{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/8.01-262.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/8.01-262.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/8.01-262.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/8.01-262.html"}],"law_id":81233,"edition_id":1,"section_id":81233,"structure_id":14535,"section_number":"8.01-262","catch_line":"Category B or permissible venue","history":"1977, c. 617; 1978, c. 414; 1979, c. 331; 1985, c. 213; 1999, c. 73; 2004, c. 979; 2013, cc. 71, 103; 2024, cc. 50, 340.","full_text":"In any actions to which this chapter applies except those actions enumerated in Category A where preferred venue is specified, one or more of the following counties or cities shall be permissible forums, such forums being sometimes referred to as “Category B” in this title:\n\n1\n\nWherein the defendant resides or has his principal place of employment or, if the defendant is not an individual, wherein its principal office or principal place of business is located;2\n\nWherein the defendant has a registered office, has appointed an agent to receive process, or such agent has been appointed by operation of the law; or, in case of withdrawal from the Commonwealth by such defendant, wherein venue herein was proper at the time of such withdrawal;3\n\nProvided there exists any practical nexus to the forum including, but not limited to, the location of fact witnesses, plaintiffs, or other evidence to the action, wherein the defendant regularly conducts substantial business activity, or in the case of withdrawal from the Commonwealth by such defendant, wherein venue herein was proper at the time of such withdrawal;4\n\nWherein the cause of action, or any part thereof, arose;5\n\nIn actions to recover or partition personal property, whether tangible or intangible, the county or city:\n\t\t\ta. Wherein such property is physically located; or\n\t\t\tb. Wherein the evidence of such property is located;\n\t\t\tc. And if subdivisions a and b do not apply, wherein the plaintiff resides.6\n\nIn actions against a fiduciary as defined in § 8.01-2 appointed under court authority, the county or city wherein such fiduciary qualified;7\n\nIn actions for improper message transmission or misdelivery wherein the message was transmitted or delivered or wherein the message was accepted for delivery or was misdelivered;8\n\nIn actions arising based on delivery of goods, wherein the goods were received;9\n\nIf there is no other forum available in subdivisions 1 through 8 of this category, then the county or city where the defendant has property or debts owing to him subject to seizure by any civil process; or10\n\nWherein any of the plaintiffs reside if (i) all of the defendants are unknown or are nonresidents of the Commonwealth or if (ii) there is no other forum available under any other provisions of § 8.01-261 or this section.\n\t\t\tNotwithstanding the provisions of this section, in actions in which an administrator has been appointed pursuant to § 64.2-454, permissible venue shall only lie in a county or city in which venue would have been properly laid if the person for whom such appointment is made had survived.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":291169,"text":"In any actions to which this chapter applies except those actions enumerated in Category A where preferred venue is specified, one or more of the following counties or cities shall be permissible forums, such forums being sometimes referred to as “Category B” in this title:","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1,"next_prefix":"1"},"1":{"id":291170,"text":"Wherein the defendant resides or has his principal place of employment or, if the defendant is not an individual, wherein its principal office or principal place of business is located;","type":"section","prefixes":["1"],"prefix":"1","entire_prefix":"1","prefix_anchor":"1","level":1,"prior_prefix":"","next_prefix":"2"},"2":{"id":291171,"text":"Wherein the defendant has a registered office, has appointed an agent to receive process, or such agent has been appointed by operation of the law; or, in case of withdrawal from the Commonwealth by such defendant, wherein venue herein was proper at the time of such withdrawal;","type":"section","prefixes":["2"],"prefix":"2","entire_prefix":"2","prefix_anchor":"2","level":1,"prior_prefix":"1","next_prefix":"3"},"3":{"id":291172,"text":"Provided