§ 17.1-258.3 Electronic filing in civil or criminal proceedings
Any clerk of circuit court may establish and operate a system for electronic filing in civil or criminal proceedings that shall be governed by the Rules of Supreme Court of Virginia. The circuit court clerk may require each person whom the clerk authorizes to file documents electronically to provide proof of identity to the clerk and to enter into an agreement specifying the electronic filing procedures to be followed, including, but not limited to, security procedures, as defined in the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (§ 59.1-479 et seq.), for transmitting signed or notarized documents. The clerk may charge copy fees per page, as provided in subdivision A 8 of § 17.1-275, and obtain reimbursement for fees paid by subscribers to its designated application service providers for the technology systems used to operate electronic filing in civil and criminal cases in the clerk’s office. The fees and reimbursements collected shall be deposited by the clerk into the clerk’s nonreverting local fund to be used to cover operational expenses as defined in § 17.1-295. Nothing herein shall be construed to prevent the clerk from entering into agreements with designated application service providers to provide all or part of the network or system for electronic filing of civil or criminal records as provided herein. Further, nothing herein shall be construed to require the electronic filing of any civil or criminal record, and such records may continue to be filed in paper form. Any clerk of circuit court with an electronic filing system established in accordance with the Rules of Supreme Court of Virginia may charge an additional $5 fee for every civil case initially filed by paper, except that a person who is determined to be indigent pursuant to § 19.2-159 shall be exempt from the payment of such fee. The fee shall be paid to the clerk’s office and deposited by the clerk into the clerk’s nonreverting local fund to be exclusively used to cover the operational expenses as defined in § 17.1-295.
History
This law was first created in 2005. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 744 of that year’s edition of “Acts of Assembly,” the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. It has been modified 5 times. Those modifications are cataloged by “The Acts of Assembly,” a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly’s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 2008, chapters 823 and 833; in 2010, chapters 430, 717, and 760; in 2013, chapters 74 and 77; in 2014, chapter 460; in 2015, chapter 317.
2005, c. 744; 2008, cc. 823, 833; 2010, cc. 430, 717, 760; 2013, cc. 74, 77; 2014, c. 460; 2015, c. 317.