Bill W. is absolutely correct... if you are not licensed as a recovery agent in Virginia.. you best not try to recover anyone in Virginia... now.... having said that... I will also say this...
Sometimes, you can get something done simply by the way you present yourself... I have seen first hand how professionals in this business have accomplished virtually impossible actions simply by how they approached a situation... how you deal with those involved in what you are attempting to do.... of course... the bottom line still is.... "it is certainly against the law" but strange things sometimes happen...
I will not go into details here... suffice to say that a licensed Ohio bail bondsman, whom I have known for a number of years... managed to accomplish the impossible during an old case several years ago... and it was totally based on how he approached, dealt with, handled and spoke to those involved... very professional and frankly, very lucky... he got the job done, made no waves, caused no trouble and was able to return to Ohio with his skip... and believe it or not... the entire scenario took place inside of a courthouse in one of the roughest jurisdiction in Virginia and actually involved two Virginia 'bounty hunters' one of which was not even licensed.... ?? How this Ohio bondsman managed to do this was very professional and just simply shows that anything is possible if you do it the right way.
However, operating outside the law is still and always will be .... illegal. period.