§ 9.1-186.4 Limitations on licensure
A. In order to be licensed as a bail enforcement agent a person shall (i) be 21 years of age or older, (ii) have received a high school diploma or passed a high school equivalency examination approved by the Board of Education, and (iii) have satisfactorily completed a basic certification course in training for bail enforcement agents offered by the Department. Partial exemptions to the training requirements may be approved by the Department if the individual has received prior training.
B. The following persons are not eligible for licensure as a bail enforcement agent and may not be employed nor serve as agents for a bail enforcement agent:
1. Persons who have been convicted of a felony within the Commonwealth, any other state, or the United States, who have not been pardoned, or whose civil rights have not been restored.
2. Persons who have been convicted of any misdemeanor within the Commonwealth, any other state, or the United States within the preceding five years. This prohibition may be waived by the Department, for good cause shown, so long as the conviction was not for one of the following or a substantially similar misdemeanor: carrying a concealed weapon, assault and battery, sexual battery, a drug offense, driving under the influence, discharging a firearm, a sex offense, or larceny.
3. Persons who have been convicted of any misdemeanor within the Commonwealth, any other state, or the United States, that is substantially similar to the following: brandishing a firearm or stalking. The Department may not waive the prohibitions under this subdivision 3.
4. Persons currently the subject of a protective order within the Commonwealth or another state.
6. Employees of a sheriff’s office, or a state or local police department.
7. Commonwealth’s Attorneys, and any employees of their offices.
8. Employees of the Department of Corrections, Department of Criminal Justice Services, or a local pretrial or community-based probation services agency.
C. The exclusions in subsection B shall not be construed to prohibit law enforcement from accompanying a bail enforcement agent when he engages in bail recovery.
History
This law was first created in 2004. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 397 of that year’s edition of “Acts of Assembly,” the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. It has been modified 2 times. Those modifications are cataloged by “The Acts of Assembly,” a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly’s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 2007, chapter 133; in 2014, chapter 84.
2004, c. 397; 2007, c. 133; 2014, c. 84.