Virginia Court Rules (2026)
We publish 22 Virginia court rule sets totaling 539 rules, drawn from the Rules of Supreme Court of Virginia. Coverage includes the rules applicable to all proceedings, the Rules of Evidence, practice and procedure in civil and criminal actions, and the rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia and the Court of Appeals of Virginia. Each rule includes the full text, a plain-English summary, committee notes, amendment history, and cross-references to related rules.
Virginia Court Rules & Rules of Practice
How this jurisdiction's courts and rules are organized, written for lawyers new to it: the court system, every ruleset a litigator touches, and how a case actually moves. Last verified October 18, 2026. For informational purposes only.
- Court System Overview
- The Ruleset Map
- Civil Litigation Mechanics
- Criminal Practice Mechanics
- Evidence
- Appellate Mechanics
- Rules of Professional Conduct
- Attorney Discipline & Enforcement
- Newcomer Orientation Notes
- Sources & Verification
Virginia Rules of Evidence
The Virginia Rules of Evidence (Part Two of the Rules of Supreme Court) govern the admissibility of evidence in the courts of the Commonwealth, including relevance, privileges, witness examination, hearsay, and authentication.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVirginia Rules of Professional Conduct
The Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct — Part Six, Section II of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia — govern the professional obligations of every lawyer admitted in Virginia: competence and diligence, confidentiality of information, conflicts of interest, fees, safekeeping property, the duties of a lawyer as advocate and as counselor, responsibilities within a firm, advertising, and the reporting of professional misconduct. Each rule carries its official Comment, and the Preamble, Scope and Terminology are included as their own entries.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVirginia Rules of the Supreme Court
Part Five of the Rules of Supreme Court of Virginia governs all proceedings in the Supreme Court of Virginia, including original jurisdiction, direct appeals, and appeals from the Court of Appeals.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVirginia Rules of the Court of Appeals
Part Five A of the Rules of Supreme Court of Virginia governs all proceedings in the Court of Appeals of Virginia, including appeals from the trial courts and the Workers' Compensation Commission.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVirginia Practice and Procedure in Civil Actions
Part Three of the Rules of Supreme Court of Virginia governs the practice and procedure in civil actions in the circuit courts of the Commonwealth, covering pleadings, parties, discovery, motions, and trial.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVirginia Rules Applicable to All Proceedings
Part One of the Rules of Supreme Court of Virginia governs matters common to every court proceeding in the Commonwealth, including pleadings, motions, counsel appearances, and finality of judgments.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseRules of Supreme Court of Virginia — Part Four, Pretrial Procedures, Depositions and Production at Trial
Virginia's discovery rules, 19 rules, and the Part every circuit court litigator works from daily. Rule 4:0 applies Part Four to civil cases in the circuit courts and to proceedings for separate maintenance, divorce or annulment, eminent domain, and habeas corpus or coram nobis. Rule 4:1 carries the general provisions governing discovery, including scope and the protective-order machinery; Rule 4:5 depositions on oral examination and Rule 4:6A the limit on their number; Rule 4:8 interrogatories; Rules 4:9 and 4:9A production of documents and electronically stored information from parties and from non-parties; Rule 4:10 physical and mental examinations; Rule 4:11 requests for admission; and Rule 4:12 failure to make discovery and sanctions.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVirginia Criminal Practice and Procedure
Part Three A of the Rules of Supreme Court of Virginia governs criminal practice and procedure in the circuit courts of the Commonwealth, covering the complaint, arrest, indictment, discovery, and trial.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseRules of Supreme Court of Virginia — Part Eight, Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts
Practice in the juvenile and domestic relations district courts, 23 rules. Rule 8:3 sets the required contents of petitions in certain proceedings and Rule 8:5 the court-ordered reports; Rule 8:6 states the roles of counsel and of guardians ad litem when representing children, which is the rule most often reached for in this forum. Also covered: definitions, service of process and motions to reduce support arrearages to judgment, filing format and pleadings, electronic filing under Rule 8:8A, motions to transfer venue, reporters and transcripts, preservation of the record, and subpoenas. Rule 8:21 was stricken by order in 2011 and is shown as such.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVirginia State Bar Organization and Government
