
OUR MISSION: To be the regulatory authority for DBHDS licensed service delivery system through effective oversight.
OUR VISION: The Office of Licensing will provide consistent, responsive, and reliable regulatory oversight to DBHDS licensed providers by supporting high quality services to meet the diverse needs of its clients.
CONNECT Provider Portal Resources and Information
Click below for help using the CONNECT Provider Portal or to report an issue.
CONNECT Help Instructions
If you are having trouble accessing or using the CONNECT Provider Portal, please click the Report an Issue button below.
Please allow up to two business days for the Help Desk staff to respond to your issue.
Your device sometimes may not allow the above button to function as intended. In that case, please send an email directly to licensingconnectinquiry@dbhds.virginia.gov with the information below:
• Name
• Provider ID
• Service License (If Applicable)
• Provider Name (Optional)
• Best Contact Phone Number
• Describe the issue that is occurring
You must provide the Provider ID and Service License in order to not delay the resolution of your issue.
Thank you for contacting the DBHDS Office of Licensing’s CONNECT Help Desk.
CONNECT Blast Newsletters
- CONNECT Blast Newsletter (May 2023)
- CONNECT Blast Newsletter (April 2023)
- CONNECT Blast Newsletter (March 2023)
- CONNECT Blast Newsletter (February 2023)
- CONNECT Blast Newsletter (January 2023)
- CONNECT Blast Newsletter (November 2022)
- CONNECT Blast Newsletter (October 2022)
- CONNECT Blast Newsletter (September 2022)
- CONNECT Blast Newsletter (July 2022)
- CONNECT Blast Newsletter (June 2022)
CONNECT FAQs
Job Aids
- How Do I Add a Service in the CONNECT Provider Portal?
- How Do I Send a Message in the CONNECT Provider Portal Job Aid?
- How Do I Reset My Password in CONNECT When It Is Expiring or Has Expired?
- How Do I Submit a Variance Application in CONNECT?
- How Do I Submit a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) in CONNECT?
- How do I Manage Authorized Contacts and Password Resets in the CONNECT Provider Portal?
- How do I View Licensing Information from the CONNECT Provider Portal Dashboard
- How do I Submit a Renewal in the CONNECT Provider Portal?
- How Do I Register for the CONNECT Provider Portal to Begin the Initial Application Process?
- How Do I Determine which Modification Application to Submit in CONNECT when a Change Needs to Be Made?
Training Videos
- How Do I Submit an Application to Add a Location to an Existing Service?
- How Do I Submit a Service Modification?
- How Do I Know if My Application Is Submitted and on the Waitlist?
- How Do I Know if I Need to Respond to a Deficient Requirement?
- How Do I Initiate a New Application?
- How Do I Submit My Requirements?
- How do I Login to CONNECT?
Help Desk Protocols
- New CONNECT Provider Portal Help Desk Protocols (April 2022)
Exciting News: The DBHDS Office of Licensing is dedicated to reducing any undue administrative burden to potential licensure applicants. Therefore, as of December 21, 2022, the OL has streamlined the licensing process for all “Priority” Services to ensure the services with the greatest need can be licensed within 90 days of the submission of a completed application. Updated new applicant information will be posted to this website as of January 3, 2023. Please see below for more information:
- The Office of Licensing is prioritizing processing initial applications for priority services needed throughout the Commonwealth. The current prioritization list can be found here.
- Changes to the Licensing Initial Application Review Process Memo (December 2022)
- Initial Applications in Review Upcoming Changes Memo (December 2022)
- 2023 Initial Applicant Licensing Resources (January 2023)
- 2023 Initial Applicant Training
The Provider Portal Dashboard provides access to applicant information online and allows direct communication with the Office of Licensing staff regarding your application.
Click here to access the DBHDS CONNECT Provider Portal System
Home and Community Based Services (HCBS)
Home and community-based services (HCBS) provide opportunities for individuals to receive Medicaid waiver services in their own home or community rather than in institutions or other isolated settings. Providers of group home, sponsored residential, supervised living, and group day services available in a Developmental Disabilities (DD) waiver must demonstrate full compliance with HCBS settings requirement in ALL settings in order to receive reimbursement for services. (42 CFR Part 430, 431).
New providers are required to visit the HCBS Toolkit on the DMAS website to view resources and other information to help develop your HCBS policies. Providers must also submit their HCBS policies to: hcbscomments@dmas.virginia.gov for internal review prior to enrolling with Medicaid as a DD waiver provider and in order to receive reimbursement for services.
