Restoration of Civil Rights
In Virginia, any person convicted of a felony is stripped of certain civil rights forever. New Virginia residents who have not restored their civil rights in the state of their conviction(s) also are stripped of their rights.

Rights Lost
Those civil rights include:

• The right to vote
• To run for and hold public office
• To serve on juries
• To serve as a notary public

These rights, however, can be restored through an appeal to the Governor of Virginia.

Order for the Restoration of Rights

On April 22, 2016, Governor McAuliffe restored the rights of all Virginians with a prior felony conviction who have completed the terms of incarceration and have been released from supervised probation or parole.

Governor McAuliffe’s April 22 order restores the rights to all individuals who, as of April 22, 2016, have completed the terms of incarceration and have completed any period of supervised release (probation or parole) for any and all felony convictions.

Going forward, the Governor will issue monthly orders restoring rights to persons who have completed the terms of their incarceration and any periods of supervised release since April 22, 2016.

For more information view the Virginia’s Rights of Restoration process page.