How the Virginia State Bar is constituted and how a Virginia lawyer is disciplined — Part Six, Section IV of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia, 62 paragraphs in the Section's own three divisions. Paragraphs 1 to 12 are the Bar itself: its name, membership and registration, the classes of membership, the officers, the Council and its election, meetings, the annual meeting, the powers of the Council, dues and disbursements. Paragraph 10 is subdivided into the procedure for promulgating legal ethics and unauthorized practice opinions, from the definitions through Council consideration, review by the Supreme Court of Virginia, informal staff opinions of ethics counsel, and complaints of unauthorized practice. Paragraph 13 is the disciplinary system, and the largest part of the Section: 32 subdivisions running from the definitions and the burden of proof through the authority of the courts, the Disciplinary Board and the district committees, Bar Counsel and the Clerk of the Disciplinary System, the processing of complaints, the limited right to discovery, district committee and Board proceedings in each of their forms — certification, appeal, sanction determination, a first offender plea, a guilty plea, impairment, and discipline imposed in another jurisdiction — then reinstatement, appeal from Board determinations, resignation, consent to revocation, the duties of a disbarred or suspended respondent, and the confidentiality of disciplinary records. The last division covers administrative suspension for failing to complete the professionalism course or continuing legal education, professional corporations and limited liability companies, the third year student rule, the Clients' Protection Fund, the MCLE rules, financial responsibility, trust account maintenance, pro bono reporting, and the Attorney Wellness Fund.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVirginia Canons of Judicial Conduct
What a Virginia judge may and may not do — the Commonwealth's only judicial-conduct source, and Part Six, Section III of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia. The Canons were reorganised into THREE broad canons, each followed by lettered standards that are themselves binding: a judge must be impartial (Canon 1), must uphold the public trust (Canon 2), and must promote the efficient and effective delivery of justice (Canon 3). The Preamble sets the test, three questions a judge should ask of any action or inaction: will it threaten the judge's impartiality, will it harm public trust in the fairness of the judiciary, and will it harm the efficient and effective delivery of justice. Canon 1's sixteen standards cover relationships with parties or counsel, social media, using the prestige of office to advance private interests, and — at standard 1(D), the longest in the set — recusal and disqualification, with standard 1(J) on ex parte communications close behind. Canon 2's twenty-two standards run from public and private behaviour and participation in politics through service as a fiduciary, membership in discriminatory organizations, fund raising, the limitations on a judge's practice of law, and the disciplinary responsibilities a judge owes when another judge or a lawyer falls short. Canon 3's nine standards are the working ones: judicial duties as priority, prompt decision making, professional competence, decorum and civility, and expense reimbursement. A Terminology section defines bias, de minimis, domestic partner and economic interest, and then sets out which judicial officers the Canons do not reach — judges pro tempore, retired and senior judges, substitute judges and special justices, and a person merely selected for a judgeship. Cited by standard, as the Canons cite themselves.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseRules of Supreme Court of Virginia — Part Seven B, General District Courts — Civil
Civil practice in the general district courts, 12 rules, applying by Rule 7B:1 to all civil cases in them. It sits on top of Part Seven A's general provisions and covers what a district court civil case turns on in practice: a specific rule for pleadings (Rule 7B:2) and the general provisions as to pleadings, trial of the action, production of a written agreement, verification, appearance by the plaintiff and the consequences when either the plaintiff or the defendant fails to appear, third-party practice and consolidation, motions to transfer, and — Rule 7B:12 — how an appeal by one party affects perfection of appeal by the others.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseRules of Supreme Court of Virginia — Part Seven A, General District Courts — In General
The general district courts are the highest-volume trial courts in the Commonwealth, and Rule 7A:1 applies this Part to all proceedings in them. Sixteen rules covering computation of time, counsel, reporters and transcripts, the court's discretion, preservation of the record, filing format and procedure, pleadings and amendments, endorsements, subpoenas for witnesses and records, what constitutes noting an appeal, continuances, and — in Rule 7A:16 — isolation proceedings under Article 3.01 of Title 32.1 of the Code of Virginia.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseRules of Supreme Court of Virginia — Part Seven C, General District Courts — Criminal and Traffic
Criminal and traffic practice in the general district courts, 7 rules. Rule 7C:1 applies them to all criminal and traffic cases in those courts, infractions included. They cover venue; the complaint, warrant, summons and capias; trial together of more than one accused or more than one offence; discovery (Rule 7C:5, materially narrower than the circuit courts' Part Four); pleas; and the service and filing of papers.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseRules of Supreme Court of Virginia — Part Two A, Appeals Pursuant to the Administrative Process Act
Judicial review of agency action, 6 rules. Rule 2A:1 promulgates them under § 2.2-4026 of the Code of Virginia and applies them to review by direct appeal from the adoption of a regulation or an agency's decision of a case, adopting the Administrative Process Act's own definitions. The sequence is short and strict: notice of appeal, the record on appeal, the petition for appeal, further proceedings, and Rule 2A:6 on small business challenges.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseRules of Supreme Court of Virginia — Part One A, Foreign Attorneys