For additional information, please visit the Department of Medical Assistance Services or click on the links below:
New Providers HCBS Overview: Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Settings Rule (virginia.gov)
New Settings Guidance: CMS Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Regulations: Developmental Disability (DD) Waivers (virginia.gov)
If you have additional questions related to HCBS please contact: hcbscomments@dmas.virginia.gov
Use the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services Provider Search System to locate licensed providers by a variety of criteria.
Sign up to get news and updates delivered to your inbox from Office Of Licensing at the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.
In order to view the waitlist – please click the DBHDS CONNECT PROVIDER PORTAL and choose VIEW APPLICATION WAITLIST.
Please note that the waitlist may not be processed in chronological order as state initiatives
may cause prioritization changes in the order applications are reviewed.
**Note: In order to download the waitlist, please allow pop ups.**

CORRESPONDENCE
- Changes from the Emergency BHE Regulations to the Final BHE Regulations Memo (February 2023)
- Changes from the Emergency ASAM Regulations to the Final ASAM Regulations Memo (February 2023)
- Changes from the Emergency Children’s ASAM Regulations to the Final Children’s ASAM Regulations Memo (February 2023)
- Revised-Care-Concern-Criteria-Level-I-Serious-Incidents-Memo (February 2023)
- 2023 Annual Inspections for Providers of Developmental Services Memo (January 2023)
- Medication Assisted Opioid Treatment Services (MAT) legislative changes effective January 1, 2023 Memo (December 2022)
- TDT and Outpatient Memo (August 2022)
- New Regulation Affecting 12VAC35-46 Effective 1-10-22 Memo (December 2021)
- Word Version of the Sponsor Certification Form
- Sponsored Provider Certification Process (November 2021)
- December 1, 2021 Behavioral Health Enhancement (BHE)
Licensed Services (October 2021) - Memo – Grace Period for Documentation of ISPs (March 2021)
REGULATIONS & GUIDANCE

Pending Exempt Action
The State Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services approved this Exempt Action to amend 12VAC35-105 to incorporate federal mobile Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) requirements into Virginia regulations.
Please note that the action will not be fully visible here until the Office of the Attorney General completes and certifies its review, a date that is unknown at this time.
For more information about exempt regulatory actions, please visit the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall website.
Public Comment Requested
There are no public comment forums at this time.
Regulations
- Rules and Regulations For Licensing Providers by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services [12 VAC 35 ‑ 105]
- Regulations for Children’s Residential Facilities 12VAC35-46
Guidance
- LIC 16: Guidance for A Quality Improvement Program (November 2020)
- LIC 17: Guidance for Serious Incident Reporting (November 2020)
- LIC 18: Individuals with Developmental Disabilities with High Risk Health Conditions (June 2020 )
- LIC 19: Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) (August 2020)
- LIC 20: Guidance on Incident Reporting Requirements (August 2020)
- LIC 21: Guidance for Risk Management (August 2020)
TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ENHANCEMENT AND ASAM
- OL Approval of Behavioral Health Link Assessment (BHL) Tool for Crisis Services (November 2021)
- Aligning the Licensing Regulations with ASAM Criteria Training (April 2021)
- Memo Behavioral Health Enhancement and American Society of Addiction Medicine (March 2021)
- ICT/ACT Licensing Requirements Crosswalk (March 2021)
QUALITY IMPROVEMENT-RISK MANAGEMENT RESOURCES FOR LICENSED PROVIDERS
Recorded Trainings
• Risk Management & Quality Improvement Strategies Training by the Center for Developmental Disabilities Evaluation & Research – Recorded Webinar (December 2020)
• QI-RM-RCA Webinar Recording December 2021 (February 2022)
Root Cause Analysis – 12VAC35-105-160.E.2
• Sample(s)
• Training(s)
- Flow-Chart Incident Reviews (April 2023)
- QI-RM-RCA Webinar (December 2021)
- Regulatory Compliance with Root Cause Analysis Regulations Training (December 2021)
- Risk Management & Quality Improvement Strategies Training by the Center for Developmental Disabilities Evaluation and Research – Handout (December 2020)
- Root Cause Analysis Training (October 2020)
• FAQs
Risk Management – 12VAC35-105-520
• Attestation
- Updated Crosswalk of DBHDS Approved Attestation Trainings (August 2022)
- Updated Risk Management Attestation Form (August 2022)
• Sample(s)
- Sample Provider Systemic Risk Assessment (February 2022)
- Sample Provider Risk Management Plan (June 2021)
•Tools and Templates
- Individual Risk Tracking Tool (April 2023)
- Monthly Risk Tracking Tool (April 2023)
- Instructional Video-Risk Tracking Tool (April 2023)
- Serious Incident Review and Root Cause Analysis Template (April 2023)
