{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/20-49.10.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/20-49.10.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/20-49.10.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/20-49.10.html"}],"law_id":60411,"edition_id":1,"section_id":60411,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.10","catch_line":"Relief from legal determination of paternity","history":"2001, c. 814.","full_text":"An individual may file a petition for relief and, except as provided herein, the court may set aside a final judgment, court order, administrative order, obligation to pay child support or any legal determination of paternity if a scientifically reliable genetic test performed in accordance with this chapter establishes the exclusion of the individual named as a father in the legal determination. The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the interest of the child. The petitioner shall pay the costs of such test. A court that sets aside a determination of paternity in accordance with this section shall order completion of a new birth record and may order any other appropriate relief, including setting aside an obligation to pay child support. No support order may be retroactively modified, but may be modified with respect to any period during which there is a pending petition for relief from a determination of paternity, but only from the date that notice of the petition was served on the nonfiling party.\n\t\tA court shall not grant relief from determination of paternity if the individual named as father (i) acknowledged paternity knowing he was not the father, (ii) adopted the child, or (iii) knew that the child was conceived through artificial insemination.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":220919,"text":"An individual may file a petition for relief and, except as provided herein, the court may set aside a final judgment, court order, administrative order, obligation to pay child support or any legal determination of paternity if a scientifically reliable genetic test performed in accordance with this chapter establishes the exclusion of the individual named as a father in the legal determination. The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the interest of the child. The petitioner shall pay the costs of such test. A court that sets aside a determination of paternity in accordance with this section shall order completion of a new birth record and may order any other appropriate relief, including setting aside an obligation to pay child support. No support order may be retroactively modified, but may be modified with respect to any period during which there is a pending petition for relief from a determination of paternity, but only from the date that notice of the petition was served on the nonfiling party.\n\t\tA court shall not grant relief from determination of paternity if the individual named as father (i) acknowledged paternity knowing he was not the father, (ii) adopted the child, or (iii) knew that the child was conceived through artificial insemination.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":13943,"edition_id":1,"name":"Proceedings to Determine Parentage","identifier":"3.1","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12711,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:46:22","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:46:22","permalink":{"id":178347,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13943,"identifier":"3.1","token":"20\/3.1","url":"\/20\/3.1\/","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":79167,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.1","catch_line":"How parent and child relationship established","url":"\/20-49.1\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.1","metadata":false},{"id":60411,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.10","catch_line":"Relief from legal determination of paternity","url":"\/20-49.10\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.10","metadata":false},{"id":60564,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.2","catch_line":"Commencement of action; parties; jurisdiction","url":"\/20-49.2\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.2","metadata":false},{"id":70927,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.3","catch_line":"Admission of genetic tests","url":"\/20-49.3\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.3","metadata":false},{"id":59276,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.4","catch_line":"Evidence relating to parentage","url":"\/20-49.4\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.4","metadata":false},{"id":66230,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.5","catch_line":"Support of children of unwed parents by the father; testimony under oath","url":"\/20-49.5\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.5","metadata":false},{"id":83066,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.6","catch_line":"Proceedings to establish paternity or enforce support obligations of males between the ages of fourteen and eighteen","url":"\/20-49.6\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.6","metadata":false},{"id":73619,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.7","catch_line":"Civil actions","url":"\/20-49.7\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.7","metadata":false},{"id":75922,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.8","catch_line":"Judgment or order; costs; birth record","url":"\/20-49.8\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.8","metadata":false},{"id":54998,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.9","catch_line":"Repealed","url":"\/20-49.9\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.9","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":79167,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.1","catch_line":"How parent and child relationship established","url":"\/20-49.1\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.1","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":60564,"structure_id":13943,"section_number":"20-49.2","catch_line":"Commencement of action; parties; jurisdiction","url":"\/20-49.2\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.2","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/20-49.10\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 2001. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 814<\/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":false,"refers_to":false,"permalink":{"id":178353,"object_type":"law","relational_id":60411,"identifier":"20-49.10","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.10","url":"\/20-49.10\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/20-49.10\/","token":"20\/3.1\/20-49.10","dublin_core":{"Title":"Relief from legal determination of paternity","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 20-49.10","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

An individual may file a petition<\/span> for relief and, except as provided herein, the court may set aside a final judgment<\/span>, court order<\/span>, administrative order, obligation to pay child support or any legal determination of paternity if a scientifically reliable genetic test performed in accordance with this chapter establishes the exclusion of the individual named as a father in the legal determination. The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem<\/span> to represent the interest of the child. The petitioner shall pay the costs of such test. A court that sets aside a determination of paternity in accordance with this section shall order completion of a new birth record and may order any other appropriate relief, including setting aside an obligation to pay child support. No support order may be retroactively modified, but may be modified with respect to any period during which there is a pending petition<\/span> for relief from a determination of paternity, but only from the date that notice of the petition<\/span> was served on the nonfiling party<\/span>.\n\t\tA court shall not grant relief from determination of paternity if the individual named as father (i) acknowledged paternity knowing he was not the father, (ii) adopted the child, or (iii) knew that the child was conceived through artificial insemination.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nRELIEF FROM LEGAL DETERMINATION OF PATERNITY (\u00a7 20-49.10)\n\nAn individual may file a petition for relief and, except as provided herein, the\ncourt may set aside a final judgment, court order, administrative order,\nobligation to pay child support or any legal determination of paternity if a\nscientifically reliable genetic test performed in accordance with this chapter\nestablishes the exclusion of the individual named as a father in the legal\ndetermination. The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the\ninterest of the child. The petitioner shall pay the costs of such test. A court\nthat sets aside a determination of paternity in accordance with this section\nshall order completion of a new birth record and may order any other appropriate\nrelief, including setting aside an obligation to pay child support. No support\norder may be retroactively modified, but may be modified with respect to any\nperiod during which there is a pending petition for relief from a determination\nof paternity, but only from the date that notice of the petition was served on\nthe nonfiling party.\n\t\tA court shall not grant relief from determination of paternity if the\nindividual named as father (i) acknowledged paternity knowing he was not the\nfather, (ii) adopted the child, or (iii) knew that the child was conceived\nthrough artificial insemination.\n\nHISTORY: 2001, c. 814.","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}}