If you miss it, you must wait until the next exam. 54.1-3925 of the Code of Virginia. If your application is not actually received in the Secretary's office by the filing deadline, it may be deemed to be timely filed only if it has been mailed postage prepaid to the Office of the Secretary of the Board by registered or certified mail and if the official receipt therefor, which shall be exhibited on demand, shows mailing to the Secretary's office on or before the prescribed deadline. Don't take a chance. No, Virginia does not require early law student registration.
Several states do require such pre-registration.
If you expect to be applying for the bar examination in a state other than Virginia, you should check the rules of that particular jurisdiction. On the results page of this web site you will find the date when we expect to be able to release the results of the most recent Bar Examination. The results will be posted on that page, by applicant number only, at the same time formal notice is mailed to each person who has taken the examination. Please note that the expected release date may be delayed if persons telephone the Secretary's office to inquire about the release date, thus interrupting the processing and checking of examination scores. Immediately following the exam each examiner reads and assigns preliminary scores to a sample of the essay answers.