West Virginia Court Rules (2026)
We publish every rule set the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia promulgates — 21 in all, totaling 1186 rules. Coverage runs from civil, criminal, evidence and appellate procedure through the Trial Court Rules and the Business Court Division, the family, magistrate, juvenile and child abuse and neglect rules, and the Rules of Professional Conduct and Code of Judicial Conduct with the court's own comments. Each rule includes the full text, a plain-English summary, committee notes, amendment history, and cross-references to related rules.
West 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 September 24, 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
West Virginia Trial Court Rules
The statewide Trial Court Rules governing practice in the circuit courts of West Virginia, which displace local rules of practice. Coverage runs from terms of court in each circuit, through filing, motions, scheduling, discovery, mediation, mass litigation and the Business Court Division (Rule 29), to court reporters, jury management, records and electronic filing.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWest Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure
The Rules of Civil Procedure for the circuit courts of West Virginia, comprehensively amended effective January 1, 2025 on the modern federal model. Coverage runs from scope and the one form of action, through commencement, service, pleadings and motions, parties, depositions and discovery, trials, judgment and provisional remedies, to special proceedings, appeals and general provisions.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWest Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure
The Rules of Criminal Procedure for the circuit courts of West Virginia. Coverage runs from scope and preliminary proceedings, through the grand jury, indictment and information, arraignment and pleas, discovery, trial and judgment, to post-conviction motions, appeals and general provisions. Each rule carries its effective and amendment dates.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWest Virginia Rules of Judicial Disciplinary Procedure
The Rules of Judicial Disciplinary Procedure, governing the Judicial Investigation Commission, Judicial Disciplinary Counsel and the Judicial Hearing Board of West Virginia: complaints and their investigation, formal charges, hearings, the Board's recommendation, review by the Supreme Court of Appeals, and the confidentiality, immunity and disability provisions that apply throughout.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWest Virginia Rules of Procedure for Child Abuse and Neglect Proceedings
The Rules of Procedure for Child Abuse and Neglect Proceedings in the circuit courts of West Virginia. Coverage runs from scope and the parties' rights, through the petition, preliminary hearings, adjudication, improvement periods and disposition, to permanency reviews, appeals and qualified residential treatment programs.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWest Virginia Rules of Evidence
The West Virginia Rules of Evidence, restyled to track the restyled Federal Rules of Evidence effective September 2, 2014, with the Supreme Court of Appeals' comment on each rule noting where West Virginia departs from the federal text. Coverage runs from general provisions and judicial notice, through relevance, privileges, witnesses, opinion testimony and hearsay, to authentication and the contents of writings.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWest Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct
The West Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct, numbered on the ABA Model Rules. Coverage runs from the Preamble, Scope and terminology, through the client-lawyer relationship (competence, fees, confidentiality, conflicts), the lawyer as counselor and advocate, transactions with persons other than clients, law firms, public service and information about legal services, to maintaining the integrity of the profession. Each rule carries the court's official comment.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWest Virginia Rules of Practice and Procedure for Family Court
The Rules of Practice and Procedure for Family Court, governing divorce, custody, support, paternity and related proceedings in the family courts of West Virginia. Coverage runs from scope and pleadings, through financial disclosure, parenting plans, hearings and orders, to enforcement, appeals to circuit court and the Peer Review Board. Each rule carries its amendment history.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWest Virginia Rules of Lawyer Disciplinary Procedure
What happens when a complaint is made against a West Virginia lawyer, in ninety-five rules. Rule 1 establishes the Lawyer Disciplinary Board — its membership, terms, appointment, eligibility and the Investigative and Hearing Panel Subcommittees — and Rule 2 the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, its powers and duties and the confidentiality it works under. Rule 3, the longest of them, is the disciplinary procedure itself: how a complaint is made and screened, the investigation, the Investigative Panel's options, formal charges and the answer, discovery and the hearing before a Hearing Panel Subcommittee, the standard of proof, the recommended disposition and the Supreme Court's review, together with reinstatement, resignation, and the duties of a suspended or annulled lawyer. Rule 4 covers a lawyer's incapacity and Rule 6 referrals to the West Virginia Judicial and Lawyer Assistance Program. Rules 5 through 5.15, the former Committee on Assistance rules, were abrogated in 2012 when that Program was established, and are shown as such.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWest Virginia Rules of Appellate Procedure
