{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/15.2-1522.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/15.2-1522.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/15.2-1522.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/15.2-1522.html"}],"law_id":63592,"edition_id":1,"section_id":63592,"structure_id":13592,"section_number":"15.2-1522","catch_line":"When and how officers qualify","history":"Code 1950, \u00a7 15-475; 1962, c. 623, \u00a7 15.1-38; 1972, c. 549; 1979, c. 643; 1993, c. 329; 1996, c. 167; 1997, c.; 2000, c. 293; 2017, c. 598; 2025, cc. 416, 424.","full_text":"Notwithstanding the provisions of any local government charter, or any other provision of law, every elected county, city, town and district officer, on or before the day on which his term of office begins, shall qualify by taking the oath prescribed by \u00a7 49-1 and give the bond, if any, required by law, before the circuit court for the county or city, having jurisdiction in the county, city, town or district for which he is elected or appointed, or before the clerk of the circuit court for such county, city, town or district. However, members of governing bodies and elected school boards may qualify up to and including the day of the initial meeting of the new governing body or elected school board.\n\t\tAny such oath of town council members, town mayors or members of Boards of Supervisors may be taken before any officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such oath shall be returned to the clerk of the council of the town, who shall enter the same record on the minute book of the council, or, for members of the Board of Supervisors, returned to the clerk of the circuit court having jurisdiction in the county for which he is elected or appointed, who shall record the same in the order book, on the law side thereof.\n\t\tWhenever an officer required to give bond is included in a blanket surety bond authorized by \u00a7 2.2-1840, such officer shall furnish confirmation by the Division of Risk Management of the inclusion of the officer on such blanket surety bond and the amount of the coverage, which shall be the equivalent of giving the bond for purposes of qualification.\n\t\tAn appointed officer as used in this article means a person appointed to temporarily fill an elected position. District officer as used in this article means a person elected by the people other than national and statewide officers and members of the General Assembly.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":231700,"text":"Notwithstanding the provisions of any local government charter, or any other provision of law, every elected county, city, town and district officer, on or before the day on which his term of office begins, shall qualify by taking the oath prescribed by \u00a7 49-1 and give the bond, if any, required by law, before the circuit court for the county or city, having jurisdiction in the county, city, town or district for which he is elected or appointed, or before the clerk of the circuit court for such county, city, town or district. However, members of governing bodies and elected school boards may qualify up to and including the day of the initial meeting of the new governing body or elected school board.\n\t\tAny such oath of town council members, town mayors or members of Boards of Supervisors may be taken before any officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such oath shall be returned to the clerk of the council of the town, who shall enter the same record on the minute book of the council, or, for members of the Board of Supervisors, returned to the clerk of the circuit court having jurisdiction in the county for which he is elected or appointed, who shall record the same in the order book, on the law side thereof.\n\t\tWhenever an officer required to give bond is included in a blanket surety bond authorized by \u00a7 2.2-1840, such officer shall furnish confirmation by the Division of Risk Management of the inclusion of the officer on such blanket surety bond and the amount of the coverage, which shall be the equivalent of giving the bond for purposes of qualification.\n\t\tAn appointed officer as used in this article means a person appointed to temporarily fill an elected position. District officer as used in this article means a person elected by the people other than national and statewide officers and members of the General Assembly.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":13592,"edition_id":1,"name":"Qualifications; Eligibility, Etc., of Local Elected Officers","identifier":"4","label":"article","depth":4,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12734,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:45:20","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:45:20","permalink":{"id":153175,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13592,"identifier":"4","token":"15.2\/II\/15\/4","url":"\/15.2\/II\/15\/4\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12734,"edition_id":1,"name":"Local Government Personnel, Qualification for Office, Bonds, Dual Office Holding and Certain Local Government Officers","identifier":"15","label":"chapter","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12733,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:50","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:50","permalink":{"id":153003,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12734,"identifier":"15","token":"15.2\/II\/15","url":"\/15.2\/II\/15\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12733,"edition_id":1,"name":"Powers of Local Government","identifier":"II","label":"subtitle","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12720,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:50","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:50","permalink":{"id":152369,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12733,"identifier":"II","token":"15.2\/II","url":"\/15.2\/II\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12720,"edition_id":1,"name":"Counties, Cities and Towns","identifier":"15.2","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:49","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:49","permalink":{"id":151279,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12720,"identifier":"15.2","token":"15.2","url":"\/15.2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":63592,"structure_id":13592,"section_number":"15.2-1522","catch_line":"When and how officers qualify","url":"\/15.2-1522\/","token":"15.2\/II\/15\/4\/15.2-1522","metadata":false},{"id":63839,"structure_id":13592,"section_number":"15.2-1523","catch_line":"Record of qualification","url":"\/15.2-1523\/","token":"15.2\/II\/15\/4\/15.2-1523","metadata":false},{"id":54559,"structure_id":13592,"section_number":"15.2-1524","catch_line":"Failure to qualify vacates office","url":"\/15.2-1524\/","token":"15.2\/II\/15\/4\/15.2-1524","metadata":false},{"id":64398,"structure_id":13592,"section_number":"15.2-1525","catch_line":"Where officers shall reside","url":"\/15.2-1525\/","token":"15.2\/II\/15\/4\/15.2-1525","metadata":false},{"id":74690,"structure_id":13592,"section_number":"15.2-1526","catch_line":"Removal vacates office","url":"\/15.2-1526\/","token":"15.2\/II\/15\/4\/15.2-1526","metadata":false}],"next_section":{"id":63839,"structure_id":13592,"section_number":"15.2-1523","catch_line":"Record of qualification","url":"\/15.2-1523\/","token":"15.2\/II\/15\/4\/15.2-1523","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/15.2-1522\/","history_text":"

