Virginia Code 59.1-296.1: Registration; fees
A. It shall be unlawful for any health club to offer, advertise, or execute or cause to be executed by the buyer any health club contract in this Commonwealth unless each facility of the health club has been properly registered with the Commissioner at the time of the offer, advertisement, sale or execution of a health club contract. The registration shall (i) disclose the address, ownership, date of first sales and date of first opening of the facility and such other information as the Commissioner may require consistent with the purposes of this chapter, (ii) be renewed annually on July 1, and (iii) be accompanied by the appropriate registration fee per each annual registration in the amount indicated below:
| a | Number of unexpired | |
| b | contracts originally written | |
| c | for more than one month | Registration fee |
| d | 0 to 250 | $200 |
| e | 251 to 500 | $300 |
| f | 501 to 2000 | $700 |
| g | 2001 or more | $800 |
Terms Used In Virginia Code 59.1-296.1
- Buyer: means a natural person who enters into a health club contract. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
- Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, or a member of his staff to whom he may delegate his duties under this chapter. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Facility: means a location where health club services are offered as designated in a health club contract. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
- Health club: means any person, firm, corporation, organization, club or association whose primary purpose is to engage in the sale of memberships in a program consisting primarily of physical exercise with exercise machines or devices, or whose primary purpose is to engage in the sale of the right or privilege to use exercise machines or devices. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
- Health club contract: means an agreement whereby the buyer of health club services purchases, or becomes obligated to purchase, health club services. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
- Health club services: means and includes services, privileges, or rights offered for sale or provided by a health club. See Virginia Code 59.1-296
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
Further, it shall be accompanied by a late fee of $50 if the registration renewal is neither postmarked nor received on or before July 1. In the event that a club operates multiple facilities, a $50 late fee for the first facility and $25 for each additional facility shall accompany the registrations. For each successive 30 days after August 1, an additional $25 shall be added for each facility. Each separate facility where health club services are offered shall be considered a separate facility and shall file a separate registration, even though the separate facilities are owned or operated by the same health club.
B. Any health club that sells a health club contract prior to registering pursuant to this section and, if required, submits the appropriate surety required by § 59.1-306 shall pay a late filing fee of $100 for each 30-day period the registration or surety is late. This fee shall be in addition to all other penalties allowed by law.
C. A registration shall be amended within 21 days if there is a change in the information included in the registration.
D. All fees shall be remitted to the State Treasurer and shall be placed to the credit and special fund of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to be used in the administration of this chapter.
1985, c. 585; 1988, c. 13; 1990, cc. 392, 433; 2010, c. 439; 2014, c. 459.