Virginia judgment expiration is the question behind “how long is a judgment good for in Virginia”: a money judgment entered by a Virginia court is enforceable for a fixed number of years, it cannot simply be renewed, and it earns interest the whole time.
This guide gives the Virginia figures in a dated table, explains what “dormant” means, how a creditor renews or revives a judgment, how the judgment becomes a lien on real property, what each side can do while it is alive, and how a paid judgment is cleared.
The Virginia judgment expiration figures on this page were read in the Virginia statute as of October 2026; confirm the current text before you rely on them.
Virginia Judgment Expiration at a Glance
| Enforceable for | 10 years from the date of the judgment (or its domestication), for judgments dated on or after July 1 2021 |
| Renewable | Limited |
| Renewal window | the certificate must be recorded before the current period expires; at most two 10-year extensions |
| Post-judgment interest | 6 percent per year, or the lawful contract rate if higher on a judgment arising from a contract (6.2-302(A)); the rate in effect at entry applies (6.2-302(C)) |
| Statute | Va. Code 8.01-251 (limitations on enforcement; extension by certificate); 6.2-302 (judgment rate); 6.2-301 (legal rate) |
In This Virginia Judgment Expiration Guide:
What a Money Judgment Is Before the Virginia Judgment Expiration Clock Starts
A money judgment is a court’s final order saying one person owes another a set amount. In Virginia these come mostly from the general district courts (smaller claims) and the circuit courts. The judgment is the court’s ruling.
A judgment lien is a separate claim against real estate, and it starts only once the judgment is entered in the circuit court’s judgment lien docket for the county or city where the land is (Va. Code 8.01-458).
The Virginia Judgment Expiration Figures
The Virginia Judgment Expiration figures in the table above apply to this part as well.
| Rule | Bonus Bank Daily verified figure |
|---|---|
| Statute | Va. Code 8.01-251 (limitations on enforcement; extension by certificate); 6.2-302 (judgment rate); 6.2-301 (legal rate)statute — verified Oct 2026 |
| Enforceable for | 10 yearsstatute — verified Oct 2026 |
| Clock runs from | the date of the judgment (or its domestication), for judgments dated on or after July 1 2021statute — verified Oct 2026 |
| Renewable | Limitedstatute — verified Oct 2026 |
| How it is renewed or kept alive | the creditor (or assignee, or their attorney or agent) records a certificate in the form in 8.01-251(G) in the clerk’s office where the judgment is recorded; each certificate extends enforcement 10 years from recordation, and ONE additional certificate may be recorded before the first extension expires (8.01-251(B))statute — verified Oct 2026 |
| Renewal window | the certificate must be recorded before the current period expires; at most two 10-year extensionsstatute — verified Oct 2026 |
| Post-judgment interest | 6 percent per year, or the lawful contract rate if higher on a judgment arising from a contract (6.2-302(A)); the rate in effect at entry applies (6.2-302(C))statute — verified Oct 2026 |
The Virginia judgment expiration figures on this page were read in the Virginia statute as of October 2026; confirm the current text before you rely on them.
Is there a judgment against you, or one you need to collect?
The renewal window and the exemption deadlines in Virginia are short and they do not wait. A Virginia debt defense or collections attorney can read the docket and tell you where you stand, usually in a free first consultation. Every state bar runs a lawyer-referral service that sets up a low-cost first consultation; legal aid represents many people in debt cases at no cost.
What Virginia Judgment Expiration Actually Means
This part of the Virginia Judgment Expiration guide uses the same sources listed at the end of the page.
Once the enforcement period ends without a valid extension, the state generally does not allow any new execution (writ) or new lawsuit on the judgment. In practice, new garnishments, levies and lien enforcement stop working. In most cases the underlying debt is not erased. The creditor just loses the court’s tools to force collection. For district court judgments, Va. Code 16.1-94.1 sets the same kind of cutoff.
Confirm the dates with the clerk or an attorney.
Renewal and Revival Under the Virginia Judgment Expiration Rule
Check each Virginia Judgment Expiration point here against your own court papers before you act.
The creditor files for renewal or revival in the court that entered the judgment, inside the window shown in the table. The exact filing and whether the debtor must be notified are set by the statute cited above.
The Judgment Lien in Virginia
If your paperwork differs from this Virginia Judgment Expiration summary, the court record controls.
A money judgment becomes a lien on real estate once it is entered in the judgment lien docket of the circuit court clerk’s office in the county or city where the land is. For a general district court judgment, the creditor files an abstract of judgment there.
The lien covers real estate the debtor owns now or “is or becomes possessed or entitled” to, so it reaches property acquired later (8.01-458). In most cases the lien can be enforced only while the judgment itself is enforceable.
Interest on a Virginia Judgment
Every Virginia Judgment Expiration figure on this page is dated and tied to a source below.
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Post-judgment interest is simple interest on the unpaid amount. It usually runs from the date stated in the judgment order until the debt is paid. The rate is fixed when the judgment is entered and does not float with later changes. The rate is set in the Code of Virginia, not in a periodic bulletin, so check the judgment order itself for the rate and start date that apply.
What a Creditor Can Do While the Virginia Judgment Is Alive
Wage garnishment: the creditor asks the clerk for a garnishment summons served on the employer, and part of each paycheck is withheld. Bank levy: a garnishment summons served on the bank can freeze and take funds in the debtor’s account.
