Virginia Law

The Board may refuse to grant any retail tobacco permit if it has reasonable cause to believe that:

1. The applicant, or if the applicant is a partnership, any general partner thereof, or if the applicant is an association, any member thereof, or any limited partner of 10 percent or more with voting rights, or if the applicant is a corporation, any officer, director, or shareholder owning 10 percent or more of its capital stock, or if the applicant is a limited liability company, any member-manager or any member owning 10 percent or more of the membership interest of the limited liability company:

a. Is not 21 years of age or older;

b. Has been convicted in any court of a felony or any crime or offense involving moral turpitude under the laws of any state or of the United States;

c. Has been convicted, within the five years immediately preceding the date of the application for such retail tobacco permit, of a violation of any law applicable to the manufacture, transportation, possession, use, or sale of retail tobacco products;

d. Is not a person of good moral character and repute;

e. Is not the legitimate owner of the business proposed to be licensed, or other persons have ownership interests in the business that have not been disclosed;

f. Has not demonstrated financial responsibility sufficient to meet the requirements of the business proposed to be permitted;

g. Has demonstrated, either by his police record or by his record as a former licensee or retail tobacco permittee of the Board, a lack of respect for law and order;

h. Has misrepresented a material fact in applying to the Board for a retail tobacco permit;

i. Has defrauded or attempted to defraud the Board or any federal, state, or local government or governmental agency or authority by making or filing any report, document, or tax return required by statute or regulation that is fraudulent or contains a false representation of a material fact, or has willfully deceived or attempted to deceive the Board or any federal, state, or local government or governmental agency or authority by making or maintaining business records required by statute or regulation that are false and fraudulent;

j. Has violated or allowed the violation of any provision of this article or Article 4 (§ 4.1-355 et seq.) of Chapter 3 in his establishment in the one year prior to application for a retail tobacco permit or while his application for a retail tobacco permit is pending;

k. Is a police officer with police authority in the political subdivision within which the establishment designated in the application is located;

l. Is physically unable to carry on the business for which the application for a retail tobacco permit is filed or has been adjudicated incapacitated; or

m. Is a member, agent, or employee of the Board.

2. The place to be occupied by the applicant:

a. Does not conform to the requirements of the governing body of the locality in which such place is located with respect to sanitation, health, construction, or equipment, or to any similar requirements established by the laws of the Commonwealth or by Board regulation;

b. Is so located that granting a retail tobacco permit and operation thereunder by the applicant would result in violations of this article, Board regulations, or violation of the laws of the Commonwealth or local ordinances relating to peace and good order;

c. Is so located with respect to any church; synagogue; hospital; public, private, or parochial school or institution of higher education; public or private playground or other similar recreational facility; or state, local, or federal government-operated facility that the operation of such place under such retail tobacco permit will adversely affect or interfere with the normal, orderly conduct of the affairs of such facilities or institutions;

d. Is so located with respect to any residence or residential area that the operation of such place under such retail tobacco permit will adversely affect real property values or substantially interfere with the usual quietude and tranquility of such residence or residential area; or

e. Is so constructed, arranged, or illuminated that law-enforcement officers and special agents of the Board are prevented from ready access to and reasonable observation of any room or area within which retail tobacco products are to be sold.

3. There exists any law, ordinance, or regulation of the United States, the Commonwealth, or any political subdivision thereof that warrants refusal by the Board to grant a retail tobacco permit.

4. The Board is not authorized under this article to grant such retail tobacco permit.

5. The Board, the Department of Taxation, or investigators with the Office of the Attorney General have found that the applicant exceeded the legal volume limits set by § 58.1-1017.1 during the prior year.

6. Investigators with the Office of the Attorney General seized cigarette inventory, as authorized by § 2.2-509.1, from the applicant during the prior year.

2026, cc. 1021, 1044.