Virginia Unauthorized Practice Rules – 2026
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.
Browse all 5 rules of the 2026 edition below. Each rule includes the full text, a plain-English summary, committee notes, amendment history, and cross-references to related rules. Use the search box to find rules by keyword or number.