Circuit Court Clerk's Office

Civil Judgments

The Circuit Court Clerk's Land Records Office (Room 300) processes recordation of judgments.

General Information
Prince William Circuit Court civil judgment orders, abstracts of judgments from Virginia courts, Federal Court judgments, foreign court judgments, Commonwealth of Virginia liens and assessments, and IRS tax liens are docketed (recorded) in Land Records.

Civil judgments that were docketed after Nov. 17, 2000 are available for viewing and printing on the public computer terminals located in Law Library. For civil judgments docketed prior to Nov. 17, 2000, you must speak with a Clerk at the Residential Services Counter.

Civil judgments rendered by the Prince William Circuit Court are docketed by the Clerk in Land Records. Criminal judgments for fines and costs and restitution are also docketed.

Land Records does not have pay-off information, so they cannot provide that information. Call the Clerk of Circuit Court’s Criminal Office at 703-792-6031 for criminal judgments, or the plaintiff or plaintiff’s attorney for all other judgments.

Judgment Orders
All Virginia civil judgment orders must comply with Virginia Code § 8.01-446. The "ordered" clause of the judgment order must state that it is a judgment for money, the amount of the judgment, and the full names of all parties the judgment was granted for and against ("et al." is not acceptable). It should also state the amount of interest and date from which interest begins. The order also should contain the defendant's address, if known.

Foreign Judgments
In order to docket a foreign (out-of-state or out-of-state federal court) civil judgment, the following is required:

A triple seal (3 signatures, one of which is a judge's signature);
A certified copy or abstract of the judgment from the foreign jurisdiction;
An affidavit signed and notarized from the Plaintiff or Plaintiff's counsel, stating the last known address of the Plaintiff and Defendant; and
Payment of $25.00 in cash, check, or money order made payable to the Clerk of Circuit Court.

Release of Judgment
Orders to release or vacate judgments cannot be docketed unless they include the judgment number, deed book and page or instrument number where original judgment was recorded and the names of the judgment creditor and debtor, exactly as they appear on the judgment.

The Clerk can only remove judgments that are satisfied if the Court placed the judgment. For all other judgments, the person who placed it must remove it with a judgment release. If that party cannot be found, then the judgment debtor would need to go to court to show the judgment has been paid.

Forms
Forms for Authorization for Partial or Full Release of Judgment Lien are available from the judgment clerks in Land Records or may be downloaded from the following Virginia Judicial System Web links:

Links