurately in biographies. The Board must post this guidance on its website by September 30, 2026.
- New license options for Virginia accountants: benefit, low. The law creates “CPA, Inactive” and “CPA, Emeritus” statuses for Virginia accountants who stop providing services to the public or an employer. Applicants must hold a current Virginia CPA license, with no CPA-related investigation or pending discipline in Virginia or another state. Inactive status…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Stacey Annie Carroll (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 with substitute | pass | 20 | 1 |   |
| 2026-01-29 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute | pass | 9 | 0 |   |

## Actions (32)

- 2026-04-06: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0234) (Governor)
- 2026-04-06: Approved by Governor-Chapter 234 (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 (HB870) (House)
- 2026-02-25: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB870ER) (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: Engrossed by House - committee substitute (House)
- 2026-02-06: committee substitute agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-06: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-05: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-05: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB870) (House)
- 2026-02-03: Committee substitute printed 26106693D-H1 (House)
- 2026-02-03: Reported from General Laws with substitute (20-Y 1-N) (House)
- 2026-02-03: Incorporates HB228 (McNamara) (House)
- 2026-01-29: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-01-29: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (9-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-26: Assigned HGL sub: Professions/Occupations and Administrative Process (House)
- 2026-01-22: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB870) (House)
- 2026-01-13: Referred to Committee on General Laws (House)
- 2026-01-13: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104264D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-06: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216910.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216909.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-02-25: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177831.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177830.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-02-03: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1115319.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1115318.PDF)
- Substitute, 2026-01-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1104007.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1104006.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-01-29: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1102018.HTML)
- Introduced, 2026-01-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086250.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086249.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/1216910.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1216909.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177831.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1177830.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1115319.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1115318.PDF)
- [Substitute (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1104007.HTML)
- [Substitute (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1104006.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1102018.HTML)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086250.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1086249.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-HB870-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).