                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

(EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2026) EMERGENCY CUSTODY; ISSUANCE AND EXECUTION OF ORDER (§
37.2-808)

A. Any magistrate shall issue, upon the sworn petition of any responsible
person, treating physician, or upon his own motion, or a court may issue
pursuant to &#xA7; 19.2-271.6, an emergency custody order when he has probable
cause to believe that any person (i) has a mental illness and that there exists
a substantial likelihood that, as a result of mental illness, the person will,
in the near future, (a) cause serious physical harm to himself or others as
evidenced by recent behavior causing, attempting, or threatening harm and other
relevant information, if any, or (b) suffer serious harm due to his lack of
capacity to protect himself from harm or to provide for his basic human needs,
(ii) is in need of hospitalization or treatment, and (iii) is unwilling to
volunteer or incapable of volunteering for hospitalization or treatment. Any
emergency custody order entered pursuant to this section shall provide for the
disclosure of medical records pursuant to &#xA7; 37.2-804.2. This subsection
shall not preclude any other disclosures as required or permitted by law.
			When considering whether there is probable cause to issue an emergency
custody order, the magistrate may, in addition to the petition, or the court may
pursuant to &#xA7; 19.2-271.6, consider (1) the recommendations of any treating
or examining physician or psychologist licensed in Virginia, if available, (2)
any past actions of the person, (3) any past mental health treatment of the
person, (4) any relevant hearsay evidence, (5) any medical records available,
(6) any affidavits submitted, if the witness is unavailable and it so states in
the affidavit, and (7) any other information available that the magistrate or
the court considers relevant to the determination of whether probable cause
exists to issue an emergency custody order.

B. Any person for whom an emergency custody order is issued shall be taken into
custody and transported to a convenient location to be evaluated to determine
whether the person meets the criteria for temporary detention pursuant to &#xA7;
37.2-809 and to assess the need for hospitalization or treatment. The evaluation
shall be made by a person designated by the community services board who is
skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness and who has completed a
certification program approved by the Department.

C. The magistrate or court issuing an emergency custody order shall specify the
primary law-enforcement agency and jurisdiction to execute the emergency custody
order and provide transportation. However, the magistrate or court shall
authorize transportation by an alternative transportation provider in accordance
with this section, whenever an alternative transportation provider is identified
to the magistrate or court, which may be a person, facility, or agency,
including a family member or friend of the person who is the subject of the
order, a representative of the community services board, or other transportation
provider with personnel trained to provide transportation in a safe manner, upon
determining, following consideration of information provided by the petitioner;
the community services board or its designee; the local law-enforcement agency,
if any; the person&#8217;s treating physician, if any; or other persons who are
available and have knowledge of the person, and, when the magistrate or court
deems appropriate, the proposed alternative transportation provider, either in
person or via two-way electronic video and audio or telephone communication
system, that the proposed alternative transportation provider is available to
provide transportation, willing to provide transportation, and able to provide
transportation in a safe manner.
			When transportation is ordered to be provided by an alternative
transportation provider, the magistrate or court shall order the specified
primary law-enforcement agency to execute the order, to take the person into
custody, and to transfer custody of the person to the alternative transportation
provider identified in the order. In such cases, a copy of the emergency custody
order shall accompany the person being transported pursuant to this section at
all times and shall be delivered by the alternative transportation provider to
the community services board or its designee responsible for conducting the
evaluation. The community services board or its designee conducting the
evaluation shall return a copy of the emergency custody order to the court
designated by the magistrate or the court that issued the emergency custody
order as soon as is practicable. Delivery of an order to a law-enforcement
officer or alternative transportation provider and return of an order to the
court may be accomplished electronically or by facsimile.
			Transportation under this section shall include transportation to a medical
facility as may be necessary to obtain emergency medical evaluation or treatment
that shall be conducted immediately in accordance with state and federal law.
Transportation under this section shall include transportation to a medical
facility for a medical evaluation if a physician at the hospital in which the
person subject to the emergency custody order may be detained requires a medical
evaluation prior to admission.

