                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

ADDRESS CONFIDENTIALITY PROGRAM ESTABLISHED; VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE,
STALKING, CHILD ABDUCTION, SEXUAL VIOLENCE, OR HUMAN TRAFFICKING; APPLICATION;
DISCLOSURE OF RECORDS (§ 2.2-515.2)

A. As used in this section:
			&#8220;Address&#8221; means a residential street address, school address, or
work address of a person as specified on the person&#8217;s application to be a
program participant.
			&#8220;Applicant&#8221; means a person who is a victim of domestic violence,
stalking, child abduction, or sexual violence or is a parent or guardian of a
minor child or incapacitated person who is the victim of domestic violence,
stalking, child abduction, or sexual violence.
			&#8220;Child abduction&#8221; means conduct that is prohibited under &#xA7;
18.2-47, 18.2-48, 18.2-48.1, or 18.2-49 when such prohibited conduct is
committed against a minor.
			&#8220;Domestic violence&#8221; means an act as defined in &#xA7; 38.2-508
and includes threat of such acts committed against an individual in a domestic
situation, regardless of whether these acts or threats have been reported to
law-enforcement officers. Such threat must be a threat of force which would
place any person in reasonable apprehension of death or bodily injury.
			&#8220;Program participant&#8221; means a person certified by the Office of
the Attorney General as eligible to participate in the Address Confidentiality
Program.
			&#8220;Sexual or domestic violence programs&#8221; means public and
not-for-profit agencies the primary mission of which is to provide services to
victims of sexual or domestic violence, or stalking. Such programs may also
include specialized services for victims of human trafficking.
			&#8220;Sexual violence&#8221; means conduct that is prohibited under clause
(ii), (iii), (iv), or (v) of &#xA7; 18.2-48, or &#xA7; 18.2-61, 18.2-63,
18.2-64.1, 18.2-67.1, 18.2-67.2, 18.2-67.3, 18.2-67.4, 18.2-67.5, 18.2-348,
18.2-348.1, 18.2-349, 18.2-355, 18.2-356, 18.2-357, 18.2-357.1, or 18.2-368,
regardless of whether the conduct has been reported to a law-enforcement officer
or the assailant has been charged with or convicted of the alleged violation.
			&#8220;Stalking&#8221; means conduct that is prohibited under &#xA7;
18.2-60.3, regardless of whether the conduct has been reported to a
law-enforcement officer or the assailant has been charged with or convicted for
the alleged violation.

B. The Statewide Facilitator for Victims of Domestic Violence shall establish a
program to be known as the &#8220;Address Confidentiality Program&#8221; to
protect victims of domestic violence, stalking, child abduction, or sexual
violence by authorizing the use of designated addresses for such victims. An
individual who is at least 18 years of age, a parent or guardian acting on
behalf of a minor, a guardian acting on behalf of an incapacitated person, or an
emancipated minor may apply in person at (i) sexual or domestic violence
programs that have been accredited by the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence
Program Professional Standards Committee established pursuant to § 9.1-116.3
and are qualified to (a) assist the eligible person in determining whether the
address confidentiality program should be part of such person&#8217;s overall
safety plan, (b) explain the address confidentiality program services and
limitations, (c) explain the program participant&#8217;s responsibilities, and
(d) assist the person eligible for participation with the completion of
application materials or (ii) crime victim and witness assistance programs. The
Office of the Attorney General shall approve an application if it is filed in
the manner and on the form prescribed by the Attorney General and if the
application contains the following:

   1. A sworn statement by the applicant declaring to be true and correct under
   penalty of perjury that the applicant has good reason to believe that:
   				a. The applicant, or the minor or incapacitated individual on whose behalf
   the application is made, is a victim of domestic violence, stalking, child
   abduction, or sexual violence;
   				b. The applicant fears further acts of violence, stalking, retribution, or
   intimidation from the applicant&#8217;s assailant, abuser, or trafficker; and
   				c. The applicant is not on active parole or probation supervision
   requirements under federal, state, or local law;

   2. A designation of the Office of the Attorney General as agent for the
   purpose of receiving mail on behalf of the applicant;

   3. The applicant&#8217;s actual address to which mail can be forwarded and a
   telephone number where the applicant can be called;

   4. A listing of any minor children residing at the applicant&#8217;s actual
   address, each minor child&#8217;s date of birth, and each minor child&#8217;s
   relationship to the applicant; and

   5. The signature of the applicant and any person who assisted in the
   preparation of the application and the date.

C. Upon approval of a completed application, the Office of the Attorney General
shall certify the applicant as a program participant. An applicant shall be
certified for three years following the date of the approval, unless the
certification is withdrawn or invalidated before that date. A program
participant may apply to be recertified every three years.