there exists any practical nexus to the forum including, but not limited to, the location of fact witnesses, plaintiffs, or other evidence to the action, wherein the defendant regularly conducts substantial business activity, or in the case of withdrawal from the Commonwealth by such defendant, wherein venue herein was proper at the time of such withdrawal;","type":"section","prefixes":["3"],"prefix":"3","entire_prefix":"3","prefix_anchor":"3","level":1,"prior_prefix":"2","next_prefix":"4"},"4":{"id":291173,"text":"Wherein the cause of action, or any part thereof, arose;","type":"section","prefixes":["4"],"prefix":"4","entire_prefix":"4","prefix_anchor":"4","level":1,"prior_prefix":"3","next_prefix":"5"},"5":{"id":291174,"text":"In actions to recover or partition personal property, whether tangible or intangible, the county or city:\n\t\t\ta. Wherein such property is physically located; or\n\t\t\tb. Wherein the evidence of such property is located;\n\t\t\tc. And if subdivisions a and b do not apply, wherein the plaintiff resides.","type":"section","prefixes":["5"],"prefix":"5","entire_prefix":"5","prefix_anchor":"5","level":1,"prior_prefix":"4","next_prefix":"6"},"6":{"id":291175,"text":"In actions against a fiduciary as defined in § 8.01-2 appointed under court authority, the county or city wherein such fiduciary qualified;","type":"section","prefixes":["6"],"prefix":"6","entire_prefix":"6","prefix_anchor":"6","level":1,"prior_prefix":"5","next_prefix":"7"},"7":{"id":291176,"text":"In actions for improper message transmission or misdelivery wherein the message was transmitted or delivered or wherein the message was accepted for delivery or was misdelivered;","type":"section","prefixes":["7"],"prefix":"7","entire_prefix":"7","prefix_anchor":"7","level":1,"prior_prefix":"6","next_prefix":"8"},"8":{"id":291177,"text":"In actions arising based on delivery of goods, wherein the goods were received;","type":"section","prefixes":["8"],"prefix":"8","entire_prefix":"8","prefix_anchor":"8","level":1,"prior_prefix":"7","next_prefix":"9"},"9":{"id":291178,"text":"If there is no other forum available in subdivisions 1 through 8 of this category, then the county or city where the defendant has property or debts owing to him subject to seizure by any civil process; or","type":"section","prefixes":["9"],"prefix":"9","entire_prefix":"9","prefix_anchor":"9","level":1,"prior_prefix":"8","next_prefix":"10"},"10":{"id":291179,"text":"Wherein any of the plaintiffs reside if (i) all of the defendants are unknown or are nonresidents of the Commonwealth or if (ii) there is no other forum available under any other provisions of § 8.01-261 or this section.\n\t\t\tNotwithstanding the provisions of this section, in actions in which an administrator has been appointed pursuant to § 64.2-454, permissible venue shall only lie in a county or city in which venue would have been properly laid if the person for whom such appointment is made had survived.","type":"section","prefixes":["10"],"prefix":"10","entire_prefix":"10","prefix_anchor":"10","level":1,"prior_prefix":"9"}},"ancestry":[{"id":14535,"edition_id":1,"name":"Venue","identifier":"5","label":"chapter","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12747,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:48:33","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:48:33","permalink":{"id":281283,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":14535,"identifier":"5","token":"8.01\/5","url":"\/8.01\/5\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12747,"edition_id":1,"name":"Civil Remedies and Procedure","identifier":"8.01","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:51","permalink":{"id":277029,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12747,"identifier":"8.01","token":"8.01","url":"\/8.01\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":77027,"structure_id":14535,"section_number":"8.01-257","catch_line":"Venue generally","url":"\/8.01-257\/","token":"8.01\/5\/8.01-257","metadata":false},{"id":84822,"structure_id":14535,"section_number":"8.01-258","catch_line":"Venue not jurisdictional","url":"\/8.01-258\/","token":"8.01\/5\/8.01-258","metadata":false},{"id":67040,"structure_id":14535,"section_number":"8.01-259","catch_line":"Application","url":"\/8.01-259\/","token":"8.01\/5\/8.01-259","metadata":false},{"id":63311,"structure_id":14535,"section_number":"8.01-260","catch_line":"Proper