Virginia · TitleVirginia judgment liens: the judgment lien docket, ten or twenty years and the householder exemption

Every money judgment rendered in Virginia by a state or federal court, or by confession, is a lien on all real estate the defendant owns or later acquires, from the time it is recorded on the judgment lien docket of the clerk's office of the county or city where the land lies (Code §8.01-458). For judgments dated on or after July 1, 2021, no execution may issue and no action may be brought after ten years from the judgment, unless the creditor records a certificate before the period ends, which extends it ten years from recordation – and one more such extension is allowed; judgments dated, extended or renewed before July 1, 2021 run 20 years, and child-support judgments 20 years (§8.01-251). A householder can hold exempt from creditor process property worth up to $5,000 – $10,000 if 65 or older – plus real or personal property used as the principal residence worth up to $50,000, and $500 more for each dependent; the amounts adjust for inflation every three years starting April 1, 2027 (§34-4).