Moving between states / Virginia

Flag of New YorkNew YorktoFlag of VirginiaVirginia, Truck driver

Moving from New York to Virginia as a CDL holder

What a CDL holder licensed in New York has to do to work in Virginia, what the move does to your pay, and who in Virginia is hiring from out of state.

Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Virginia resident you surrender the New York CDL at a Virginia driver licence office, pass the vision test, pay the fee, and your endorsements carry over. A hazmat endorsement needs a fresh TSA threat assessment in Virginia. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Virginia leaves you roughly $2,163 a year more than New York does, because Virginia's rate is lower.

SalaryNew York state taxVirginia state taxDifference a year
$40,000$3,052$1,610+$1,442
$60,000$4,578$2,415+$2,163
$90,000$6,867$3,622+$3,245

Rough figures for a single filer: exact in the flat-rate and no-tax states, approximated at 70% of the top bracket in the progressive ones. In New York: New York City adds up to 3.876%. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: New York to Virginia

Transfers by reciprocity. Your New York certificate stays on the New York State Nurse Aide Registry (administered by Prometric for the Department of Health); to work in Virginia you apply to the Virginia Board of Nursing, Certified Nurse Aide registry for reciprocity. It accepts an active certificate in good standing from another state; there is no retest if your record is clean. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.

RN and LPN: New York to Virginia

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. New York is not in the compact, so your New York licence is single-state. Apply to the Virginia board for licensure by endorsement (Nursys verification, fingerprints, the board's fee); six to twelve weeks is normal, so start before you give notice. Because Virginia is a compact state, ask for the new licence to be issued as a multistate licence: from then on it works in every compact state.

Electrician: New York to Virginia

Exam likely. Virginia licenses at state level through the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation, Board for Contractors and reciprocates with other state boards, but New York licenses locally through the City and county building departments, which is not a party to those agreements. Expect to document your hours and sit the Virginia journeyman exam.

No statewide program in Virginia pays people to move in. Towns sometimes list an offer through MakeMyMove, and employers in short-staffed trades pay relocation themselves; ask for it in writing before you accept.

Openings filed in Virginia

137 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Virginia employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from New York to Virginia

Tell us your trade and your licence. We write the steps for your case, check the job offer for scams, and keep your resume ready for Virginia employers.

Plan my move to Virginia

Same move, by trade

CNA: New York to Virginia · RN or LPN: New York to Virginia · Electrician: New York to Virginia · All licences: New York to Virginia

From New York to the states next to Virginia

Maryland (progressive, top rate 5.75%) · West Virginia (progressive, top rate 4.82%) · Kentucky (flat 4% state income tax) · Tennessee (no state income tax) · North Carolina (flat 4.25% state income tax)

To Virginia from the states next to New York

Vermont · Massachusetts · Connecticut · New Jersey · Pennsylvania

Everything about working in Virginia · All moves between states · All 50 states

Moving for a job? Start with your state.

Licence transfer, what the state takes from your pay, and who pays you to come. Free, no account.

Pick the state