# Virginia — Assisted living facility minimum staffing requirements by US state — how many staff must be on duty, and what that guarantees

For Virginia, which rule this is is buildings of 19 or fewer residents licensed for residential living care only — when the night staff member need not be awake; type of staffing rule is census-banded minimum staff on duty; minimum staffing requirement is For a facility licensed for residential living care only, in buildings that house 19 or fewer residents, the staff member on duty does not have to be awake during the night; awake/awake-on-duty requirement is the staff member on duty does not have to be awake during the night if (i) none of the residents have care needs that require a staff member awake at night; regulatory citation is 22VAC40-73-280, recorded from its source on 2026-08-19.

- **State:** Virginia _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Which rule this is:** buildings of 19 or fewer residents licensed for residential living care only — when the night staff member need not be awake _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Type of staffing rule:** census-banded minimum staff on duty _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Minimum staffing requirement:** For a facility licensed for residential living care only, in buildings that house 19 or fewer residents, the staff member on duty does not have to be awake during the night _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Awake/awake-on-duty requirement:** the staff member on duty does not have to be awake during the night if (i) none of the residents have care needs that require a staff member awake at night _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Regulatory citation:** 22VAC40-73-280 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_

## What the source says

> Exception: For a facility licensed for residential living care only, in buildings that house 19 or fewer residents, the staff member on duty does not have to be awake during the night if (i) none of the residents have care needs that require a staff member awake at night

## Source

- https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title22/agency40/chapter73/section280/

Last verified: 2026-08-19. Review by: 2027-08-19.
Part of [Assisted living facility minimum staffing requirements by US state — how many staff must be on duty, and what that guarantees](https://referencesource.org/assisted-living-facility-staffing-ratios-by-state/).