Cleaner in Virginia: licence, certification and what employers require (2026)

Virginia does not license cleaners: no licence. This page says what a cleaner licensed or working in another state has to do to work in Virginia, in the order to do it, and what goes wrong when the order is reversed.

How the transfer works

Nothing is licensed; cleaning and janitorial work in Virginia is hired on availability and record. A background check is standard for schools and hospitals.

What to have ready before you move

• References

Start the paperwork before you give notice. There is no Virginia licence to wait for, so the only clock is the employer's.

What people get wrong

• Comparing hourly rates without the state minimum wage

Who hires cleaners in Virginia

Cleaners in Virginia are hired by facility services companies, hospitals, schools, hotels and property managers. The metros with the most of that work are Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Richmond and Arlington. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are on the Virginia openings page.

For the money side: the median cleaner in Virginia earned $33,970 a year ($16 an hour) in May 2024 across 64,720 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Virginia has a progressive state income tax with a top rate of 5.75%. What that leaves you after tax is its own page.

Everything about Virginia, on one page

The Virginia page has the registries and boards, the income tax table, the programs that pay you to come and the openings filed this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of Virginia employers hiring from out of state.