D. In specifying the primary law-enforcement agency and jurisdiction for
purposes of this section, the magistrate or court shall order the primary
law-enforcement agency from the jurisdiction served by the community services
board that designated the person to perform the evaluation required in
subsection B to execute the order and, in cases in which transportation is
ordered to be provided by the primary law-enforcement agency, provide
transportation. If the community services board serves more than one
jurisdiction, the magistrate or court shall designate the primary
law-enforcement agency from the particular jurisdiction within the community
services board&#8217;s service area where the person who is the subject of the
emergency custody order was taken into custody or, if the person has not yet
been taken into custody, the primary law-enforcement agency from the
jurisdiction where the person is presently located to execute the order and
provide transportation.

E. The law-enforcement agency or alternative transportation provider providing
transportation pursuant to this section may transfer custody of the person to
the facility or location to which the person is transported for the evaluation
required in subsection B, G, or H if the facility or location (i) is licensed to
provide the level of security necessary to protect both the person and others
from harm, (ii) is actually capable of providing the level of security necessary
to protect the person and others from harm, and (iii) in cases in which
transportation is provided by a law-enforcement agency, has entered into an
agreement or memorandum of understanding with the law-enforcement agency setting
forth the terms and conditions under which it will accept a transfer of custody,
provided, however, that the facility or location may not require the
law-enforcement agency to pay any fees or costs for the transfer of custody.

F. A law-enforcement officer may lawfully go or be sent beyond the territorial
limits of the county, city, or town in which he serves to any point in the
Commonwealth for the purpose of executing an emergency custody order pursuant to
this section.

G. A law-enforcement officer who, based upon his observation or the reliable
reports of others, has probable cause to believe that a person meets the
criteria for emergency custody as stated in this section may take that person
into custody and transport that person to an appropriate location to assess the
need for hospitalization or treatment without prior authorization. A
law-enforcement officer who takes a person into custody pursuant to this
subsection or subsection H may lawfully go or be sent beyond the territorial
limits of the county, city, or town in which he serves to any point in the
Commonwealth for the purpose of obtaining the assessment. Such evaluation shall
be conducted immediately. The period of custody shall not exceed eight hours
from the time the law-enforcement officer takes the person into custody.

H. A law-enforcement officer who is transporting a person who has voluntarily
consented to be transported to a facility for the purpose of assessment or
evaluation and who is beyond the territorial limits of the county, city, or town
in which he serves may take such person into custody and transport him to an
appropriate location to assess the need for hospitalization or treatment without
prior authorization when the law-enforcement officer determines (i) that the
person has revoked consent to be transported to a facility for the purpose of
assessment or evaluation, and (ii) based upon his observations, that probable
cause exists to believe that the person meets the criteria for emergency custody
as stated in this section. The period of custody shall not exceed eight hours
from the time the law-enforcement officer takes the person into custody.

I. Nothing herein shall preclude a law-enforcement officer or alternative
transportation provider from obtaining emergency medical treatment or further
medical evaluation at any time for a person in his custody as provided in this
section.

J. A representative of the primary law-enforcement agency specified to execute
an emergency custody order or a representative of the law-enforcement agency
employing a law-enforcement officer who takes a person into custody pursuant to
subsection G or H shall notify the community services board responsible for
conducting the evaluation required in subsection B, G, or H as soon as
practicable after execution of the emergency custody order or after the person
has been taken into custody pursuant to subsection G or H.

K. The person shall remain in custody until (i) a temporary detention order is
issued in accordance with &#xA7; 37.2-809, (ii) an order for temporary detention
for observation, testing, or treatment is entered in accordance with &#xA7;
37.2-1104, ending law enforcement custody, (iii) the person is released, or (iv)
the emergency custody order expires. An emergency custody order shall be valid
for a period not to exceed eight hours from the time of execution. For any
person who has received an evaluation or treatment while in emergency custody
and for whom no temporary detention order is issued, the evaluator or treating
health care professional shall consider, prior to the person&#8217;s release or
the expiration of the emergency custody order, whether referral of the person to
a community-based outpatient stabilization program for voluntary treatment is
appropriate.