- Systemic Risk Assessment Template (April 2023)
• Training(s)
- Day 1: Minimizing Risk Session 1 Webinar (April 2023)
- Minimizing Risk Session 1 PowerPoint (April 2023)
- Day 2: Minimizing Risk Session 2 Webinar (April 2023)
- Minimizing Risk Session 2 PowerPoint (April 2023)
- Day 3: Minimizing Risk Session 3 Webinar (April 2023)
- Minimizing Risk Session 3 PowerPoint (April 2023)
- Flow-Chart Incident Reviews (April 2023)
- QI-RM-RCA Webinar (December 2021)
- Regulatory Compliance with Risk Management Regulations Training (December 2021)
- Risk Management Tips and Tools Training (June 2021)
- Risk Management & Quality Improvement Strategies Training by the Center for Developmental Disabilities Evaluation & Research – Recorded Webinar (December 2020)
- Risk Management Training (November 2020)
• Care Concerns
- 2023 Care Concern Threshold Criteria Memo (February 2023)
- IMU Care Concern PowerPoint Training (February 2023)
- Risk Triggers and Threshold Handout (February 2023)
• FAQ
Monitoring and Evaluating Service Quality – Quality Improvement – 12VAC35-105-620
• Memo(s)
- Tracking of Level I Serious Incidents vs Baseline Behaviors Memo (February 2023)
• Sample(s)
- Tools for Developing a Quality Improvement Program (February 2022)
- Sample Provider Quality Improvement Plan (June 2021)
• Training(s)
- QI-RM-RCA Webinar (December 2021)
- Regulatory Compliance with Quality Improvement Regulations Training (December 2021)
- Quality Improvement Tips and Tools Training (June 2021)
- Risk Management & Quality Improvement Strategies Training by the Center for Developmental Disabilities Evaluation & Research – Recorded Webinar (December 2020)
- Quality Improvement Training (November 2020)
• FAQs
Other resources
A collection of guides, toolkits and training resources to help build quality improvement (QI) knowledge and skills has been posted to the DBHDS Office of Clinical Quality Management webpage: Office of Clinical Quality Management
SERIOUS INCIDENT REPORTING AND CHRIS TRAINING
- Serious Incident Reporting-Covid-19 (December 2022)
- Individual and Systematic Risk – How to Report and Respond to Incidents (April 2022)
- Memo – Revoking A User Access (February 2020)
- CHRIS System Training (May 2021)
- Creating A New Serious Incident Case (August 2019)
- Creating A New Death Case (August 2019)
- Updating A Serious Incident (August 2019)
- Updating A Death Record (August 2019)
- DELTA Overview
MORTALITY REVIEW COMMITTEE
- Mortality Review Committee Submission Checklist (July 2022)
- Mortality Review Document Submission Process (January 2023)
- Mortality Review Committee Document Submission Memorandum (July 2019)
- Contacting 911 Emergency Services (December 2019)
ARCHIVED DOCUMENTS
OFFICE OF LICENSING CONTACT INFORMATION
P.O. Box 1797
Richmond, VA 23218
Office (804) 786-1747
Fax (804) 692-0066
Office of Licensing Staff Contact Information
Incident Management Unit Regional Contact
Specialized Investigation Unit Regional Contact
FOIA
The Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), located § 2.2-3700 et. seq. of the Code of Virginia, guarantees citizens of the Commonwealth and representatives of the media access to public records held by public bodies,
public officials, and public employees.
- A list of all DBHDS licensed providers can be found here.
- Corrective Action Plans for DBHDS licensed providers can be found here.
- A FOIA request is required for information regarding closed providers.
- To request additional records from the DBHDS Office of Licensing,
please submit a request directly through the CONNECT FOIA Portal. - To request records from any other office within the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services,
please direct your request to Kimora Porter at 804-786-3921 or fax at 804-371-6638. In addition, the Department has a Voice/TDD, (804) 371-8977.
Complaints
The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) values the citizens of Virginia and the feedback from the community at large and service providers. As such, DBHDS is dedicated to providing the best service possible to all stake holders. Information provided by citizens and employees helps with fulfilling DBHDS’ mission. If you choose to make a complaint, we will use a formal process to ensure that your complaint is addressed in a timely manner.
Please note, that the Office of Licensing will only investigate complaints that allege a violation of the Rules and Regulations for Licensed Providers by DBHDS or the Standards for the Regulation of Children’s Residential Facilities. While we will not investigate, the Office of Licensing may refer your allegation to the appropriate enforcement agency if the complaint does not allege a violation of the Licensing Regulations, but we believe that you have alleged a violation within their jurisdiction.
To file a complaint for the Office of Licensing through the CONNECT portal.
To report allegations of abuse, neglect and exploitation or other potential human rights violations involving a licensed provider,
please contact the Office of Human Rights directly. Please click here.