venue; preferred forum in certain actions; permissible forums for other actions","url":"\/8.01-260\/","token":"8.01\/5\/8.01-260","metadata":false},{"id":63400,"structure_id":14535,"section_number":"8.01-261","catch_line":"Category A or preferred venue","url":"\/8.01-261\/","token":"8.01\/5\/8.01-261","metadata":false},{"id":81233,"structure_id":14535,"section_number":"8.01-262","catch_line":"Category B or permissible venue","url":"\/8.01-262\/","token":"8.01\/5\/8.01-262","metadata":false},{"id":78305,"structure_id":14535,"section_number":"8.01-262.1","catch_line":"Place for bringing action under a contract related to construction","url":"\/8.01-262.1\/","token":"8.01\/5\/8.01-262.1","metadata":false},{"id":55983,"structure_id":14535,"section_number":"8.01-263","catch_line":"Multiple parties","url":"\/8.01-263\/","token":"8.01\/5\/8.01-263","metadata":false},{"id":86879,"structure_id":14535,"section_number":"8.01-264","catch_line":"Venue improperly laid; objection","url":"\/8.01-264\/","token":"8.01\/5\/8.01-264","metadata":false},{"id":76737,"structure_id":14535,"section_number":"8.01-265","catch_line":"Change of venue by court","url":"\/8.01-265\/","token":"8.01\/5\/8.01-265","metadata":false},{"id":72403,"structure_id":14535,"section_number":"8.01-266","catch_line":"Costs","url":"\/8.01-266\/","token":"8.01\/5\/8.01-266","metadata":false},{"id":60621,"structure_id":14535,"section_number":"8.01-267","catch_line":"Discretion of judge","url":"\/8.01-267\/","token":"8.01\/5\/8.01-267","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":63400,"structure_id":14535,"section_number":"8.01-261","catch_line":"Category A or preferred venue","url":"\/8.01-261\/","token":"8.01\/5\/8.01-261","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":78305,"structure_id":14535,"section_number":"8.01-262.1","catch_line":"Place for bringing action under a contract related to construction","url":"\/8.01-262.1\/","token":"8.01\/5\/8.01-262.1","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/8.01-262\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 1977. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 617 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. Unfortunately, the 1977 \u201cActs\u201d aren\u2019t available online. It has been modified 7 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 1978, chapter 414; in 1979, chapter 331; in 1985, chapter 213; in 1999, chapter 73<\/a>; in 2004, chapter 979<\/a>; in 2013, chapters 71<\/a> and 103<\/a>; in 2024, chapters 50<\/a> and 340<\/a>.<\/p>","references":[{"id":75487,"section_number":"16.1-77.2","catch_line":"Jurisdiction of partition of personal property and proceedings therefor","order_by":null,"url":"\/16.1-77.2\/"},{"id":63311,"section_number":"8.01-260","catch_line":"Proper venue; preferred forum in certain actions; permissible forums for other actions","order_by":null,"url":"\/8.01-260\/"},{"id":86879,"section_number":"8.01-264","catch_line":"Venue improperly laid; objection","order_by":null,"url":"\/8.01-264\/"},{"id":76737,"section_number":"8.01-265","catch_line":"Change of venue by court","order_by":null,"url":"\/8.01-265\/"},{"id":86882,"section_number":"8.01-424.1","catch_line":"Settlement of third-party action; deemed consent by employer","order_by":null,"url":"\/8.01-424.1\/"}],"refers_to":[{"id":68103,"section_number":"64.2-454","catch_line":"Appointment of administrator for prosecution of action for personal injury or wrongful death against or on behalf of estate of deceased resident or nonresident","order_by":null,"url":"\/64.2-454\/"},{"id":80120,"section_number":"8.01-2","catch_line":"General definitions for this title","order_by":null,"url":"\/8.01-2\/"},{"id":63400,"section_number":"8.01-261","catch_line":"Category A or preferred venue","order_by":null,"url":"\/8.01-261\/"}],"permalink":{"id":281305,"object_type":"law","relational_id":81233,"identifier":"8.01-262","token":"8.01\/5\/8.01-262","url":"\/8.01-262\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/8.01-262\/","token":"8.01\/5\/8.01-262","dublin_core":{"Title":"Category B or permissible venue","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 8.01-262","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