L. Nothing in this section shall preclude the issuance of an order for temporary
detention for testing, observation, or treatment pursuant to &#xA7; 37.2-1104
for a person who is also the subject of an emergency custody order issued
pursuant to this section. In any case in which an order for temporary detention
for testing, observation, or treatment is issued for a person who is also the
subject of an emergency custody order, the person may be detained by a hospital
emergency room or other appropriate facility for testing, observation, and
treatment for a period not to exceed 24 hours, unless extended by the court as
part of an order pursuant to &#xA7; 37.2-1101, in accordance with subsection C
of &#xA7; 37.2-1104. Upon completion of testing, observation, or treatment
pursuant to &#xA7; 37.2-1104, the hospital emergency room or other appropriate
facility in which the person is detained shall notify the nearest community
services board, and the designee of the community services board shall, as soon
as is practicable and prior to the expiration of the order for temporary
detention issued pursuant to &#xA7; 37.2-1104, conduct an evaluation of the
person to determine if he meets the criteria for temporary detention pursuant to
&#xA7; 37.2-809. The (i) evaluator conducting the evaluation pursuant to
subsection B and &#xA7; 37.2-809 or (ii) hospital emergency department and
treating physician or other health care provider designated by the physician
shall allow a family member or legal guardian of the individual subject to
evaluation who is present, and who may provide support and supportive
decision-making, to be present with the individual unless the individual objects
or the evaluator or treating physician determines that the presence of any such
person would create a medical, clinical, or safety risk to the patient or health
care provider or interferes with patient care. No provision of this section
shall delay the process of the patient receiving treatment.

M. Any person taken into emergency custody pursuant to this section shall be
given a written summary of the emergency custody procedures and the statutory
protections associated with those procedures.

N. If an emergency custody order is not executed within eight hours of its
issuance, the order shall be void and shall be returned unexecuted to the office
of the clerk of the issuing court or, if such office is not open, to any
magistrate serving the jurisdiction of the issuing court.

O. In addition to the eight-hour period of emergency custody set forth in
subsection G, H, or K, if the individual is detained in a state facility
pursuant to subsection E of &#xA7; 37.2-809, the state facility and an employee
or designee of the community services board as defined in &#xA7; 37.2-809 may,
for an additional four hours, continue to attempt to identify an alternative
facility that is able and willing to provide temporary detention and appropriate
care to the individual.

P. Payments shall be made pursuant to &#xA7; 37.2-804 to licensed health care
providers for medical screening and assessment services provided to persons with
mental illnesses while in emergency custody.

Q. An employee or contractor of an entity providing alternative transportation
services pursuant to a contract with the Department who has completed training
approved by the Department in the proper and safe use of restraint may use
restraint (i) if restraint is necessary to ensure the safety of the person or
others or prevent escape and (ii) if less restrictive techniques have been
determined to be ineffective to protect the person or others from harm or to
prevent escape.

R. No person who provides alternative transportation pursuant to this section
shall be liable to the person being transported for any civil damages for
ordinary negligence in acts or omissions that result from providing such
alternative transportation.

S. For purposes of this section:
			&#8220;Law-enforcement agency&#8221; includes an auxiliary police force
established pursuant to &#xA7; 15.2-1731.
			&#8220;Law-enforcement officer&#8221; includes an auxiliary police officer
appointed or provided for pursuant to &#xA7;&#xA7; 15.2-1731 and 15.2-1733,
except for the purposes of subsection G.

HISTORY: 1995, c. 844, § 37.1-67.01; 1996, c. 893; 1998, c. 611; 2004, c. 737;
2005, c. 716; 2007, c. 7; 2008, cc. 202, 551, 691, 775, 779, 782, 784, 793, 850,
870; 2009, cc. 21, 112, 383, 455, 555, 607, 697, 838; 2010, cc. 778, 825; 2011,
c. 249; 2013, c. 371; 2014, cc. 691, 761; 2015, cc. 297, 308, 659; 2018, c. 570;
2020, cc. 1233, 1267; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 523, 540; 2022, c. 730; 2023, c.
327; 2024, cc. 649, 682, 780; 2025, cc. 504.