Virginia Code 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.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 9.1-186.4
- Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
- Bail recovery: means an act whereby a person arrests a bailee with the object of surrendering the bailee to the appropriate court, jail, or police department, for the purpose of discharging the bailee's surety from liability on his bond. See Virginia Code 9.1-186
- Board: means the Criminal Justice Services Board. See Virginia Code 9.1-101
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Department: means the Department of Criminal Justice Services. See Virginia Code 9.1-101
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
- United States: includes the 50 states, the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-255
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.
5. Employees of a local or regional jail.
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.