How often are fire drills required in Virginia?

Virginia fire drill log

Virginia does not state a number. Drill frequency and participation follow the current Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code (13VAC5-51) — so the count comes from the fire code, not the licensing rule. Two Virginia-specific conditions ride on top: the drills required for each shift in a quarter may NOT all fall in the same month, and every required drill must be UNANNOUNCED.

The building

Virginia requirements loaded — the rules below are Virginia’s own.

Facility name *Year

Address

State *

How many shifts does this building run? *Virginia’s rule counts drills per shift, so this is the difference between “three drills done” and “all three shifts covered”. Saved to your facility, so nothing else asks again.

Virginia — Assisted Living Facility: Virginia does not state a number. Drill frequency and participation follow the current Virginia Statewide Fire Prevention Code (13VAC5-51) — so the count comes from the fire code, not the licensing rule. Two Virginia-specific conditions ride on top: the drills required for each shift in a quarter may NOT all fall in the same month, and every required drill must be UNANNOUNCED.22VAC40-73-950 (emergency preparedness and response plan); -960 (fire and emergency evacuation plan); -970 (fire and emergency evacuation drills); -990 (plan for resident emergencies and practice exercise) · Virginia Dept. of Social Services — Division of Licensing · checked Jul 2026

Your target for the year

We do not have a verified drill frequency for this licence, so there is no number to start you off. Ask Virginia Dept. of Social Services — Division of Licensing and put their answer here — the log works either way.

Use a different number instead

The drills

One row per drill. Vary the time of day and the scenario — most states require it explicitly, and a log showing four drills all at 10am on a Tuesday is the first thing a surveyor notices.

DateTimeShiftAnnounced?

ScenarioClear / accounted (min)StaffResidents

What went wrongWhat was done about itConducted by

What Virginia requires

Assisted Living Facility — Assisted living / residential care

22VAC40-73-950 (emergency preparedness and response plan); -960 (fire and emergency evacuation plan); -970 (fire and emergency evacuation drills); -990 (plan for resident emergencies and practice exercise) · Virginia Dept. of Social Services — Division of Licensing · 22VAC40-73-970 · checked July 2026

Filling it in so it survives a survey

Vary the time and the scenario between drills — most states require it in terms, and a log showing every drill at 10am on a Tuesday is the first thing an experienced surveyor picks out. Record what went wrong and the date it was fixed: a run of flawless drills reads as a log nobody actually ran, and the corrective action is the part that shows the drill was worth holding.

The plan behind the drills

A drill tests a plan. Everything Virginia requires of that plan — filing, prescribed forms, retention — sits alongside this, and the emergency plan builder writes it from the same research, so the two cannot disagree.

Everything else we’ve researched about Virginia

Same state, the problems either side of this one. Each carries its own statute and the date we last checked it.

General information, not legal advice, and not a compliance determination. CompliMaint issues nothing — Virginia’s licensing agency and your authority having jurisdiction do. The rule above is cited and dated to when we last checked it; verify it before you rely on it.