§ 42.1-78 Confidentiality safeguarded
Any records made confidential by law shall be so treated. Records that by law are required to be closed to the public shall not be deemed to be made open to the public under the provisions of this chapter. Records in the custody of The Library of Virginia that are required to be closed to the public shall be open for public access 75 years after the date of creation of the record. No provision of this chapter shall be construed to authorize or require the opening of any records ordered to be sealed by a court; however, upon a petition filed with the clerk, a judge may enter an order releasing any record sealed prior to January 1, 1901. Medical and educational records made confidential by law shall remain so after being deposited in the archives. All records deposited in the archives that are not made confidential by law shall be open to public access.
History
This law was first created in 1976. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 746 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. Unfortunately, the 1976 “Acts” aren’t available online. It has been modified 6 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 1979, chapter 110; in 1990, chapter 778; in 1994, chapter 64; in 2006, chapter 60; in 2020, chapter 773; in 2023, chapters 126 and 127.
1976, c. 746; 1979, c. 110; 1990, c. 778; 1994, c. 64; 2006, c. 60; 2020, c. 773; 2023, cc. 126, 127.