Va. Code » Title 18.2. Crimes and Offenses Generally » Chapter 7. Crimes Involving Health and Safety » Article 2. Driving Motor Vehicle, Etc., While Intoxicated
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-268.1 (2026)

Chemical testing to determine alcohol or drug content of blood; definitions

✓ current as of May 2026
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As used in §§ 18.2-268.2 through 18.2-268.12, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

The phrase "alcohol or drug" means alcohol, a drug or drugs, or any combination of alcohol and a drug or drugs.

The phrase "blood or breath" means either or both.

"Chief police officer" means the sheriff in any county not having a chief of police, the chief of police of any county having a chief of police, the chief of police of the city, or the sergeant or chief of police of the town in which the charge will be heard, or their authorized representatives.

"Department" means the Department of Forensic Science.

"Director" means the Director of the Department of Forensic Science.

"License" means any driver's license as defined in § 18.2-6.

"Ordinance" means a county, city or town ordinance.

1992, c. 830; 2005, cc. 868, 881; 2020, cc. 1227, 1246.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 19 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1993–2024 · leading case: Stevens v. Commonwealth, 616 S.E.2d 754 (Va. Ct. App. 2005).
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Stevens v. Commonwealth, 616 S.E.2d 754 (Va. Ct. App. 2005). · cites it 6× “[8] It is not necessary for the other implied consent law statutes to recite the statutes to which they apply because they are either definitional (Code § 18.2-268.1), or they refer back to other provisions of the implied consent law (Code §§ 18.”
Stevens v. Commonwealth, 603 S.E.2d 642 (Va. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 10× “2-266 as well as Code §§ 18.2-268.1 through -268.11, which provide the steps for conducting breath and blood tests as related to the implied consent law.”
Grant v. Commonwealth, 682 S.E.2d 84 (Va. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 8× “2, Chapter Seven, Article Two of the Virginia Code or “in accordance with the provisions of §§ 18.”
Freddie Beckham, III v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 799 S.E.2d 689 (Va. Ct. App. 2017). “2-266, or any similar ordinance, the amount of alcohol or drugs in the blood of the accused at the time of the alleged offense as indicated by a chemical analysis of a sample of the accused’s blood or breath to determine the alcohol or drug content of his blood in accordance…”
Tipton v. Commonwealth, 444 S.E.2d 1 (Va. Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 2× “2-268(b) was repealed in 1992 and replaced by revised statutes, renumbered Code §§ 18.2-268.1 through 18.2-268.12. Because this case is governed by the statutes in effect prior to 1992, all references in the opinion will be to the former statute.”
Yap v. Commonwealth, 643 S.E.2d 523 (Va. Ct. App. 2007). “2-266, or any similar ordinance, the amount of alcohol or drugs in the blood of the accused at the time of the alleged offense as indicated by a chemical analysis of a sample of the accused’s blood or breath to determine the alcohol or drug content of his blood in accordance…”
Roseborough v. Commonwealth, 688 S.E.2d 882 (Va. Ct. App. 2010). · cites it 2× “2-269 allows a trial court to apply a rebuttable presumption that an accused was under the influence when a breath sample is obtained "in accordance with the provisions of §§ 18.2-268.1 through 18.2-268.12" and when the breath test indicates that the accused had a BAC of .”
Groggins v. Commonwealth, 537 S.E.2d 605 (Va. Ct. App. 2000). · cites it 4× “Those presumptions apply only when a blood or breath test is administered pursuant to Code §§ 18.2-268.1 through -268.12. The statutory presumptions do not apply because the defendant refused to take either the blood or breath test and no test was given under the implied consent…”
Kemp v. Commonwealth, 429 S.E.2d 875 (Va. Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 2× “2-268(D) read in relevant part: A person, after being arrested for driving under the influence of any drug or combination of drugs or the combined influence of alcohol and any drug or drugs, may be required to submit to tests to determine the alcoholic or drug or both alcoholic…”
Richetta Veronique Hammonds v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2024). · cites it 4× “Code § 18.2-268.1 is the definitional section of the statute.”
Commonwealth v. Stump, 69 Va. Cir. 433 (Roanoke County Cir. Ct. 2006). · cites it 4× “08 percent or moreXvia blood, breath, or otherwise, as administered pursuant to Va. Code §§ 18.2-268.1 to 18.2-268.12, he is presumed to have been legally intoxicated at the time of the test and also at the time of the offense.”
Commonwealth v. Padilla, 69 Va. Cir. 409 (Fairfax Cir. Ct. 2006). “2-266, or any similar ordinance, the amount of alcohol or drags in the blood of the accused at the time, of the alleged offense as indicated by a chemical analysis of a sample of the accused’s blood or breath to determine the alcohol or drag content of his blood in accordance…”
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