Administering Entity
West Virginia State Police Forensic Laboratory
Arrestees: No.
Convicted Offenders: Yes – adults and juveniles.
Qualifying Crimes: Mandatory for the offenses enumerated in W. Va. Code § 15-2B-6 — crimes against the person, § 61-8B sexual offenses, § 61-8D child abuse offenses, burglary/arson/breaking-and-entering offenses, felony drug violations, and attempts — plus sex offender registrants. Collection from any other convicted felon is discretionary (“may”) and only while the person is under criminal justice supervision (§ 15-2B-6(g)).
Time of Collection: For incarcerated persons: collected in jail or prison under Division of Corrections supervision. For others: the sheriff of the county of conviction collects the sample. The State Police may also require a sample from any convicted felon under criminal justice supervision (including parole, probation, home confinement, community corrections, and work release).
Expungement: By petition to the court, served on the prosecuting attorney at least 20 days before the hearing, with a certified copy of the court order showing the conviction was reversed and the case dismissed (W. Va. Code § 15-2B-11).
Statutes / Case Law
W. Va. Code, § 15-2B-3. Definitions
§ 15-2B-9. Procedures for withdrawal of blood sample for DNA analysis and for conducting analysis
§15-2B-11. Expungement
Va. Code of State Rules § 81-9-4 Procedures for the Collection of Samples for DNA Analysis
Legislative History
- SB 252 (1995 R.S.) — Ch. 85, Acts 1995, “Creating DNA Database and Databank Act of 1995” (passed Mar. 9, 1995; approved by Governor Mar. 23, 1995; in effect from passage). Created W. Va. Code ch. 15, art. 2B in its entirety (§§ 15-2B-1 through 15-2B-13) and repealed § 15-2A-24a, the predecessor provision. Established the DNA database and databank under the Division of Public Safety and the original collection mandate at § 15-2B-6 — blood samples from persons convicted of enumerated Chapter 61 offenses and from prisoners incarcerated on or convicted after July 1, 1995 — plus rulemaking, federal-guideline compatibility, database exchange, disclosure, expungement, confidentiality, and penalties.
- HB 4322 (2000 R.S.) — Ch. 59, Acts 2000 (passed Feb. 23, 2000; approved Mar. 3, 2000; effective 90 days from passage). Amended § 15-2B-6 only. Added new subsection (c) requiring a blood sample from persons convicted after July 1, 2000 of a second tier of offenses — §§ 61-2-5 and 61-2-13; the arson, burglary, entry, and grand larceny provisions at §§ 61-3-1 through 61-3-13(a); the destructive device offenses at §§ 61-3E-3, -4, -5, and -10; and § 61-4-3.
- SB 524 (2002 R.S.) — Ch. 88, Acts 2002 (passed Mar. 9, 2002; approved Apr. 3, 2002; effective July 1, 2002). Amended § 15-2B-6. Replaced “blood sample” with “DNA sample” throughout and defined the term as “a tissue, fluid or other bodily sample of an individual on which a DNA analysis can be done,” with the collection method subject to State Police crime lab testing methods — the shift off blood-only collection. Added new subsection (d) reaching persons convicted after July 1, 2002 of a felony violation of ch. 60A, art. 4 (controlled substances), or an attempt to violate § 61-2-1 (murder), § 61-2-14a (kidnapping), or art. 8B (sexual offenses).
- HB 305 (2004 3rd Ex. Sess.) — Ch. 9, Acts 3rd Extraordinary Session, 2004 (passed Nov. 16, 2004; approved Dec. 2, 2004; in effect from passage). Amended §§ 15-2B-3 and 15-2B-6 and added § 15-2B-14. Stripped the July 1 date cutoffs from subsections (b) through (d), making those mandates general. New subsection (g) gave the State Police discretionary authority to require a DNA sample from any person convicted of a felony under the Code, for criminal identification only, provided the person is under criminal justice supervision — prison, regional jail, parole, probation, home confinement, community corrections, or work release. New subsection (h) limited use of the genetic information to establishing identity and required destruction of any portion of the biological sample not needed for present or future identity testing. New § 15-2B-14, “Right to DNA testing,” created a post-conviction DNA testing motion for felons serving a term of imprisonment, with appointed counsel for indigents and a verified motion showing identity was a significant issue and that testing would raise a reasonable probability of a more favorable verdict or sentence. Re-enacted the 2004 Regular Session counterpart, HB 4156 (passed Mar. 13, 2004), later declared null and void; HB 4156 is also in the folder.
- HB 3054 (2011 R.S.) — Ch. 47, Acts 2011, “Relating to DNA data collection” (passed Mar. 12, 2011; approved Apr. 5, 2011; effective June 10, 2011). Amended §§ 15-2B-3, -6, -7, -9, -10, and -12 and added §§ 15-2B-15 and 15-2B-16. Added a contempt penalty for refusing a court-ordered sample and authorized the State Police to collect DNA testing fees; § 15-2B-6(e) added the postage-paid collection kit supplied by the State Police. New § 15-2B-15 imposed a mandatory $150 fee on any person convicted of or adjudicated delinquent for a qualifying offense after July 1, 2011, absent undue hardship, deposited to a special West Virginia State Police DNA Database account. New § 15-2B-16authorized the Division to run partial match analysis against the database in murder, kidnapping, and first- and second-degree sexual assault investigations where all leads have been exhausted, following the Interim Plan until management rules are promulgated.
- SB 36 (2018 R.S.) — Ch. 207, Acts, Regular Session, 2018, “Relating generally to DNA testing” (passed Mar. 7, 2018; approved Mar. 27, 2018; effective June 5, 2018). Amended §§ 15-2B-2, -5, -6, and -11 and added § 15-9B-4. Authorized the State Police Forensic Laboratory to outsource DNA testing to qualified outside entities and expanded the types of testing eligible for outsourcing, while directing the State Police to attempt to contract with the Marshall University Forensic Science Center first. Authorized law enforcement and correctional officers to use reasonable force to obtain samples, deemed compliant collections to be in good faith, and exempted officers from civil and criminal liability for good-faith collection done reasonably. Required erroneously obtained samples to be removed from the database and destroyed, and clarified that judicial expungement proceeds by petition. New § 15-9B-4 granted legislative and emergency rulemaking authority to the Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Commission and directed it to set time frames for DNA sample submission.
No program or law identified.
No program or law identified.
Division of Justice & Community Services received a FY2018 SAKI grant ($1M) to standardize offender collection (including in correctional facilities); the legislature has moved related DNA-collection bills (e.g., SB 556 (2024), SB 31 (2025)). SAKI – WV · SB 556 (2024)
No program or law identified.