Virginia · Attorney licensing
Virginia attorney lookup on the VSB lawyer directory.
The Virginia State Bar (VSB) regulates the legal profession in Virginia and publishes a searchable Virginia Lawyer Directory. This page explains the search fields, the status and type values, how discipline is shown and what the Bar says a result does and does not confirm.
Short answer: open the VSB’s Look Up a Lawyer directory and search by Bar ID number, first or last name (contains), Status, Type, Public Discipline, Suspension Type or Date of License. Status values are In Good Standing, Not in Good Standing, Inactive, Former Member, Staff, Withdrawn and Delete Record. Records of discipline after January 1, 2022 appear in the directory; older actions are on the Bar’s Disciplinary System Actions page. To confirm that someone may practice law in Virginia, the Bar says to call its Membership Department at (804) 775-0530. This page does not look anyone up.
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The search fields
The Virginia Lawyer Directory asks you to enter your search criteria in one or more of the fields below to view the results, and opens with the message Please enter your search criteria to view results. The fields are Bar ID #, First Name Contains, Last Name Contains, Status, Type Equals, Public Discipline (yes or no), Suspension Type and Date of License. The contains wording matters: a partial surname returns every lawyer whose name includes it, which is useful when a spelling is uncertain and noisy when it is common. A Bar ID returns one record.
Status and type
The Status list has seven values: In Good Standing, Not in Good Standing, Inactive, Former Member, Staff, Withdrawn and Delete Record. The Bar’s terminology section explains two of them. In good standing (IGS) is the ordinary active state. Not in good standing (NGS) results from an administrative suspension or from a disciplinary suspension or revocation, so an NGS record needs the discipline detail read before any conclusion is drawn. The Type Equals list includes Plenary, which the terminology section defines as the full licence to practice, alongside entries such as Current Employee and Emeritus. The terminology also defines Associate as a non-practicing member, although Associate does not appear as a dropdown choice.
Discipline in the directory
The Public Discipline and Suspension Type fields filter on sanctions, and the Bar says records of discipline after January 1, 2022 appear in the directory. Older actions are not there: they sit on the Disciplinary System Actions page under Legacy Disciplinary Actions, so a clean directory record for a lawyer admitted decades ago is not proof of a clean history. The Bar’s home page separately lists Latest Disciplinary Actions and links to past discipline.
Malpractice insurance
Below the main search is a second form, Lawyer Does Not Have Malpractice Insurance Search, with First Name Contains, Last Name Contains and Bar ID # fields. It answers one narrow question, whether a lawyer has reported having no malpractice coverage, and nothing about competence or standing.
What the Bar says the directory does not settle
The directory page directs anyone who needs to confirm that a person can practice law in Virginia to the VSB Membership Department at (804) 775-0530. The directory is a public listing; the Membership Department’s answer is the Bar’s confirmation. The VSB’s main number is (804) 775-0500, its office is at 1111 East Main Street, Suite 700, Richmond, Virginia 23219-0026, and it is open Monday to Friday from 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., excluding holidays; the Clerk’s Office does not accept filings after 4:45 p.m.
Worked example
A homebuyer in Norfolk is asked to send closing funds to a lawyer she has never met. She opens the directory, types the surname into Last Name Contains and finds three matches, so she adds the first name and narrows it to one. The record shows Status In Good Standing and Type Plenary, Public Discipline No. Because the lawyer was licensed in 1998, she also checks the Legacy Disciplinary Actions list for anything before 2022, then calls the Membership Department at (804) 775-0530 to confirm the lawyer may practice before wiring anything.
What this page does not do
It does not search the directory, store what you tick, or show any lawyer’s record. The result layout is not quoted because the page read on November 11, 2026 showed the search form and its prompt rather than sample records; the directory’s closest date field is Date of License.
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| Official directory: Look Up a Lawyer | vsb.org/Shared_Content/Directory/va-lawyer-directory.aspx |
| Virginia State Bar home (disciplinary actions, contacts) | vsb.org |
Figures read from the sources below on November 11, 2026. Last updated November 11, 2026.
Sources
- Virginia State Bar: Virginia Lawyer Directory (search fields, status values, terminology, malpractice search) (retrieved November 11, 2026)
- Virginia State Bar: home page (disciplinary actions, contact details, office hours) (retrieved November 11, 2026)
Common mix-ups
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Often assumedA Virginia lawyer with no discipline shown in the VSB directory has a clean record.
What the source saysThe directory page says records of discipline after January 1, 2022 appear in the directory; older actions are kept on the Disciplinary System Actions page under Legacy Disciplinary Actions. [1]
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Often assumedAn In Good Standing entry in the VSB directory is the Bar’s confirmation that the person may practice law in Virginia.
What the source saysThe directory page directs anyone who needs to confirm that someone can practice law in Virginia to the VSB Membership Department at (804) 775-0530. [1]
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Often assumedNot in Good Standing on the VSB directory always means the lawyer was disciplined.
What the source saysThe Bar’s terminology says NGS status results from an administrative suspension or from a disciplinary suspension or revocation; an administrative suspension is not a disciplinary finding. [1]
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Often assumedThe VSB directory’s name search needs the exact full name.
What the source saysThe fields are First Name Contains and Last Name Contains, so a partial name matches, and a Bar ID # field returns a single record. [1]
Checked against these sources on .
Frequently asked questions
How do I look up a Virginia lawyer?
Open the Virginia State Bar’s Look Up a Lawyer directory and search by Bar ID number, first or last name (contains), Status, Type, Public Discipline, Suspension Type or Date of License.
What do the status values mean?
The seven values are In Good Standing, Not in Good Standing, Inactive, Former Member, Staff, Withdrawn and Delete Record. The Bar says Not in Good Standing results from an administrative suspension or a disciplinary suspension or revocation.
Does the directory show discipline?
Records of discipline after January 1, 2022 appear in the directory. Older actions are on the Disciplinary System Actions page under Legacy Disciplinary Actions.
What is a Plenary type?
The Bar’s terminology section defines Plenary as the full licence to practice. Associate is defined as non-practicing.
How do I confirm a lawyer can practice in Virginia?
The directory page says to contact the VSB Membership Department at (804) 775-0530.
What is the malpractice insurance search?
A separate form on the directory page, Lawyer Does Not Have Malpractice Insurance Search, with first name, last name and Bar ID fields.
Does this page verify a lawyer?
No. It explains the official directory and links to it. Nothing typed or ticked here is sent anywhere.
Guide only — not a verification tool
This page describes an official directory and links to it. It does not check anyone’s standing, does not copy or proxy the directory, and nothing you type or tick here is transmitted anywhere. Records change and bar rules differ by state; use the official source linked above and contact the Virginia State Bar to confirm anything that matters. This is general information, not legal advice.