                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

EXEMPTIONS (§ 35.1-25)

A. The provisions of this title applicable to restaurants shall not apply to:

   1. Boardinghouses that do not accommodate transients;

   2. Cafeterias operated by industrial plants for employees only;

   3. Churches; fraternal or school organizations; organizations that are exempt
   from taxation under &#xA7; 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; and
   volunteer fire departments and volunteer emergency medical services agencies
   that hold or participate in occasional dinners, bazaars, and other fundraisers
   of one or two days&#8217; duration, at which food (i) prepared in the homes of
   members; (ii) prepared in the kitchen of the church, school, or organization;
   or (iii) purchased or donated from a restaurant licensed pursuant to Chapter 3
   (&#xA7; 35.1-18 et seq.) is offered for sale to the public. Restaurants
   licensed pursuant to Chapter 3 that donate or sell food to the entities
   identified in this subdivision shall not be required to apply for any
   additional permits from, or pay any additional permit application fees to, the
   Department for the proposed occasional dinner, bazaar, or other fundraiser;

   4. Grocery stores, including the delicatessen portion that is a part of a
   grocery store selling exclusively for off-premises consumption, and places
   manufacturing or selling packaged or canned goods;

   5. Churches that serve meals consisting of food prepared in the homes of
   members or in the kitchen of the church or purchased or donated from a
   restaurant licensed pursuant to Chapter 3 (&#xA7; 35.1-18 et seq.) for their
   members or their invited guests;

   6. Convenience stores or gas stations that are subject to the Department of
   Agriculture and Consumer Services&#8217; Retail Food Establishment Regulations
   or any regulations subsequently adopted and that (i) have 15 or fewer seats at
   which food is served to the public on the premises of the convenience store or
   gas station and (ii) are not associated with a national or regional restaurant
   chain. Notwithstanding this exemption, such convenience stores or gas stations
   shall remain responsible for collecting any applicable local meals tax;

   7. Concession stands at youth athletic activities, if such stands are promoted
   or sponsored by a youth athletic association or by any charitable nonprofit
   organization or group thereof that has been recognized as being a part of the
   recreational program of the political subdivision where the association or
   organization is located by an ordinance or resolution of such political
   subdivision; or

   8. Any bed-and-breakfast operation that prepares food for and offers food to
   guests, regardless of the time the food is prepared and offered, if (i) the
   premises of the bed-and-breakfast operation is a home that is owner occupied
   or owner-agent occupied, (ii) the bed-and-breakfast operation prepares food
   for and offers food to transient guests of the bed and breakfast only, (iii)
   the number of guests served by the bed-and-breakfast operation does not exceed
   18 on any single day, and (iv) guests for whom food is prepared and to whom
   food is offered are informed in a manner established by the Board in
   regulations that the food is prepared in a kitchen that is not licensed as a
   restaurant and is not subject to regulations governing restaurants.

B. No regulation issued by the Board shall require any restaurant that is
operated by (i) a nonprofit civic service organization, (ii) a volunteer fire
department, or (iii) a volunteer emergency medical services agency to employ a
certified food protection manager.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 35-38; 1962, c. 629; 1972, c. 493; 1981, c. 468; 1982, c.
51; 1993, c. 201; 2004, c. 227; 2010, cc. 86, 594; 2013, cc. 188, 317, 512;
2015, cc. 502, 503; 2018, c. 450; 2019, c. 275; 2024, c. 16.