How to testify before the Virginia legislature

This page covers what's specific to Virginia. For the general steps of signing up and speaking, see the general guide.

How Virginia does it

The House of Delegates and the Senate each run their own sign-up system. There's no single portal covering both. For the House, every posted committee or subcommittee meeting on the House Meeting Schedule includes a "Sign up to speak or submit comments" link into HODSpeak (hodspeak.house.virginia.gov). There you can request to speak, submit written comments, or both, using a phone number and/or email address. House Committee Operations staff then contact you with instructions on how to address the committee, in person or remotely.

For the Senate, sign-up for virtual testimony happens on the Senate's video streaming page, where a registration link appears below the committee name starting a half hour before the meeting. Senate subcommittees generally don't offer remote testimony, only full committee meetings do. For both chambers, showing up in person to testify doesn't require advance registration. The chair announces the time allotted per speaker at the start of the public comment period.

Deadlines and numbers

• House remote sign-up: closes midnight the night before for morning meetings, noon the day of for afternoon meetings
• House written comments: capped at 425 words via HODSpeak. Submit at least 4 hours before the meeting to guarantee committee members see it in advance
• Senate virtual testimony registration: opens 30 minutes before the meeting
• 2026 session: 60-day "long session" (even year), convened January 14, 2026, adjourned March 14, 2026, with a reconvened session April 22, 2026 for vetoes and amendments
• Odd-year sessions are capped at 30 days by the Virginia Constitution, extendable by two-thirds vote of each house

Where to go

• General participation overview: vga.virginia.gov/engage/participation-public-comment/
• House sign-up (HODSpeak): hodspeak.house.virginia.gov/
• Senate committee meetings and video: apps.senate.virginia.gov/Senator/CommitteeMeetings.php and virginia-senate.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3
• Master schedule, bill status, session calendars: lis.virginia.gov/schedule
• 2026 session calendar: dls.virginia.gov/pubs/calendar/cal2026_2.pdf

Rules

No fixed per-speaker time limit exists in rule for either chamber. The chair sets it live at the start of public comment, so it can vary meeting to meeting. It's also unconfirmed whether House subcommittees, as distinct from full committees, uniformly offer remote testimony, since House guidance describes remote sign-up at the meeting level without distinguishing subcommittee practice consistently. Because nearly all hearings happen only while the General Assembly is in session, the window to testify on a pending bill is short, front-loaded into January and February. Route subcommittee-specific questions to /engage.