The Virginia money transmitter license changed completely on 1 July 2026, when House Bill 1942 repealed the old Title 6.2 Chapter 19 and replaced it with Chapter 19.1 (§§ 6.2-1922–1957), built on the Money Transmission Modernization Act. Existing licensees were automatically deemed licensed — but with no grace period, so any firm below the new net worth or bond floors that day was already non-compliant.
The guide's sharpest correction concerns crypto: § 6.2-1922 states that "money" does not include virtual currency, and Virginia declined the MTMA's optional virtual currency module, so a business transmitting only virtual currency falls outside Chapter 19.1 entirely. But the carve-out is narrow, not a safe harbor — take fiat for transmission at any point, sell stored value or payment instruments, or issue a fiat-redeemable stablecoin, and you're licensable. A separate kiosk license (HB 665, Chapter 22.2) takes effect 1 July 2027, with an 18% fee cap and daily transaction limits.
What the guide covers:
- Application fee $1,000, renewal $750, license expiring 31 December
- Bond: greater of $100,000 or 100% of average daily Virginia liability, capped at $1,000,000 — or a flat $100,000 if tangible net worth exceeds 10% of assets
- Tangible net worth formula under § 6.2-1950, GAAP basis, with all intangibles excluded
- 120-day review timeline with genuine deemed approval under § 6.2-1933 A
- Why three years of audited financials, not Commission review, is usually the real critical path
- Corrections to widely-repeated errors about New York's net worth figure and Montana's licensing regime
Regulated by the Virginia State Corporation Commission's Bureau of Financial Institutions, a constitutional body with its own judicial powers.