# Virginia — Gift card expiration, fee and cash-redemption rules by state

For Virginia, expiration rule is Each gift certificate issued by a merchant in the Commonwealth that has an expiration date shall include either (i) a statement of the expiration date of the certificate or (ii) a telephone number or Internet address where the holder of the certificate may obtain information regarding the expiration date of the certificate; dormancy/service fee rule is No gift certificate issued by a merchant in the Commonwealth shall impose a dormancy fee, an inactivity charge or fee, or a service fee; cash redemption threshold is none; covered instruments is unless the gift certificate is distributed pursuant to an award, loyalty, or promotional program, and with respect to which there is no other money or value exchanged; statute citation is Va. Code § 59.1-531, recorded from its source on 2026-08-18.

- **State:** Virginia _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Expiration rule:** Each gift certificate issued by a merchant in the Commonwealth that has an expiration date shall include either (i) a statement of the expiration date of the certificate or (ii) a telephone number or Internet address where the holder of the certificate may obtain information regarding the expiration date of the certificate _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Dormancy/service fee rule:** No gift certificate issued by a merchant in the Commonwealth shall impose a dormancy fee, an inactivity charge or fee, or a service fee _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Cash redemption threshold:** none
- **Covered instruments:** unless the gift certificate is distributed pursuant to an award, loyalty, or promotional program, and with respect to which there is no other money or value exchanged _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Statute citation:** Va. Code § 59.1-531 _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_

## What the source says

> A. Each gift certificate issued by a merchant in the Commonwealth that has an expiration date shall include either (i) a statement of the expiration date of the certificate or (ii) a telephone number or Internet address where the holder of the certificate may obtain information regarding the expiration date of the certificate. B. Each gift certificate issued by a merchant in the Commonwealth that diminishes in value over time shall include a telephone number or Internet address where the holder of the certificate may obtain information regarding the diminution in the value of the certificate over time. C. No gift certificate issued by a merchant in the Commonwealth shall impose a dormancy fee, an inactivity charge or fee, or a service fee, unless the gift certificate is distributed pursuant to an award, loyalty, or promotional program, and with respect to which there is no other money or value exchanged.

## Source

- https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title59.1/section59.1-531/

Last verified: 2026-08-18. Review by: 2027-08-18.
Part of [Gift card expiration, fee and cash-redemption rules by state](https://referencesource.org/gift-card-consumer-protections-by-state/).