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Virginia Administrative Code
Title 6. Criminal Justice And Corrections
Agency 20. Department of Criminal Justice Services
Chapter 130. Regulations Governing the Privacy and Security of Criminal History Record Information Checks for Firearm Purchases
12/22/2024

6VAC20-130-20. Definitions.

The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meaning unless the context clearly dictates otherwise:

"Antique firearm" means any firearm meeting the statutory definition provided in § 18.2-308.2:2 G of the Code of Virginia.

"Criminal history record information" means records and data collected by criminal justice agencies on adult individuals, consisting of notations of arrests, detentions, indictments, information, or other formal charges and any disposition arising therefrom.

"Criminal history record information check," "criminal record check," and "record check" mean a review of a potential purchaser's criminal history record information, to be conducted by the Department of State Police at the initiation of a dealer in order to establish a prospective purchaser's eligibility to possess or transport a firearm, as defined in this chapter, under state or federal law.

"Dealer" means any person licensed as a dealer pursuant to 18 USC § 921 et seq.

"Dealer identification number" or "DIN" means a unique identifying number assigned by the Department of State Police to each individual dealer as defined in § 18.2-308.2:2 G of the Code of Virginia, in order to identify such dealers when they request criminal history record information to determine the eligibility of a prospective purchaser to possess or transport a firearm.

"Department" means the Virginia Department of State Police.

"Firearm" means any firearm meeting the statutory definition provided in § 18.2-308.2:2 G of the Code of Virginia.

"Handgun" means any firearm meeting the statutory definition provided in § 18.2-308.2:2 G of the Code of Virginia.

"Law-enforcement officer" means any full-time or part-time employee of a police department or sheriff's office which is a part of or administered by the Commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof, or any full-time or part-time employee of a private police department, and who is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of the penal, traffic, or highway laws of the Commonwealth and shall include any (i) special agent of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control; (ii) police agent appointed under the provisions of § 56-353 of the Code of Virginia; (iii) officer of the Virginia Marine Police; (iv) conservation police officer who is a full-time sworn member of the enforcement division of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries; (v) investigator who is a full-time sworn member of the security division of the Virginia Lottery; (vi) conservation officer of the Department of Conservation and Recreation commissioned pursuant to § 10.1-115 of the Code of Virginia; (vii) full-time sworn member of the enforcement division of the Department of Motor Vehicles appointed pursuant to § 46.2-217 of the Code of Virginia; (viii) animal protection police officer employed under § 15.2-632 of the Code of Virginia; (ix) campus police officer appointed under Chapter 17 (§ 23-232 et seq.) of Title 23 of the Code of Virginia; or (x) private police officer employed by a private police department. Part-time employees are those compensated officers who are not full-time employees as defined by the employing police department, sheriff's office, or private police department.

"Prospective purchaser" means an individual who intends to buy, rent, trade, or transfer a firearm as defined in this chapter, and has notified a dealer of his intent.

"Resident of Virginia" means a person who resides and has a present intent to remain within the Commonwealth, as shown by an ongoing physical presence and a residential address within Virginia. If a person does not reside in Virginia, but is on active duty as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces and Virginia is the person's permanent duty station, the person shall, for the purpose of these regulations, be considered a resident of Virginia.

"Transfer" means to sell, rent, trade, or transfer a firearm as defined in this chapter.

"VCheck" means Virginia's instant criminal background check program authorized by the Department of State Police and available via the Internet to all firearms dealers registered with the State Police Firearms Transaction Center.

"Virginia Firearms Transaction Record Form" or "VFTR form" means the form issued by the Department of State Police provided to dealers and required for obtaining a criminal history record check, also known as "SP-65" or the "VFTR."

Statutory Authority

§ 18.2-308.2:2 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from VR240-02-2 § 1.1, eff. November 2, 1990; amended, Virginia Register Volume 8, Issue 3, eff. December 4, 1991; Volume 8, Issue 18, eff. July 1, 1992; Volume 35, Issue 2, eff. October 19, 2018.

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