D. Upon receipt of first-class mail addressed to a program participant, the
Attorney General or his designee shall forward the mail to the actual address of
the program participant. The actual address of a program participant shall be
available only to the Attorney General, to those employees involved in the
operation of the Address Confidentiality Program, and to law-enforcement
officers. A program participant&#8217;s actual address may be entered into the
Virginia Criminal Information Network (VCIN) system so that it may be made known
to law-enforcement officers accessing the VCIN system for law-enforcement
purposes.

E. The Office of the Attorney General may cancel a program participant&#8217;s
certification if:

   1. The program participant requests withdrawal from the program;

   2. The program participant obtains a name change through an order of the court
   and does not provide notice and a copy of the order to the Office of the
   Attorney General within seven days after entry of the order;

   3. The program participant changes his residence address and does not provide
   seven days&#8217; notice to the Office of the Attorney General prior to the
   change of address;

   4. The mail forwarded by the Office of the Attorney General to the address
   provided by the program participant is returned as undeliverable;

   5. Any information contained in the application is false;

   6. The program participant has been placed on parole or probation while a
   participant in the address confidentiality program; or

   7. The applicant is required to register with the Sex Offender and Crimes
   Against Minors Registry pursuant to Chapter 9 (&#xA7; 9.1-900 et seq.) of
   Title 9.1.
   				For purposes of the address confidentiality program, residents of
   temporary housing for 30 days or less are not eligible to enroll in the
   address confidentiality program until a permanent residential address is
   obtained.
   				The application form shall contain a statement notifying each applicant of
   the provisions of this subsection.

F. A program participant may request that any state or local agency use the
address designated by the Office of the Attorney General as the program
participant&#8217;s address, except when the program participant is purchasing a
firearm from a dealer in firearms. The agency shall accept the address
designated by the Office of the Attorney General as a program
participant&#8217;s address, unless the agency has received a written exemption
from the Office of the Attorney General demonstrating to the satisfaction of the
Attorney General that:

   1. The agency has a bona fide statutory basis for requiring the program
   participant to disclose to it the actual location of the program participant;
   and

   2. The disclosed confidential address of the program participant will be used
   only for that statutory purpose and will not be disclosed or made available in
   any way to any other person or agency.
   				A state agency may request an exemption by providing in writing to the
   Office of the Attorney General identification of the statute or administrative
   rule that demonstrates the agency&#8217;s bona fide requirement and authority
   for the use of the actual address of an individual. A request for a waiver
   from an agency may be for an individual program participant, a class of
   program participants, or all program participants. The denial of an
   agency&#8217;s exemption request shall be in writing and include a statement
   of the specific reasons for the denial. Acceptance or denial of an
   agency&#8217;s exemption request shall constitute final agency action.
   				Any state or local agency that discloses the program participant&#8217;s
   confidential address provided by the Office of the Attorney General shall be
   immune from civil liability unless the agency acted with gross negligence or
   willful misconduct.
   				A program participant&#8217;s actual address shall be disclosed pursuant
   to a court order.

G. Records submitted to or provided by the Office of the Attorney General in
accordance with this section shall be exempt from disclosure under the Virginia
Freedom of Information Act (&#xA7; 2.2-3700 et seq.) to the extent such records
contain information identifying a past or current program participant, including
such person&#8217;s name, actual and designated address, telephone number, and
any email address. However, access shall not be denied to the person who is the
subject thereof, or the parent or legal guardian of a program participant in
cases where the program participant is a minor child or an incapacitated person,
except when the parent or legal guardian is named as the program
participant&#8217;s assailant.

H. Neither the Office of the Attorney General, its officers or employees, or
others who have a responsibility to a program participant under this section
shall have any liability nor shall any cause of action arise against them in
their official or personal capacity from the failure of a program participant to
receive any first class mail forwarded to him by the Office of the Attorney
General pursuant to this section. Nor shall any such liability or cause of
action arise from the failure of a program participant to timely receive any
first class mail forwarded by the Office of the Attorney General pursuant to
this section.

HISTORY: 2007, c. 599; 2008, c. 649; 2011, cc. 97, 172; 2014, c. 439; 2017, c.
498; 2019, c. 458; 2020, c. 829; 2024, c. 413.