{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/20-146.15.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/20-146.15.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/20-146.15.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/20-146.15.html"}],"law_id":55943,"edition_id":1,"section_id":55943,"structure_id":14515,"section_number":"20-146.15","catch_line":"Temporary emergency jurisdiction","history":"2001, c. 305.","full_text":"A\n\nA court of this Commonwealth has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in this Commonwealth and the child has been abandoned or if it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child, or a sibling or parent of the child, is subjected to mistreatment or abuse or placed in reasonable apprehension of mistreatment or abuse or there is reasonable apprehension that such person is threatened with mistreatment or abuse.B\n\nIf there is no previous child custody determination that is entitled to be enforced under this act and a child custody proceeding has not been commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 20-146.12, 20-146.13 or § 20-146.14, a child custody determination made under this section remains in effect until an order is obtained from a court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 20-146.12, 20-146.13 or § 20-146.14. If a child custody proceeding has not been or is not commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 20-146.12, 20-146.13 or § 20-146.14, a child custody determination made under this section becomes a final determination, if it so provides and this Commonwealth becomes the home state of the child.C\n\nIf there is a previous child custody determination that is entitled to be enforced under this act, or a child custody proceeding has been commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 20-146.12, 20-146.13 or § 20-146.14, any order issued by a court of this Commonwealth under this section must specify in the order a period that the court considers adequate to allow the person seeking an order to obtain an order from the state having jurisdiction. The order issued in this Commonwealth remains in effect until an order is obtained from the other state within the period specified or until the period expires.D\n\nA court of this Commonwealth that has been asked to make a child custody determination under this section, upon being informed that a child custody proceeding has been commenced in, or a child custody determination has been made by, a court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 20-146.12, 20-146.13 or § 20-146.14, shall immediately communicate with the other court. A court of this Commonwealth that is exercising jurisdiction pursuant to §§ 20-146.12, 20-146.13 or § 20-146.14, upon being informed that a child custody proceeding has been commenced in, or a child custody determination has been made by, a court of another state under a statute similar to this section, shall immediately communicate with the court of that state to resolve the emergency, protect the safety of the parties and the child, and determine a period for the duration of the temporary order.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":204922,"text":"A court of this Commonwealth has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the child is present in this Commonwealth and the child has been abandoned or if it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child, or a sibling or parent of the child, is subjected to mistreatment or abuse or placed in reasonable apprehension of mistreatment or abuse or there is reasonable apprehension that such person is threatened with mistreatment or abuse.","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"B"},"1":{"id":204923,"text":"If there is no previous child custody determination that is entitled to be enforced under this act and a child custody proceeding has not been commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 20-146.12, 20-146.13 or § 20-146.14, a child custody determination made under this section remains in effect until an order is obtained from a court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 20-146.12, 20-146.13 or § 20-146.14. If a child custody proceeding has not been or is not commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 20-146.12, 20-146.13 or § 20-146.14, a child custody determination made under this section becomes a final determination, if it so provides and this Commonwealth becomes the home state of the child.","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A","next_prefix":"C"},"2":{"id":204924,"text":"If there is a previous child custody determination that is entitled to be enforced under this act, or a child custody proceeding has been commenced in a court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 20-146.12, 20-146.13 or § 20-146.14, any order issued by a court of this Commonwealth under this section must specify in the order a period that the court considers adequate to allow the person seeking an order to obtain an order from the state having jurisdiction. The order issued in this Commonwealth remains in effect until an order is obtained from the other state within the period specified or until the period expires.","type":"section","prefixes":["C"],"prefix":"C","entire_prefix":"C","prefix_anchor":"C","level":1,"prior_prefix":"B","next_prefix":"D"},"3":{"id":204925,"text":"A court of this Commonwealth that has been asked to make a child custody determination under this section, upon being informed that a child custody proceeding has been commenced in, or a child custody determination has been made by, a court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 20-146.12, 20-146.13 or § 20-146.14, shall immediately communicate with the other court. A court of this Commonwealth that is exercising jurisdiction pursuant to §§ 20-146.12, 20-146.13 or § 20-146.14, upon being informed that a child custody proceeding has been commenced in, or a child custody determination has been made by, a court of