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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>70121</law_id><section_number>59.1-198</section_number><catch_line>Definitions</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><referred_to_by><reference>59.1-200.1</reference><reference>59.1-207.40</reference><reference>59.1-207.45</reference><reference>59.1-526</reference><reference>59.1-607</reference></referred_to_by><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="59.1">Trade and Commerce</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="17">Virginia Consumer Protection Act</unit></structure><text>
						<section><p>As used in this chapter, unless the context requires a different meaning:
		&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Business opportunity</span>&#x201D; means the sale of any products, equipment, supplies, or <span class="dictionary">services</span> that are sold to an individual for the purpose of enabling such individual to start a business to be operated out of his residence, but does not include a <span class="dictionary">business opportunity</span> that is subject to the <span class="dictionary">Business Opportunity</span> Sales Act (&#xA7;&#xA0;<a class="law" title="Short title" href="/59.1-262/">59.1-262</a> et seq.).
		&#x201C;Children&#x2019;s product&#x201D; means a consumer product designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger. In determining whether a consumer product is primarily intended for a child 12 years of age or younger, the following factors shall be considered:</p></section>
						<section id="1"><p><span class="prefix-number">1.</span> A statement by a manufacturer about the intended use of such product, including a label on such product if such statement is reasonable; <a id="paragraph-253200" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/59.1-198/#1"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="2"><p><span class="prefix-number">2.</span> Whether the product is represented in its packaging, display, promotion, or advertising as appropriate for use by children 12 years of age or younger; <a id="paragraph-253201" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/59.1-198/#2"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="3"><p><span class="prefix-number">3.</span> Whether the product is commonly recognized by consumers as being intended for use by a child 12 years of age or younger; and <a id="paragraph-253202" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/59.1-198/#3"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="4"><p><span class="prefix-number">4.</span> The Age Determination Guidelines issued by the staff of the Consumer Products Safety Commission in September 2002, and any successor to such guidelines.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Consent</span>&#x201D; means the same as that term is defined in &#xA7; <a class="law" title="(Effective January 1, 2026) Definitions" href="/59.1-575/">59.1-575</a>.
			&#x201C;Consumer transaction&#x201D; means: <a id="paragraph-253203" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/59.1-198/#4"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="1"><p><span class="prefix-number">1.</span> The advertisement, sale, lease, license, or offering for sale, lease, or license, of <span class="dictionary">goods</span> or <span class="dictionary">services</span> to be used primarily for personal, family, or household purposes; <a id="paragraph-253204" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/59.1-198/#1"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="2"><p><span class="prefix-number">2.</span> Transactions involving the advertisement, offer, or sale to an individual of a <span class="dictionary">business opportunity</span> that requires both his expenditure of money or property and his personal <span class="dictionary">services</span> on a continuing basis and in which he has not been previously engaged; <a id="paragraph-253205" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/59.1-198/#2"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="3"><p><span class="prefix-number">3.</span> Transactions involving the advertisement, offer, or sale to an individual of <span class="dictionary">goods</span> or <span class="dictionary">services</span> relating to the individual&#x2019;s <span class="dictionary">finding</span> or obtaining employment; <a id="paragraph-253206" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/59.1-198/#3"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="4"><p><span class="prefix-number">4.</span> A layaway agreement, whereby part or all of the price of <span class="dictionary">goods</span> is payable in one or more payments subsequent to the making of the layaway agreement and the <span class="dictionary">supplier</span> retains <span class="dictionary">possession</span> of the <span class="dictionary">goods</span> and bears the risk of their loss or damage until the <span class="dictionary">goods</span> are paid in full according to the layaway agreement; <a id="paragraph-253207" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/59.1-198/#4"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="5"><p><span class="prefix-number">5.</span> Transactions involving the advertisement, sale, lease, or license, or the offering for sale, lease, or license, of <span class="dictionary">goods</span> or <span class="dictionary">services</span> to a church or other religious body; and <a id="paragraph-253208" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/59.1-198/#5"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="6"><p><span class="prefix-number">6.</span> Transactions involving the advertisement of legal <span class="dictionary">services</span> that contain information about the results of a state or federal survey, inspection, or investigation of a nursing home or certified nursing facility as described in subsection E of &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Commissioner to inspect and to issue licenses to or assure compliance with certification requirements for hospitals, nursing homes, and certified nursing facilities; notice of denial of license; consultative advice and assistance; notice to electric utilities" href="/32.1-126/">32.1-126</a>.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Cure offer</span>&#x201D; means a written offer of one or more things of value, including but not limited to the payment of money, that is made by a <span class="dictionary">supplier</span> and that is delivered to a <span class="dictionary">person</span> claiming to have suffered a loss as a result of a consumer transaction or to the attorney for such <span class="dictionary">person</span>. A <span class="dictionary">cure offer</span> shall be reasonably calculated to remedy a loss claimed by the <span class="dictionary">person</span> and it shall include a minimum additional amount equaling 10 percent of the value of the <span class="dictionary">cure offer</span> or $500, whichever is greater, as compensation for inconvenience, any attorney&#x2019;s or other fees, expenses, or other costs of any kind that such <span class="dictionary">person</span> may incur in relation to such loss, provided, however, that the minimum additional amount need not exceed $4,000.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Defective drywall</span>&#x201D; means drywall, or similar building <span class="dictionary">material</span> composed of dried gypsum-based plaster, that (i) as a result of containing the same or greater levels of strontium sulfide that has been found in drywall manufactured in the People&#x2019;s Republic of China and imported into the United States between 2004 and 2007 is capable, when exposed to heat, humidity, or both, of releasing sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, carbon disulfide, or other sulfur compounds into the air or (ii) has been designated by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission as a product with a product defect that constitutes a substantial product hazard within the meaning of &#xA7; 15(a)(2) of the Consumer Product Safety Act (15 U.S.C. &#xA7; 2064 (a)(2)).
