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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>368437</law_id><section_number>54.1-2956.12</section_number><catch_line>Registered surgical technologist; use of title; registration</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2026/" slug="2026" current="TRUE" last_updated="2026-08-02">2026</edition><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="118" identifier="54.1">Professions and Occupations</unit><unit label="subtitle" level="2" order_by="3" identifier="III">Professions and Occupations Regulated by Boards Within the Department of Health Professions</unit><unit label="chapter" level="3" order_by="10" identifier="29">Medicine and Other Healing Arts</unit><unit label="article" level="4" order_by="4" identifier="4">Licensure and Certification of Other Practitioners of the Healing Arts</unit></structure><text>
						<section id="A"><p><span class="prefix-number">A.</span> No person shall hold himself out to be a surgical technologist or use or assume the title of &#x201C;surgical technologist&#x201D; or &#x201C;certified surgical technologist,&#x201D; or use the designation &#x201C;S.T.&#x201D; or any variation thereof, unless such person is certified by the <span class="dictionary">Board</span>. No person shall use the designation &#x201C;C.S.T.&#x201D; or any variation thereof unless such person (i) is certified by the <span class="dictionary">Board</span> and (ii) has successfully completed an accredited surgical technologist training program and holds a current credential as a certified surgical technologist from the National <span class="dictionary">Board</span> of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting or its successor. <a id="paragraph-1372302" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/54.1-2956.12/#A"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="B"><p><span class="prefix-number">B.</span> The <span class="dictionary">Board</span> shall certify as a surgical technologist any applicant who presents satisfactory <span class="dictionary">evidence</span> that he (i) has successfully completed an accredited surgical technologist training program and holds a current credential as a certified surgical technologist from the National <span class="dictionary">Board</span> of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting or its successor, (ii) has successfully completed a training program for surgical technology during the person&#x2019;s service as a member of any branch of the armed forces of the United States, (iii) has successfully completed a surgical technologist apprenticeship program registered with the U.S. Department of Labor, (iv) has successfully completed a hospital-based surgical technologist training program approved by the <span class="dictionary">Board</span>, (v) has successfully completed a surgical technologist training program through an institution or program accredited by a nationally recognized accreditation organization and holds a current credential as a surgical technologist from an entity approved by the <span class="dictionary">Board</span>, or (vi) has practiced as a surgical technologist or attended a surgical technologist training program at any time prior to October 1, 2022, provided he registers with the <span class="dictionary">Board</span> by December 31, 2023. <a id="paragraph-1372303" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/54.1-2956.12/#B"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section></text><history>2014, c. 531; 2016, c. 99; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 230; 2022, c. 71; 2023, c. 792.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