Property execution: a writ of fieri facias (in district court, part of Form DC-440) creates a lien on personal property, and the sheriff can levy on it; the writ is returned within 90 days. Debtor examination: a “summons to answer interrogatories” (Va. Code 8.01-506; Form DC-440) requires the debtor to appear and answer questions under oath about income and assets.
What a Debtor Can Do Before the Virginia Judgment Expiration
Claim exemptions: file Form DC-454 (Request for Hearing – Garnishment/Lien Exemption Claim), which must be attached to every garnishment summons; the court generally holds a hearing within seven business days of filing (8.01-512.4). Homestead exemption: the writ form shows whether the homestead exemption was waived or can be claimed (Va. Code Title 34).
Negotiate a satisfaction: a creditor may accept payment and record a full satisfaction or a release of the lien on specific property (8.01-453; Form CC-1463). Move to vacate or rehear: in general district court, a motion for a new trial (Form DC-368) must be filed within 30 days of the judgment (16.1-97.1); later relief for fraud or a void judgment falls under 8.01-428.
Out-of-State Judgments in Virginia
Virginia has adopted the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act. A creditor files a certified copy of the out-of-state judgment with the clerk of any Virginia circuit court and pays the fee (8.01-465.2). Once filed, it has the same effect and defenses as a Virginia circuit court judgment and is enforced the same way. The statute counts the clock for a domesticated judgment from its domestication.
Confirm with the clerk or an attorney how the original state’s own limit interacts with this.
Clearing a Paid Virginia Judgment
Once a docketed judgment is paid, the creditor (or its attorney or authorized agent) must have the satisfaction entered on the judgment docket within 30 days (8.01-454). Missing the deadline can bring a $100 fine plus the release filing cost if no entry is made within 90 days, or within 10 days after the debtor gives notice.
The clerk can also mark it satisfied on the creditor’s written direction, for example on Form CC-1463 (8.01-453).
Judgments from unpaid child support follow a longer limit of 20 years from the judgment or its domestication (8.01-251). Under a 2026 amendment (2026 c. 848), when a debt buyer enforces a purchased district court judgment entered on or after July 1, 2026, the district court’s 10-year limit applies even if an abstract is docketed in circuit court (8.01-251(F), 16.1-94.1).
The district court limit also covers judgments in favor of the Commonwealth.
Next rung: what a creditor can take from a bank account, and what is protected, is the next question — the Virginia bank-levy page joins this guide when that cluster is live; until then, the CFPB debt-collection page in the sources below is the place to read.
Virginia — the bottom line
- Virginia judgment expiration runs on a fixed clock from the date in the table above; when it passes, the creditor’s court tools stop unless the judgment was renewed in time.
- The Virginia judgment expiration rule here allows no ordinary renewal; the creditor’s only route is a new action on the judgment inside the limitations period in the table.
- Interest keeps running until the judgment is paid or the Virginia judgment expiration date arrives — the rate and who publishes it are in the table.
Virginia Judgment Expiration FAQ
How long is a judgment good for in Virginia?
A Virginia money judgment is enforceable for 10 years from the date of the judgment (or its domestication), for judgments dated on or after July 1 2021. Once the enforcement period ends without a valid extension, the state generally does not allow any new execution (writ) or new lawsuit on the judgment.
Can a judgment be renewed in Virginia?
the creditor (or assignee, or their attorney or agent) records a certificate in the form in 8.01-251(G) in the clerk’s office where the judgment is recorded; each certificate extends enforcement 10 years from recordation, and ONE additional certificate may be recorded before the first extension expires (8.01-251(B))
Does a Virginia judgment expiration mean the debt is gone?
Once the enforcement period ends without a valid extension, the state generally does not allow any new execution (writ) or new lawsuit on the judgment. In practice, new garnishments, levies and lien enforcement stop working.
What interest does a Virginia judgment earn?
6 percent per year, or the lawful contract rate if higher on a judgment arising from a contract (6.2-302(A)); the rate in effect at entry applies (6.2-302(C))
Official Virginia Sources & Resources
- Statute — judgment dormancy, renewal and interest (opened and read): https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title8.01/chapter4/section8.01-251/
- Statute — judgment dormancy, renewal and interest (opened and read): https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title6.2/chapter3/section6.2-302/
- Statute — judgment dormancy, renewal and interest (opened and read): https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title6.2/chapter3/section6.2-301/
- Virginia statute / opinion: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/8.01-251/
- Virginia Judicial System (vacourts.gov) – Request for Hearing, Garnishment/Lien Exemption Claim, Form DC-454: https://www.vacourts.gov/forms/district/dc454.pdf
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: consumerfinance.gov
- CFPB — Debt collection: know your rights: consumerfinance.gov
This Virginia judgment expiration guide was last verified against official Virginia sources in October 2026. Rules change — confirm the current rule with the statute or a licensed attorney.
More Virginia Money Rights Guides
- Virginia Bank Levy Exemptions
- Virginia Debt Collection Lawsuit
- Virginia Small Claims Limit
- Money Rights Guides for All 50 States
Disclaimer: This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Bonus Bank Daily is an independent educational resource — not a law firm, not a bank, not a debt collector and not a government agency. Judgment, levy, interest-rate and debt rules change — every figure here carries the date we verified it.
Confirm the current rule with the statute, the court clerk or a licensed attorney in your state before you act.