How a lawyer admitted elsewhere may practise in Virginia, 9 rules. Rule 1A:1 governs admission without examination on reciprocity — open to a person admitted before the court of last resort of any state, territory or the District of Columbia. Rule 1A:4 is the pro hac vice rule, admitting an out-of-state lawyer by comity to participate in a single case. The remaining rules cover foreign patent and trademark attorneys, corporate counsel and corporate counsel registrants, registered military legal assistance attorneys, foreign legal consultants, military servicemembers under orders for service in Virginia, and Virginia legal aid counsel.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVirginia Traffic Infractions and Uniform Fine Schedule
What a Virginia traffic ticket actually costs. Two rules: Rule 3B:1 states that the Supreme Court promulgated them under § 16.1-69.40:1 of the Code, and Rule 3B:2 is the Uniform Fine Schedule itself — 252 offences with the statute or regulation, the fine, the processing fee and the total for each. For any offence listed, a driver may enter a written appearance, waiver of court hearing and plea of guilty and pay without appearing; for one not listed, a court hearing is required. The schedule is applied uniformly throughout the Commonwealth and a clerk or magistrate may not impose a different amount, though it does not restrict what a judge may impose where there is a hearing. The offences run in nine groups: speed violations, other moving offences, equipment violations, parking and stopping, trucks and hauling or towing vehicles, pedestrian violations, miscellaneous offences, bicycle violations, and motor carrier offences under the Code of Federal Regulations as incorporated by the Virginia Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVirginia Unauthorized Practice Rules
What counts as practising law in Virginia without a licence, and what does not. Part Six, Section I of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia, five rules. Rule 1 is the prohibition itself: no non-lawyer shall engage in the practice of law in the Commonwealth or in any manner hold himself or herself out as authorized to do so. Rule 2 gives the general definition of practising law, and Rules 3 and 4 are the two that practitioners actually reach for — the exceptions available to non-lawyers and foreign lawyers, and the exclusions, the actions that do not constitute the practice of law at all. Rule 5 carries the Comments, which are the longest part of the Section and include the definition of "tribunal" the other rules turn on. The Section's sixth block, its case annotations, is not included: this site publishes rule text.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseRules of Supreme Court of Virginia — Part Eleven, Access to Judicial Records
Public access to the records of the Virginia Judiciary, 8 rules, promulgated by order dated April 18, 2019. Rule 11:1 states the purpose — to give the public reasonable access to records of the judicial branch — and Rule 11:2 the definitions. Separate rules govern records of judicial officers, records of the Office of the Executive Secretary and the procedure for requesting them, access to records of other entities of the Judiciary, and two routes for reconsideration of a denial, one of which sends the request to the Chief Justice for three Justices of the Supreme Court to review.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseVirginia Non-Traffic Prepayable Offenses and Uniform Fine Schedule
The non-traffic counterpart, and the larger of the two at 337 offences. Rule 3C:1 records the authority — § 16.1-69.40:2 of the Code — and Rule 3C:2 is the schedule: any person charged with an offence listed may enter a written appearance, waiver of court hearing, plea of guilty and pay. Three limits are stated before the table and matter more than any single entry: prepayment may not be made where injury to the person is involved even if the offence appears on the list; a Title 28.2 violation may be prepaid only if the person has not violated Title 28.2 in the past 12 months; and a hunting, trapping or inland fish violation only if there has been none in the past three years. The offences are drawn from across the Code and the Administrative Code — alcoholic beverage control, forest fires and burning, state parks and the Department of Conservation and Recreation, marine resources and the fisheries regulations, hunting and wildlife, boating safety, and the HOT lane restrictions. One block comes from the Potomac River Fisheries Commission Regulations and is printed as a total rather than a fine, with footnote 2 directing that the fees be subtracted from the total and the balance posted to the fine.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseRules of Supreme Court of Virginia — Part Nine, Judicial Performance Evaluation Program
Two rules. Rule 9:1 establishes the judicial performance evaluation program under § 17.1-100 of the Code of Virginia, as both a self-improvement mechanism for judges and a source of information for the reelection process, maintained by the Office of the Executive Secretary. Rule 9:2 makes the surveys, responses and evaluations confidential — shareable only with the subject judge or an assigned facilitator judge — except that a report provided to the General Assembly is a public record open to inspection.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseRules of Supreme Court of Virginia — Part Ten, Provision of Legal Services Following Determination of Major Disaster
A single rule, numbered Rule 10 for the Part itself. It lets the Chief Justice determine that a major disaster has caused an emergency affecting the justice system — in Virginia, or in another jurisdiction whose own highest court has so determined — and then permits a lawyer from outside Virginia to provide pro bono legal services here on a temporary basis, assigned and supervised through an established bar association pro bono program, a not-for-profit bar association, an approved legal assistance organization, a public defender's office, or an organization the Chief Justice designates.
Updated 2026 Edition
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