another state under a statute similar to this section, shall immediately communicate with the court of that state to resolve the emergency, protect the safety of the parties and the child, and determine a period for the duration of the temporary order.","type":"section","prefixes":["D"],"prefix":"D","entire_prefix":"D","prefix_anchor":"D","level":1,"prior_prefix":"C"}},"ancestry":[{"id":14515,"edition_id":1,"name":"Jurisdiction","identifier":"2","label":"article","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13273,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:48:28","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:48:28","permalink":{"id":179271,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":14515,"identifier":"2","token":"20\/7.1\/2","url":"\/20\/7.1\/2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13273,"edition_id":1,"name":"Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act","identifier":"7.1","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12711,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:33","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:33","permalink":{"id":179223,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13273,"identifier":"7.1","token":"20\/7.1","url":"\/20\/7.1\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12711,"edition_id":1,"name":"Domestic Relations","identifier":"20","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":178075,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12711,"identifier":"20","token":"20","url":"\/20\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":56827,"structure_id":14515,"section_number":"20-146.12","catch_line":"Initial child custody jurisdiction","url":"\/20-146.12\/","token":"20\/7.1\/2\/20-146.12","metadata":false},{"id":71952,"structure_id":14515,"section_number":"20-146.13","catch_line":"Exclusive, continuing jurisdiction","url":"\/20-146.13\/","token":"20\/7.1\/2\/20-146.13","metadata":false},{"id":64810,"structure_id":14515,"section_number":"20-146.14","catch_line":"Jurisdiction to modify determination","url":"\/20-146.14\/","token":"20\/7.1\/2\/20-146.14","metadata":false},{"id":55943,"structure_id":14515,"section_number":"20-146.15","catch_line":"Temporary emergency jurisdiction","url":"\/20-146.15\/","token":"20\/7.1\/2\/20-146.15","metadata":false},{"id":63781,"structure_id":14515,"section_number":"20-146.16","catch_line":"Notice; opportunity to be heard; joinder","url":"\/20-146.16\/","token":"20\/7.1\/2\/20-146.16","metadata":false},{"id":85749,"structure_id":14515,"section_number":"20-146.17","catch_line":"Simultaneous proceedings","url":"\/20-146.17\/","token":"20\/7.1\/2\/20-146.17","metadata":false},{"id":85297,"structure_id":14515,"section_number":"20-146.18","catch_line":"Inconvenient forum","url":"\/20-146.18\/","token":"20\/7.1\/2\/20-146.18","metadata":false},{"id":63634,"structure_id":14515,"section_number":"20-146.19","catch_line":"Jurisdiction declined by reason of conduct","url":"\/20-146.19\/","token":"20\/7.1\/2\/20-146.19","metadata":false},{"id":86444,"structure_id":14515,"section_number":"20-146.20","catch_line":"Information to be submitted to court","url":"\/20-146.20\/","token":"20\/7.1\/2\/20-146.20","metadata":false},{"id":84744,"structure_id":14515,"section_number":"20-146.21","catch_line":"Appearance of parties and child","url":"\/20-146.21\/","token":"20\/7.1\/2\/20-146.21","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":64810,"structure_id":14515,"section_number":"20-146.14","catch_line":"Jurisdiction to modify determination","url":"\/20-146.14\/","token":"20\/7.1\/2\/20-146.14","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":63781,"structure_id":14515,"section_number":"20-146.16","catch_line":"Notice; opportunity to be heard; joinder","url":"\/20-146.16\/","token":"20\/7.1\/2\/20-146.16","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/20-146.15\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 2001. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 305<\/a> of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year.<\/p>","references":[{"id":56827,"section_number":"20-146.12","catch_line":"Initial child custody jurisdiction","order_by":null,"url":"\/20-146.12\/"},{"id":71952,"section_number":"20-146.13","catch_line":"Exclusive, continuing jurisdiction","order_by":null,"url":"\/20-146.13\/"},{"id":64810,"section_number":"20-146.14","catch_line":"Jurisdiction to modify determination","order_by":null,"url":"\/20-146.14\/"},{"id":85749,"section_number":"20-146.17","catch_line":"Simultaneous proceedings","order_by":null,"url":"\/20-146.17\/"},{"id":63634,"section_number":"20-146.19","catch_line":"Jurisdiction declined by reason of conduct","order_by":null,"url":"\/20-146.19\/"},{"id":73118,"section_number":"20-146.31","catch_line":"Hearing and order","order_by":null,"url":"\/20-146.31\/"},{"id":67591,"section_number":"20-146.35","catch_line":"Appeals","order_by":null,"url":"\/20-146.35\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":56827,"section_number":"20-146.12","catch_line":"Initial child custody jurisdiction","order_by":null,"url":"\/20-146.12\/"},{"id":71952,"section_number":"20-146.13","catch_line":"Exclusive, continuing jurisdiction","order_by":null,"url":"\/20-146.13\/"},{"id":64810,"section_number":"20-146.14","catch_line":"Jurisdiction to modify determination","order_by":null,"url":"\/20-146.14\/"}],"permalink":{"id":179285,"object_type":"law","relational_id":55943,"identifier":"20-146.15","token":"20\/7.1\/2\/20-146.15","url":"\/20-146.15\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/20-146.15\/","token":"20\/7.1\/2\/20-146.15","dublin_core":{"Title":"Temporary emergency jurisdiction","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 20-146.15","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A.<\/span> A court<\/span> of this Commonwealth has temporary emergency jurisdiction<\/span> if the child is present in this Commonwealth and the child has been abandoned or if it is necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child, or a sibling or parent of the child, is subjected to mistreatment or abuse or placed in reasonable apprehension of mistreatment or abuse or there is reasonable apprehension that such person is threatened with mistreatment or abuse. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