In any actions<\/span> to which this chapter applies except those actions<\/span> enumerated in Category A where preferred venue<\/span> is specified, one or more of the following counties or cities shall be permissible forums, such forums being sometimes referred to as “Category B” in this title:<\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

1.<\/span> Wherein the defendant<\/span> resides or has his principal place of employment or, if the defendant<\/span> is not an individual, wherein its principal office or principal place of business is located; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

2.<\/span> Wherein the defendant<\/span> has a registered office, has appointed an agent to receive process, or such agent has been appointed by operation of the law<\/span>; or, in case of withdrawal from the Commonwealth by such defendant<\/span>, wherein venue<\/span> herein was proper at the time of such withdrawal; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

3.<\/span> Provided there exists any practical nexus to the forum including, but not limited to, the location of fact<\/span> witnesses, plaintiffs<\/span>, or other evidence<\/span> to the action<\/span>, wherein the defendant<\/span> regularly conducts substantial business activity, or in the case of withdrawal from the Commonwealth by such defendant<\/span>, wherein venue<\/span> herein was proper at the time of such withdrawal; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

4.<\/span> Wherein the cause of action<\/span>, or any part thereof, arose; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

5.<\/span> In actions<\/span> to recover or partition<\/span> personal property, whether tangible or intangible, the county or city:\n\t\t\ta. Wherein such property is physically located; or\n\t\t\tb. Wherein the evidence<\/span> of such property is located;\n\t\t\tc. And if subdivisions a and b do not apply, wherein the plaintiff<\/span> resides. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

6.<\/span> In actions<\/span> against a fiduciary<\/span> as defined in § 8.01-2<\/a> appointed under court<\/span> authority, the county or city wherein such fiduciary<\/span> qualified; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

7.<\/span> In actions<\/span> for improper message transmission or misdelivery wherein the message was transmitted or delivered or wherein the message was accepted for delivery or was misdelivered; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

8.<\/span> In actions<\/span> arising based on delivery of goods, wherein the goods were received; <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

9.<\/span> If there is no other forum available in subdivisions 1 through 8 of this category, then the county or city where the defendant<\/span> has property or debts owing to him subject to seizure by any civil process; or <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

10.<\/span> Wherein any of the plaintiffs<\/span> reside if (i) all of the defendants<\/span> are unknown or are nonresidents of the Commonwealth or if (ii) there is no other forum available under any other provisions of § 8.01-261<\/a> or this section.\n\t\t\tNotwithstanding the provisions of this section, in actions<\/span> in which an administrator has been appointed pursuant to § 64.2-454<\/a>, permissible venue<\/span> shall only lie in a county or city in which venue<\/span> would have been properly laid if the person<\/span> for whom such appointment is made had survived. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nCATEGORY B OR PERMISSIBLE VENUE (\u00a7 8.01-262)\n\nIn any actions to which this chapter applies except those actions enumerated in\nCategory A where preferred venue is specified, one or more of the following\ncounties or cities shall be permissible forums, such forums being sometimes\nreferred to as “Category B” in this title:\n\n1. Wherein the defendant resides or has his principal place of employment or, if\nthe defendant is not an individual, wherein its principal office or principal\nplace of business is located;\n\n2. Wherein the defendant has a registered office, has appointed an agent to\nreceive process, or such agent has been appointed by operation of the law; or,\nin case of withdrawal from the Commonwealth by such defendant, wherein venue\nherein was proper at the time of such withdrawal;\n\n3. Provided there exists any practical nexus to the forum including, but not\nlimited to, the location of fact witnesses, plaintiffs, or other evidence to the\naction, wherein the defendant regularly conducts substantial business activity,\nor in the case of withdrawal from the Commonwealth by such defendant, wherein\nvenue herein was proper at the time of such withdrawal;\n\n4. Wherein the cause of action, or any part thereof, arose;\n\n5. In actions to recover or partition personal property, whether tangible or\nintangible, the county or city:\n\t\t\ta. Wherein such property is physically located; or\n\t\t\tb. Wherein the evidence of such property is located;\n\t\t\tc. And if subdivisions a and b do not apply, wherein the plaintiff resides.\n\n6. In actions against a fiduciary as defined in § 8.01-2 appointed under\ncourt authority, the county or city wherein such fiduciary qualified;\n\n7. In actions for improper message transmission or misdelivery wherein the\nmessage was transmitted or delivered or wherein the message was accepted for\ndelivery or was misdelivered;\n\n8. In actions arising based on delivery of goods, wherein the goods were\nreceived;\n\n9. If there is no other forum available in subdivisions 1 through 8 of this\ncategory, then the county or city where the defendant has property or debts\nowing to him subject to seizure by any civil process; or\n\n10. Wherein any of the plaintiffs reside if (i) all of the defendants are\nunknown or are nonresidents of the Commonwealth or if (ii) there is no other\nforum available under any other provisions of § 8.01-261 or this section.\n\t\t\tNotwithstanding the provisions of this section, in actions in which an\nadministrator has been appointed pursuant to § 64.2-454, permissible venue\nshall only lie in a county or city in which venue would have been properly laid\nif the person for whom such appointment is made had survived.\n\nHISTORY: 1977, c. 617; 1978, c. 414; 1979, c. 331; 1985, c. 213; 1999, c. 73;\n2004, c. 979; 2013, cc. 71, 103; 2024, cc. 50, 340.","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}}