The Rules of Appellate Procedure governing appeals to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia and the Intermediate Court of Appeals. Coverage runs from applicability and attorneys, through appeals from circuit courts and administrative agencies, original jurisdiction and certified questions, oral argument and disposition, to motions, disciplinary cases and general provisions.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWest Virginia Code of Judicial Conduct
The West Virginia Code of Judicial Conduct: its Preamble, Scope, Terminology and Application, and the rules under four canons requiring a judge to uphold the independence, integrity and impartiality of the judiciary, to perform judicial duties impartially, competently and diligently, to conduct personal and extrajudicial activities so as to minimize conflict with judicial office, and to refrain from inconsistent political and campaign activity. Each rule carries the court's comment.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWest Virginia Rules of Juvenile Procedure
The Rules of Juvenile Procedure for delinquency and status-offense proceedings in the circuit courts of West Virginia. Coverage runs from scope and general purpose, through custody, detention and the petition, adjudication and disposition, to post-dispositional review, transfer to adult jurisdiction, appeals and the life skills curriculum and transitional plan.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWest Virginia Rules of Practice and Procedure for Domestic Violence Civil Proceedings
The Rules of Practice and Procedure for Domestic Violence Civil Proceedings in the magistrate and family courts of West Virginia. Coverage runs from scope and the petition for a protective order, through emergency and final hearings, service and enforcement, to modification, appeal and time computation.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWest Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure for the Magistrate Courts
The Rules of Criminal Procedure for the Magistrate Courts of West Virginia, governing misdemeanor prosecutions and the preliminary stages of felony cases. Coverage runs from scope and complaints, through warrants, initial appearance, bail and preliminary examination, pleas, discovery and trial, to judgment, appeal and the discovery form.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWest Virginia Rules of Practice and Procedure for Financial Exploitation Civil Proceedings
The Rules of Practice and Procedure for Financial Exploitation Civil Proceedings, governing petitions for protective orders against the financial exploitation of elderly, incapacitated and protected persons in the courts of West Virginia. Coverage runs from scope and the petition, through hearings and orders, to service, enforcement, appeal and time computation.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWest Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure for the Magistrate Courts
The Rules of Civil Procedure for the Magistrate Courts of West Virginia, which hear civil claims up to $10,000 and, as small-claims courts, the informal civil docket. Coverage runs from application of the rules, through commencement, service, pleadings, discovery and trial, to judgment, appeal to circuit court and family violence contempt bonds.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWest Virginia Rules of Practice and Procedure for Minor Guardianship Proceedings
The Rules of Practice and Procedure for Minor Guardianship Proceedings in the family and circuit courts of West Virginia: scope, the petition, notice, hearings, the guardian's duties and reports, modification and termination, and reference to a fiduciary commissioner or supervisor.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseAdministrative Rules for the Magistrate Courts of West Virginia
The Administrative Rules for the Magistrate Courts of West Virginia: hours of court, assignment and rotation of magistrates, on-call duty, the magistrate clerk's office, case assignment, records and their retention.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseRules of the West Virginia Judicial and Lawyer Assistance Program
The Rules of the West Virginia Judicial and Lawyer Assistance Program, which establish the program, its board and its confidential assistance to judges, lawyers and law students with substance use, mental health and other impairments, together with the immunity, confidentiality and reporting provisions that govern it.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWest Virginia Rules Governing Post-Conviction Habeas Corpus Proceedings
The Rules Governing Post-Conviction Habeas Corpus Proceedings in the circuit courts of West Virginia: purpose and scope, the petition and its filing, summary dismissal, the response, discovery, evidentiary hearings, the final order and the extent to which the Rules of Civil Procedure apply.
Updated 2026 Edition
BrowseWest Virginia Rules of Procedure for Administrative Appeals
The Rules of Procedure for Administrative Appeals to the circuit courts of West Virginia. All six rules have been abrogated by the Supreme Court of Appeals and are kept here as the court publishes them, so that a citation to them resolves.
Updated 2026 Edition
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