B.<\/span> If there is no previous child custody<\/span> determination that is entitled to be enforced under this act and a child custody<\/span> proceeding has not been commenced in a court<\/span> of a state having jurisdiction<\/span> under §§ 20-146.12<\/a>, 20-146.13<\/a> or § 20-146.14<\/a>, a child custody<\/span> determination made under this section remains in effect until an order<\/span> is obtained from a court<\/span> of a state having jurisdiction<\/span> under §§ 20-146.12<\/a>, 20-146.13<\/a> or § 20-146.14<\/a>. If a child custody<\/span> proceeding has not been or is not commenced in a court<\/span> of a state having jurisdiction<\/span> under §§ 20-146.12<\/a>, 20-146.13<\/a> or § 20-146.14<\/a>, a child custody<\/span> determination made under this section becomes a final determination, if it so provides and this Commonwealth becomes the home state of the child. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

C.<\/span> If there is a previous child custody<\/span> determination that is entitled to be enforced under this act, or a child custody<\/span> proceeding has been commenced in a court<\/span> of a state having jurisdiction<\/span> under §§ 20-146.12<\/a>, 20-146.13<\/a> or § 20-146.14<\/a>, any order<\/span> issued by a court<\/span> of this Commonwealth under this section must specify in the order<\/span> a period that the court<\/span> considers adequate to allow the person seeking an order<\/span> to obtain an order<\/span> from the state having jurisdiction<\/span>. The order<\/span> issued in this Commonwealth remains in effect until an order<\/span> is obtained from the other state within the period specified or until the period expires. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

D.<\/span> A court<\/span> of this Commonwealth that has been asked to make a child custody<\/span> determination under this section, upon being informed that a child custody<\/span> proceeding has been commenced in, or a child custody<\/span> determination has been made by, a court<\/span> of a state having jurisdiction<\/span> under §§ 20-146.12<\/a>, 20-146.13<\/a> or § 20-146.14<\/a>, shall immediately communicate with the other court<\/span>. A court<\/span> of this Commonwealth that is exercising jurisdiction<\/span> pursuant to §§ 20-146.12<\/a>, 20-146.13<\/a> or § 20-146.14<\/a>, upon being informed that a child custody<\/span> proceeding has been commenced in, or a child custody<\/span> determination has been made by, a court<\/span> of another state under a statute<\/span> similar to this section, shall immediately communicate with the court<\/span> of that state to resolve the emergency, protect the safety of the parties and the child, and determine a period for the duration of the temporary order<\/span>. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nTEMPORARY EMERGENCY JURISDICTION (\u00a7 20-146.15)\n\nA. A court of this Commonwealth has temporary emergency jurisdiction if the\nchild is present in this Commonwealth and the child has been abandoned or if it\nis necessary in an emergency to protect the child because the child, or a\nsibling or parent of the child, is subjected to mistreatment or abuse or placed\nin reasonable apprehension of mistreatment or abuse or there is reasonable\napprehension that such person is threatened with mistreatment or abuse.\n\nB. If there is no previous child custody determination that is entitled to be\nenforced under this act and a child custody proceeding has not been commenced in\na court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 20-146.12, 20-146.13\nor § 20-146.14, a child custody determination made under this section\nremains in effect until an order is obtained from a court of a state having\njurisdiction under §§ 20-146.12, 20-146.13 or § 20-146.14. If a\nchild custody proceeding has not been or is not commenced in a court of a state\nhaving jurisdiction under §§ 20-146.12, 20-146.13 or § 20-146.14,\na child custody determination made under this section becomes a final\ndetermination, if it so provides and this Commonwealth becomes the home state of\nthe child.\n\nC. If there is a previous child custody determination that is entitled to be\nenforced under this act, or a child custody proceeding has been commenced in a\ncourt of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 20-146.12, 20-146.13 or\n§ 20-146.14, any order issued by a court of this Commonwealth under this\nsection must specify in the order a period that the court considers adequate to\nallow the person seeking an order to obtain an order from the state having\njurisdiction. The order issued in this Commonwealth remains in effect until an\norder is obtained from the other state within the period specified or until the\nperiod expires.\n\nD. A court of this Commonwealth that has been asked to make a child custody\ndetermination under this section, upon being informed that a child custody\nproceeding has been commenced in, or a child custody determination has been made\nby, a court of a state having jurisdiction under §§ 20-146.12,\n20-146.13 or § 20-146.14, shall immediately communicate with the other\ncourt. A court of this Commonwealth that is exercising jurisdiction pursuant to\n§§ 20-146.12, 20-146.13 or § 20-146.14, upon being informed that\na child custody proceeding has been commenced in, or a child custody\ndetermination has been made by, a court of another state under a statute similar\nto this section, shall immediately communicate with the court of that state to\nresolve the emergency, protect the safety of the parties and the child, and\ndetermine a period for the duration of the temporary order.\n\nHISTORY: 2001, c. 305.","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}}