As you mentioned one of the teen restrictions in place in the state of Virginia is a limitation on the amount of passengers the teenager driver can have in the vehicle with him or her. Under Virginia law if you are under age 18, you may carry only one passenger under age 18 during the first year that you hold your driver's license.

After you have held your license for one year, you may carry only three passengers under age 18 until you reach age 18. Learner's permit holders may not carry more than one passenger under age 18. Passenger restrictions do not apply to family members as you mentioned. You however asked for clarification on what is considered a family member.

Virginia Code Section 46.2-334.01 is titled Licenses issued to persons less than 19 years old subject to certain restrictions and here under subsection B it defines what is considered a family member in regards to a teen's restrictions. Here it states:

The initial license issued to any person younger than 18 years of age shall be deemed a provisional driver's license. Until the holder is 18 years old, a provisional driver's license shall not authorize its holder to operate a motor vehicle with more than one passenger who is less than 18 years old for the first year after the license is issued nor more than three passengers who are less than 18 years old thereafter until the holder's eighteenth birthday.

This passenger limitation, however, shall not apply to members of the driver's family or household. For the purposes of this subsection, "members of the driver's family or household" means (i) the driver's spouse, children, stepchildren, brothers, sisters, half brothers, half sisters, and any individual who has a child in common with the driver, whether or not they reside in the same home with the driver; (ii) the driver's brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law who reside in the same home with the driver; and (iii) any individual who cohabits with the driver, and any children of such individual residing in the same home with the driver.

So it would appear that cousins are not considered family members unless they reside in the teenager's household. During the first year of holding the provisional license your 16 year old can only carry one passenger that is less than 18 years old. The brother would not count as a passenger however the cousins would so your child could not drive with 2 cousins in the car (assuming they are under 18 years old) unless they lived in your home and are thus considered cohabitants.

After your 16 year old carries their provisional license for a year he or she may then carry only three passengers under age 18 until he or she turns 18. So during that time period the cousins would be allowed to be in the car since up to 3 passengers would be allowed.

Violations of either the curfew or passenger restrictions can result in the suspension of your teen's driver's license.

Contact the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles for more information on your teen's driver's license restrictions and if you need more clarification concerning the cousins being passengers in the car with your teenager.

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