Abstract Background Herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 has a 152 kb double-stranded DNA genome that may encode more than 80 gene products, many of which remain uncharacterized. The HSV-1 triplex is a complex of three protein subunits, VP19C and a dimer of VP23 that is essential for capsid assembly. Previous studies have demonstrated that HSV-1 VP19C contains an atypical nuclear localization signal and a functional nuclear export signal (NES), which are both important for the nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of VP19C. However, whether the VP19C NES is required for efficient HSV-1 production is unknown. Findings In the present study, a VP19C NES-mutated recombinant virus was generated by using bacterial artificial chromosome recombineering technology to investigate the role of VP19C nuclear export in HSV-1 replication. Our results demonstrate that the growth curves, plaque areas, subcellular localization and viral gene expression are indistinguishable between the VP19C NES-mutated virus and the wild-type virus. Conclusions Our findings reported herein indicate abrogation of the nuclear export of VP19C did not affect HSV-1 replication and viral gene expression.