The record of this law\u2019s original creation isn\u2019t available online. It has been modified 8 times. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. Those modifications are as follows: in 1962, chapter 623; in 1972, chapter 549; in 1979, chapter 643; in 1993, chapter 329; in 1996, chapter 167<\/a>; in 2000, chapter 293<\/a>; in 2017, chapter 598<\/a>; in 2025, chapters 416<\/a> and 424<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":60235,"section_number":"15.2-1400","catch_line":"Governing bodies","order_by":null,"url":"\/15.2-1400\/"},{"id":58488,"section_number":"15.2-1603","catch_line":"Appointment of deputies; their powers; how removed","order_by":null,"url":"\/15.2-1603\/"},{"id":74202,"section_number":"24.2-229","catch_line":"Appointees to qualify and give bond in thirty days","order_by":null,"url":"\/24.2-229\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":83430,"section_number":"2.2-1840","catch_line":"Blanket surety bond plan for state and local employees","order_by":null,"url":"\/2.2-1840\/"},{"id":80797,"section_number":"49-1","catch_line":"Form of general oath required of officers","order_by":null,"url":"\/49-1\/"}],"permalink":{"id":153177,"object_type":"law","relational_id":63592,"identifier":"15.2-1522","token":"15.2\/II\/15\/4\/15.2-1522","url":"\/15.2-1522\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/15.2-1522\/","token":"15.2\/II\/15\/4\/15.2-1522","dublin_core":{"Title":"When and how officers qualify","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 15.2-1522","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Notwithstanding the provisions of any local government<\/span> charter, or any other provision of law<\/span>, every elected county<\/span>, city<\/span>, town<\/span> and district officer, on or before the day on which his term of office begins, shall qualify by taking the oath<\/span> prescribed by \u00a7 49-1<\/a> and give the bond<\/span>, if any, required by law<\/span>, before the circuit<\/span> court<\/span> for the county<\/span> or city<\/span>, having jurisdiction<\/span> in the county<\/span>, city<\/span>, town<\/span> or district for which he is elected or appointed, or before the clerk of the circuit<\/span> court<\/span> for such county<\/span>, city<\/span>, town<\/span> or district. However, members of governing bodies and elected school boards may qualify up to and including the day of the initial meeting of the new governing body<\/span> or elected school board.\n\t\tAny such oath<\/span> of town<\/span> council<\/span> members, town<\/span> mayors or members of Boards of Supervisors may be taken before any officer authorized by law<\/span> to administer oaths<\/span>. Such oath<\/span> shall be returned to the clerk of the council<\/span> of the town<\/span>, who shall enter the same record on the minute book of the council<\/span>, or, for members of the Board of Supervisors<\/span>, returned to the clerk of the circuit<\/span> court<\/span> having jurisdiction<\/span> in the county<\/span> for which he is elected or appointed, who shall record the same in the order<\/span> book, on the law<\/span> side thereof.\n\t\tWhenever an officer required to give bond<\/span> is included in a blanket surety<\/span> bond<\/span> authorized by \u00a7 2.2-1840<\/a>, such officer shall furnish confirmation by the Division of Risk Management of the inclusion of the officer on such blanket surety<\/span> bond<\/span> and the amount of the coverage, which shall be the equivalent of giving the bond<\/span> for purposes of qualification.\n\t\tAn appointed officer as used in this article means a person appointed to temporarily fill an elected position. District officer as used in this article means a person elected by the people other than national and statewide officers and members of the General Assembly.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nWHEN AND HOW OFFICERS QUALIFY (\u00a7 15.2-1522)\n\nNotwithstanding the provisions of any local government charter, or any other\nprovision of law, every elected county, city, town and district officer, on or\nbefore the day on which his term of office begins, shall qualify by taking the\noath prescribed by \u00a7 49-1 and give the bond, if any, required by law, before\nthe circuit court for the county or city, having jurisdiction in the county,\ncity, town or district for which he is elected or appointed, or before the clerk\nof the circuit court for such county, city, town or district. However, members\nof governing bodies and elected school boards may qualify up to and including\nthe day of the initial meeting of the new governing body or elected school\nboard.\n\t\tAny such oath of town council members, town mayors or members of Boards of\nSupervisors may be taken before any officer authorized by law to administer\noaths. Such oath shall be returned to the clerk of the council of the town, who\nshall enter the same record on the minute book of the council, or, for members\nof the Board of Supervisors, returned to the clerk of the circuit court having\njurisdiction in the county for which he is elected or appointed, who shall\nrecord the same in the order book, on the law side thereof.\n\t\tWhenever an officer required to give bond is included in a blanket surety bond\nauthorized by \u00a7 2.2-1840, such officer shall furnish confirmation by the\nDivision of Risk Management of the inclusion of the officer on such blanket\nsurety bond and the amount of the coverage, which shall be the equivalent of\ngiving the bond for purposes of qualification.\n\t\tAn appointed officer as used in this article means a person appointed to\ntemporarily fill an elected position. District officer as used in this article\nmeans a person elected by the people other than national and statewide officers\nand members of the General Assembly.\n\nHISTORY: Code 1950, \u00a7 15-475; 1962, c. 623, \u00a7 15.1-38; 1972, c. 549; 1979, c.\n643; 1993, c. 329; 1996, c. 167; 1997, c.; 2000, c. 293; 2017, c. 598; 2025, cc.\n416, 424.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}