Can CAAs practice in Virginia?

Enacted — rules pending

Not yet — licensure is enacted in Virginia, but board rules are pending.

Virginia enacted CAA licensure (SB 882, 2025 Acts of Assembly ch. 507, effective July 1, 2025). The Board of Medicine's implementing regulations (18VAC85-180) were still at the NOIRA stage in Governor's-office review as of August 2026, and no AA application form exists. The statute bars using the anesthesiologist assistant title without a Board-issued license, so CAAs cannot practice in Virginia until the rules are finalized and licensing opens.

Legal authority: Va. Code § 54.1-2957.23
Effective: 2025
Supervision: Statute requires practice within the scope of the AA's clinical and professional training under the supervision of an anesthesiologist; no ratio in statute — supervision details are left to forthcoming Board of Medicine regulations.
Last verified: 2026-08-12

Notes

Verified Aug 2026: Town Hall shows the sole rulemaking action ('Licensure of Anesthesiologist Assistants') at NOIRA stage with Governor's-office review in progress. The Board of Medicine forms page lists 22 professions with no anesthesiologist assistant entry; licenses are not yet being issued. Statute includes provisional licensure for new graduates awaiting the NCCAA exam and a student-training exemption. The 2026 General Assembly session produced no further AA legislation (2026 HB 746 concerns physician assistants, not AAs).

Active legislation

SB 882 (2025) Enacted — 2025 Acts of Assembly Chapter 507

Anesthesiologist assistants; establishes criteria for licensure

Last action: Approved by Governor March 24, 2025 (Chapter 507); statute effective July 1, 2025; Board of Medicine rulemaking (18VAC85-180) still pending

CAA programs in Virginia

Bluefield University at VCOM — Virginia (Blacksburg) · Blacksburg

Sources

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