How to Complete and Submit the Virginia School Entrance Health Form (MCH 213G)

Every child entering a Virginia public school for the first time needs a completed Virginia School Entrance Health Form, MCH 213G. It’s a single three-part document: you fill out Part I at home, and your child’s doctor completes Parts II and III. The physical exam reported on the form must have been done within the 12 months before your child starts school. The fillable PDF is on the Virginia Department of Health’s enrollment forms page.¹

Who Has to Submit the Form

Virginia Code § 22.1-270 requires MCH 213G for any child enrolling for the first time in a Virginia public kindergarten or elementary school.² If your child previously attended school in another state or another Virginia division, equivalent records from that prior school can satisfy the requirement instead of a new exam. Without those records, your child needs a fresh physical.

The physical exam requirement applies only to public schools. Immunization requirements sit in a separate statute, § 22.1-271.2, and cover public and private elementary, middle, and secondary schools, so private-school families still have to document vaccinations even if their school doesn’t use MCH 213G.³ Homeschooled children don’t submit the form at all, but under § 22.1-271.4 they must meet the same vaccine requirements and produce documentation if the local superintendent asks.⁴

If cost is an obstacle, every county and city health department is required to perform the exam at no charge for families who qualify as medically indigent. Health departments can also offer the exam to other families on a fee basis.²

Part I: What You Fill Out

Part I is the only section you complete yourself. It asks about your child’s medical background, pre-existing conditions, allergies, current medications, and any developmental concerns, so school staff know what to do if something comes up during the day. Be specific. “Asthma, uses albuterol inhaler as needed” tells a school nurse far more than a checked box.⁵

Your school division distributes the form, and you have 15 days from the date you receive it to return the completed version. The superintendent or a designee can grant a reasonable extension if you need more time. If you miss the deadline without an extension, the superintendent can send written notice of a date your child will be excluded from school. A child experiencing homelessness cannot be excluded for failing to complete the form.²

Part II: Immunizations Your Provider Records

Your child’s medical provider fills out Part II, writing the month, day, and year of every vaccine dose. The provider authenticates the record with an official clinic stamp or signature. The provider can also attach a signed or stamped copy of your child’s immunization history instead of transcribing every date onto the form.⁵

Required Vaccines for Kindergarten and Elementary Entry

Virginia’s minimum doses for school entry:⁶

DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis): 4 doses, with at least one on or after the fourth birthday.
Polio (IPV): 4 doses, with at least one on or after the fourth birthday.
Hepatitis B: 3 doses. Adolescents aged 11–15 may need only 2 doses if the adult formulation of Recombivax HB is used.
MMR (measles, mumps, rubella): 2 doses of measles and mumps vaccine, 1 dose of rubella. The combination MMR shot covers all three, so most children receive 2 doses total. The first dose must be given at 12 months or older.
Varicella (chickenpox): 2 doses.⁷

Children under 60 months also need Hib and pneumococcal (PCV) vaccines, with the exact dose count depending on the child’s age at the first dose.⁶

Additional Vaccines Starting in Seventh Grade

Three more requirements apply before seventh grade:⁸

Tdap booster: 1 dose before entering seventh grade.
HPV (human papillomavirus): 2 doses, with the first before seventh grade. Parents can opt out at their sole discretion after reviewing educational materials approved by the Board of Health.
Meningococcal conjugate (MenACWY): 2 doses, the first before seventh grade and the second before twelfth grade.

Check every date before you leave the office. Incomplete dates and missing doses are the most common reason a child gets flagged during the school’s records review, and fixing it later means another trip to the provider.

Part III: The Physical Exam

Part III is where a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant records the exam itself: height, weight, blood pressure, and a head-to-toe systems review, plus dedicated sections for vision and hearing screening results.⁵ If your child wears glasses or uses a hearing aid, the provider notes that too.

The provider signs and dates Part III and summarizes any abnormal findings, specifically noting any condition that could identify the child as having a disability.² Remember the 12-month rule: the exam must have taken place within the year before your child first enters school. Pediatric offices and health departments get heavily booked in late summer, so schedule with enough lead time that you’re not scrambling in August.

Exemptions

Religious Objection to the Physical Exam

If the physical exam conflicts with your religious beliefs, you can opt out by submitting a written statement to the school saying that, to the best of your knowledge, your child is in good health and free from any communicable disease. Your child must also show no visible signs of illness.² This exemption covers only the physical exam. Vaccines are handled separately.

Religious Exemption From Immunization

To claim a religious exemption from vaccines, the student or a parent submits a notarized Certificate of Religious Exemption (Form CRE 1) to the school’s admitting official. The form is an affidavit stating that immunization conflicts with the student’s religious tenets or practices, and it’s available on the Virginia Department of Health’s immunization requirements page.⁹

Medical Exemption From Immunization

If a vaccine would be harmful to your child’s health, you need written certification from a licensed physician, a licensed advanced practice registered nurse, or a local health department. The certification must describe the specific medical condition and its probable duration.³

Conditional Enrollment if Vaccines Aren’t Finished

A child who has started the required vaccine series but hasn’t completed it can be admitted conditionally for up to 90 calendar days. Your child must have received at least one dose of each required vaccine and have a written plan from a doctor or local health department showing how the remaining doses will be completed within that window.¹⁰

Hepatitis B is the exception. Because the series needs careful spacing between doses, students who need more than two hepatitis B doses get 180 calendar days of conditional enrollment for that vaccine. Children experiencing homelessness get stronger protection still: a homeless child who lacks documentation or has incomplete immunizations and no exemption must be admitted immediately, and the school refers the family to the local school division liaison for help catching up.¹⁰

Turning the Form In

Once Part I is done and your provider has completed Parts II and III, deliver the form to your child’s school, usually to the registrar or the main office, before the first day of attendance. Some divisions want paper; others accept a scanned upload through an enrollment portal. Call the front office if you aren’t sure which they prefer.

After the school receives the form, it becomes part of your child’s school health record. The Virginia Department of Health and local health departments have the right to review that record on request.² Because the record is maintained by the school rather than a healthcare provider, it falls under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which gives you the right to inspect it and request corrections through the school.¹¹

1
Virginia Department of Health. Enrollment Forms and Action Plans
2
Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 22.1-270 – Preschool Physical Examinations
3
Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 22.1-271.2 – Immunization Requirements
4
Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 22.1-271.4 – Health Requirements for Home-Instructed, Exempted, and Excused Children
5
Virginia Department of Health. Virginia School Entrance Health Form MCH 213G
6
Virginia Department of Health. School and Day Care Minimum Immunization Requirements
7
Virginia Department of Health. Supplemental Guidance for School-Required Vaccines
8
Virginia Department of Health. School Requirements – Immunization
9
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Administrative Code 12VAC5-110-80 – Exemptions From Immunization Requirements
10
Virginia Code Commission. Regulations for the Immunization of School Children – Chapter 110
11
Protecting Student Privacy. Know Your Rights: FERPA Protections for Student Health Records