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Goods</span>&#x201D; means all real, personal, or mixed property, tangible or intangible. For purposes of this chapter, intangible property includes but shall not be limited to &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">computer information</span>&#x201D; and &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">informational rights</span>&#x201D; in <span class="dictionary">computer information</span> as defined in &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Definitions" href="/59.1-501.2/">59.1-501.2</a>.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Person</span>&#x201D; means any natural <span class="dictionary">person</span>, corporation, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Reproductive or sexual health information</span>&#x201D; means information relating to the past, present, or future reproductive or sexual health of an individual, including: <a id="paragraph-253209" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/59.1-198/#6"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="1"><p><span class="prefix-number">1.</span> Efforts to research or obtain <span class="dictionary">reproductive or sexual health information</span> <span class="dictionary">services</span> or supplies, including location information that may indicate an attempt to acquire such <span class="dictionary">services</span> or supplies; <a id="paragraph-253210" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/59.1-198/#1"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="2"><p><span class="prefix-number">2.</span> Reproductive or sexual health conditions, status, diseases, or diagnoses, including pregnancy, menstruation, ovulation, ability to conceive a pregnancy, whether an individual is sexually active, and whether an individual is engaging in unprotected sex; <a id="paragraph-253211" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/59.1-198/#2"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="3"><p><span class="prefix-number">3.</span> Reproductive and sexual health-related surgeries and procedures, including termination of a pregnancy; <a id="paragraph-253212" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/59.1-198/#3"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="4"><p><span class="prefix-number">4.</span> Use or purchase of contraceptives, birth control, or other medication related to reproductive health, including abortifacients; <a id="paragraph-253213" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/59.1-198/#4"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="5"><p><span class="prefix-number">5.</span> Bodily functions, vital signs, measurements, or symptoms related to menstruation or pregnancy, including basal temperature, cramps, bodily discharge, or hormone levels; <a id="paragraph-253214" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/59.1-198/#5"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="6"><p><span class="prefix-number">6.</span> Any information about diagnoses or diagnostic testing, treatment, or medications, or the use of any product or service relating to the matters described in subdivisions 1 through 5; and <a id="paragraph-253215" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/59.1-198/#6"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="7"><p><span class="prefix-number">7.</span> Any information described in subdivisions 1 through 6 that is derived or extrapolated from non-health-related information such as proxy, derivative, inferred, emergent, or algorithmic data.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Reproductive or sexual health information</span>&#x201D; does not include health information that is protected under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. &#xA7; 1320d et seq.), health records for the purposes of Title 32.1, or patient-identifying records for the purposes of 42 U.S.C. &#xA7; 290dd-2.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Services</span>&#x201D; includes but is not limited to (i) work performed in the business or occupation of the <span class="dictionary">supplier</span>, (ii) work performed for the <span class="dictionary">supplier</span> by an agent whose charges or costs for such work are transferred by the <span class="dictionary">supplier</span> to the consumer or purchaser as an element of the consumer transaction, or (iii) the subject of an &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">access contract</span>&#x201D; as defined in &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Definitions" href="/59.1-501.2/">59.1-501.2</a>.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Supplier</span>&#x201D; means a seller, lessor, licensor, or professional that advertises, solicits, or engages in consumer transactions, or a manufacturer, distributor, or licensor that advertises and sells, leases, or licenses <span class="dictionary">goods</span> or <span class="dictionary">services</span> to be resold, leased, or sublicensed by other <span class="dictionary">persons</span> in consumer transactions. <a id="paragraph-253216" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/59.1-198/#7"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section></text><history>1977, c. 635; 1981, c. 205; 1987, c. 464; 1988, c. 485; 1992, c. 278; 2001, cc. 741, 762; 2004, cc. 41, 90; 2009, cc. 359, 700; 2010, c. 143; 2011, c. 615; 2019, cc. 291, 292; 2025, c. 591.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
