State training requirements
Virginia Peace Officer Training Requirements
Who governs peace officer standards in Virginia, the annual in-service requirement, the mandated topics for de-escalation and crisis response, and who decides what counts for in-service credit.
Verified as of July 10, 2026
Who governs
Peace officer standards and training in Virginia are set by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS).
Annual in-service requirement
Virginia requires 40 hours of compulsory in-service every two years for law enforcement officers, due by December 31 of the second calendar year following entry-level training and every other year thereafter. Of the 40 there is legal training with subjects at the certified academy director's discretion and 34 hours of career development or elective training at the director's discretion, with a maximum of 4 hours of firearms qualification. Jailors complete 24 hours and court security or process officers 16 hours. In-service credit for electronically transmitted multimedia programming is capped at 8 hours annually. Hours may carry over from year one to year two.
Source: 6VAC20-30-30 and 6VAC20-30-40 (compulsory in-service)
Mandated topics relevant to CodeBlu
Legal training
A legal training portion of the 40 hours is required, with subjects at the certified academy director's discretion, and up to 4 hours of firearms qualification.
Source: 6VAC20-30-40
De-escalation and crisis intervention
De-escalation appears in the entry-level compulsory minimums and is not clearly a standalone recurring in-service line item, since elective subjects are at the director's discretion. Crisis intervention is supported statewide and the Marcus Alert expanded crisis response, but a fixed recurring in-service crisis-intervention hour requirement for all officers was not confirmed in 6VAC20-30.
Who decides in-service credit
Centralized approval
In-service must be obtained at a DCJS-certified training academy, or via DCJS-approved multimedia within the 8-hour cap. The certified academy director determines elective subjects and the credit hours awarded, and DCJS certifies academies and instructors.
Source: 6VAC20-30-40 and 6VAC20-30-50
What this means for training like CodeBlu
In Virginia, in-service courses are certified or approved centrally through Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), so credit does not rest with an individual agency alone. The honest framing for training like CodeBlu is professional development that builds the underlying skills; any formal credit path runs through the state's approval process. This is not a determination of eligibility: CodeBlu does not certify hours or grant credit, and agency policy, the state's process, and legal counsel govern.
Primary sources
- POST-equivalent siteVirginia DCJS (official site)
- Administrative code6VAC20-30-30 (compulsory in-service)
- Administrative code6VAC20-30-40 (in-service hours and subjects)
- POST-equivalent siteDCJS compulsory minimum training standards
Verified as of July 10, 2026. This page is reviewed on an annual cadence, and the date is bumped only on re-verification against the primary sources above.
Frequently asked questions
- Who sets peace officer training requirements in Virginia?
- Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) sets peace officer standards and training requirements in Virginia.
- How many annual in-service training hours does Virginia require?
- Virginia requires 40 hours of compulsory in-service every two years for law enforcement officers, due by December 31 of the second calendar year following entry-level training and every other year thereafter. Of the 40 there is legal training with subjects at the certified academy director's discretion and 34 hours of career development or elective training at the director's discretion, with a maximum of 4 hours of firearms qualification. Jailors complete 24 hours and court security or process officers 16 hours. In-service credit for electronically transmitted multimedia programming is capped at 8 hours annually. Hours may carry over from year one to year two.
- Who decides what training counts for in-service credit in Virginia?
- In-service must be obtained at a DCJS-certified training academy, or via DCJS-approved multimedia within the 8-hour cap. The certified academy director determines elective subjects and the credit hours awarded, and DCJS certifies academies and instructors.