19.2-353.3 - Acceptance of checks and credit cards in lieu of money; additional fee.
§ 19.2-353.3. Acceptance of checks and credit cards in lieu of money;additional fee.
Notwithstanding the provisions of § 19.2-353, personal checks and creditcards shall be accepted in lieu of money to collect and secure all fees,fines, restitution, forfeiture, penalties and costs collected for offensestried in a district court, including motor vehicle violations, committedagainst the Commonwealth or against any county, city or town. Notwithstandingthe provisions of § 19.2-353, personal checks shall be accepted in lieu ofmoney to collect and secure all fees, fines, restitution, forfeiture,penalties and costs collected for offenses tried in a circuit court,including motor vehicle violations, committed against the Commonwealth oragainst any county, city or town. The clerk of any circuit court shall not berequired to but may, in his discretion, accept credit card payment in lieu ofmoney to collect and secure all fees, including filing fees, fines,restitution, forfeitures, penalties, and costs collected. The Committee onDistrict Courts shall devise a procedure for approving and accepting checksand credit cards that shall be accepted by the district courts. Courtpersonnel shall not be held to be guarantors of the payment made in suchmanner and shall not be personally liable for any sums uncollected. The clerkof the court, in addition to any fees, fines, restitution, forfeiture,penalties or costs, may add to such payment a sum not to exceed four percentof the amount paid as a reasonable convenience fee for the acceptance of acredit card.
If a check is returned unpaid by the financial institution on which it isdrawn or notice is received from the credit card issuer that payment will notbe made, for any reason, the fees, fine, restitution, forfeiture, penalty orcosts shall be treated as unpaid, and the court may pursue all availableremedies to obtain payment. The clerk of the court to whom the dishonoredcheck or credit card was tendered may impose a fee of twenty dollars or tenpercent of the value of the payment, whichever is greater, in addition to thefine and costs already imposed.
The clerk of court may refuse acceptance of checks or credit cards of anindividual if (i) he has been convicted of a violation of Chapter 6 (§18.2-168 et seq.) of Title 18.2 in which a check, credit card, or credit cardinformation was used to commit the offense, (ii) he has previously tenderedto the court a check which was not ultimately honored or a credit card orcredit card information which did not ultimately result in payment by thecredit card issuer, (iii) authorization of payment is not given by the bankor credit card issuer, (iv) the validity of the check or credit card cannotbe verified, or (v) the payee of the check is other than the court.
(1979, c. 525; 1988, cc. 770, 852; 1990, c. 899; 1994, cc. 432, 841, 945;1997, c. 819; 1998, cc. 720, 731; 2001, cc. 481, 501; 2009, c. 594.)