Virginia Code 54.1-1501: Exemptions; sale of hearing aids by corporations, etc., measuring hearing.
A. Physicians licensed to practice in Virginia and certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology or eligible for such certification shall not be required to pass an examination as a prerequisite to obtaining a license under this chapter.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 54.1-1501
- Board: means the Board for Hearing Aid Specialists and Opticians. See Virginia Code 54.1-1500
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- sale: means any transfer of title or of the right to use by lease, bailment, or any other contract, excluding wholesale transactions with distributors or practitioners. See Virginia Code 54.1-1500
B. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit a corporation, partnership, trust, association, or other like organization maintaining an established business address from engaging in the business of selling or offering for sale prescription hearing aids at retail without a license, provided that it employs only licensed practitioners in the direct sale and fitting of prescription hearing aids.
C. Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit any person who does not sell hearing aids or accessories or who is not employed by an organization which sells hearing aids or accessories from engaging in the practice of measuring human hearing for the purpose of selection of hearing aids.
D. Audiologists licensed to practice in Virginia who have earned a doctoral degree in audiology shall not be required to pass an examination as a prerequisite to obtaining a license under this chapter.
1970, c. 571, §§ 54-524.111, 54-524.112; 1974, c. 534; 1986, c. 279; 1988, c. 765; 1996, c. 741; 2018, c. 458; 2023, cc. 273, 274.