                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

SERVICE BY PUBLICATION; WHEN AVAILABLE (§ 8.01-316)

A. Except in condemnation actions, an order of publication may be entered
against a defendant in the following manner:

   1. An affidavit by a party seeking service stating one or more of the
   following grounds:
   				a. That the party to be served is (i) a foreign corporation, (ii) a
   foreign unincorporated association, order, or a foreign unincorporated common
   carrier, or (iii) a nonresident individual, other than a nonresident
   individual fiduciary who has appointed a statutory agent under &#xA7;
   64.2-1426; or
   				b. That diligence has been used without effect to ascertain the location
   of the party to be served; or
   				c. That the last known residence of the party to be served was in the
   county or city in which service is sought and that a return has been filed by
   the sheriff that the process has been in his hands for twenty-one days and
   that he has been unable to make service; or

   2. In any action, when a pleading (i) states that there are or may be persons,
   whose names are unknown, interested in the subject to be divided or disposed
   of; (ii) briefly describes the nature of such interest; and (iii) makes such
   persons defendants by the general description of &#8220;parties
   unknown&#8221;; or

   3. In any action, when (i) the number of defendants upon whom process has been
   served exceeds ten and (ii) it appears by a pleading, or exhibit filed, that
   such defendants represent like interests with the parties not served with
   process.
   				Under subdivisions 1 and 2 of this subsection, the order of publication
   may be entered by the clerk of the court. Under this subdivision such order
   may be entered only by the court. However, any orders not properly entered,
   but processed by a clerk prior to July 1, 2010, shall be deemed to have been
   properly entered.
   				Every affidavit for an order of publication shall state the last known
   post office address of the party against whom publication is asked, or if such
   address is unknown, the affidavit shall state that fact.

B. The cost of such publication shall be paid initially by the party seeking
service; however, such costs ultimately may be recoverable pursuant to &#xA7;
17.1-601.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 8-71; 1952, c. 522; 1977, c. 617; 1982, c. 384; 1983, c.
467; 1996, c. 352; 1999, c. 353; 2010, c. 827.