Virginia program
A medical certificate to delay a utility shutoff
A signed serious-medical-condition form can temporarily protect utility service during treatment.
What it is
A signed serious-medical-condition form can temporarily protect utility service during treatment.
The clinic certifies the medical condition, and the utility handles the certificate. It can also restore recently disconnected service. The unpaid bill remains.
Eligibility rules
- The rule covers regulated electric, gas and water companies and electric cooperatives. A city- or county-owned utility is outside it and may have its own policy, so check the name on your bill.
What you get
- At least 30 days of protection after the shutoff-notice period, up to twice in 12 months.
- Reconnection when the qualifying shutoff happened within the last 14 days.
What the rules cover
- The certifying physician or nurse practitioner must be licensed in a U.S. state or DC. The form also needs the required customer and patient, guardian or representative signatures. It certifies the condition and does not pay the bill.
- For a qualifying disconnection within the last 14 days, the completed certificate and restoration request can restore service without up-front payment. The bill and lawful later charges remain.
If you decide to apply
- Ask the clinic’s physician or nurse practitioner about the Serious Medical Condition Certification Form.
- Add the customer and patient or guardian signatures, send the form to the utility, and keep a dated copy.
The utility · Official page ↗
If you decide to apply
- The utility handles the completed form. A dated copy helps establish when it received the certificate.
- Ask the utility to document the payment arrangement and hold end date. An agreed arrangement must be confirmed within three business days. Without an arrangement, a new termination notice is required at least 10 days before protection ends.
- A pending-certificate hold lasts 15 calendar days, once per 12 months. A completed certificate is a separate step. Safety, theft and tampering exceptions apply. The expanded rule took effect July 1, 2025.
Good to know
A pending certificate gives only 15 days, once in 12 months. The protection does not forgive the bill.
Other details
- The medical protection and assistance with the amount owed are separate conversations.
Official sources
“Would a medical certificate protect our utility service, and could you help get it signed? What payment help could cover the balance while the delay runs?”
Why I’m asking: A shutoff could make caring for our child harder or unsafe.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Get the form signed and filed; keep a copy and the date.
Your social worker
The clinic signs the clinician section.
The care team
A doctor or nurse practitioner signs the certification.
- Who decides
- The utility
- Ask the care team
- “Can you sign the serious medical condition certification form for our utility, so a shutoff can be delayed while treatment continues?”
How to apply
First step: Ask the clinic to sign the certification form at the next visit, and file it with the utility the day a notice arrives.
- Get the form signed at the next clinic visit, before you need it.
- File it with the utility the day a shutoff notice arrives.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Ask the clinic to sign the Serious Medical Condition Certification Form and file it with the utility the day a notice arrives.
What to gather
- The shutoff notice with its date
- The clinic contact who can sign
How long: The delay starts when the utility has the completed form.
What a yes looks like
A confirmed 30-day delay, or service restored after a recent cut.
What a no looks like, and the next move
If the utility says both delays are used, ask about the payment plan and the crisis window instead.
Watch out
- It delays; it does not forgive. The bill still has to be dealt with.
- A pending certificate buys only 15 days, once a year.
- Whether municipal utilities are covered was not established.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
A 30-day delay on a shutoff, twice in 12 months, and reconnection when service was cut in the last 14 days.
- $30 — Days a completed certificate holds off a shutoff
- $2 — Times a year a completed certificate can be used
- $14 — Days a shutoff can be reversed after it happened
Legal protection: Two 30-day delays in a 12-month period, which may be consecutive · A separate 15-day delay while a certificate is pending, once in 12 months · Prompt restoration when service was cut in the preceding 14 days
What it costs the family: None.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Utilities
- investor-owned electric utilities, electric co-operatives, natural gas utilities and public water or wastewater utilities; municipal scope NOT FOUND
- Form
- signed by a physician or nurse practitioner, the customer, and the patient, guardian or representative
- Limits
- two 30-day delays in 12 months; a pending-certificate delay of 15 days once in 12 months
The trap: It delays, it does not forgive. The debt stays and the delays run out: two 30-day delays in 12 months, which can be back to back. A certificate that is still pending gets only a 15-day delay, once in 12 months.
Where I read this
- Virginia Administrative Code 20VAC5-330-40 — Serious medical condition certification — Virginia Law Library, read September 10, 2026
- Virginia Administrative Code 20VAC5-330-20 — Certification form — Virginia Law Library, read September 10, 2026