Ensuring the effective delivery of DPOR’s mission-critical functions, license issuance and complaint resolution has been a primary focus in the FY 2023-2024 biennium.

Over the course of the biennium, DPOR substantially improved its application processing time. At the beginning of 2022, the average application processing time was 33 business days. By the end of FY 2024, DPOR’s average application processing time was 4.8 business days.

Likewise, in the same timeframe, the number of days for intake to complete an initial review of complaint files fell from 35 to 7, and the number of days for investigations to complete an investigation fell from 110 to 90.

In order to make services more accessible, DPOR translated 20 Contractor examinations into Spanish and launched remote proctoring examinations for Contractor applicants. DPOR has made Korean, Vietnamese, Mandarin, French, and Spanish translations available for its 23 most used documents to benefit applicants, licensees, and the public.

A major investment in staff time and funding over the past biennium, DPOR’s new EPICx (Efficient Processing Intuitive Customer Experience) Licensing and Enforcement system is expected to lay the foundation for the digital transformation journey that has been pending for over a decade. Secure, user-friendly online services are essential to meeting citizen expectations, improving customer service, and reducing regulatory burden on licensees.

This transition will convert internal paper and PDF licensing applications and forms to online application, thereby eliminating the cost and delay associated with paper application and record processing.

In an effort to reduce unnecessary burden on licensees, DPOR’s boards are conducting line-by-line reviews of all 33 chapters of regulation, with the goal of reducing regulations by 25%. By the end of FY 2024, all 33 chapters had completed their NOIRA stage and DPOR was heading towards a 13% reduction before calculating economic savings.

With the understanding that DPOR’s mission - critical functions are directly tied to maintaining adequate staffing levels, human resources continues to actively recruit and fill vacancies. In addition to conventional methods, job openings are now posted and advertised on multiple social media platforms. Agency vacancies fell from 42 at the beginning of 2022 to 31 at the close of FY 2024.

Representing a significant reduction in regulatory burden, Universal License Recognition was implemented in July 2023. More than 600 professionals and businesses have transferred their licenses into Virginia to date, with an earning potential of $185 million. Among the most transferred professional credentials were those of tradesmen, real estate professionals, and cosmetologists.