CODE OF VIRGINIA

JUDICIAL RECORDS AS EVIDENCE; FULL FAITH AND CREDIT; RECITALS IN DEEDS, DEEDS OF
TRUST, AND MORTGAGES; “RECORDS” DEFINED; CERTIFICATION (§ 8.01-389)

A. The records of any judicial proceeding and any other official records of any
court of this Commonwealth shall be received as prima facie evidence provided
that such records are certified by the clerk of the court where preserved to be
a true record. For the purposes of this section, judicial proceeding shall
include the review of a petition and issuance of a temporary detention order
under § 16.1-340.1 or 37.2-809.

A1. The records of any judicial proceeding and any other official record of any
court of another state or country, or of the United States, shall be received as
prima facie evidence provided that such records are certified by the clerk of
the court where preserved to be a true record.

B. Every court of this Commonwealth shall give such records of courts not of
this Commonwealth the full faith and credit given to them in the courts of the
jurisdiction from whence they come.

B1. In any instance in which a court not of this Commonwealth shall have entered
an order of injunction limiting or preventing access by any person to the courts
of this Commonwealth without that person having had notice and an opportunity
for a hearing prior to the entry of such foreign order, that foreign order is
not required to be given full faith and credit in any Virginia court. The
Virginia court may, in its discretion, hold a hearing to determine the adequacy
of notice and opportunity for hearing in the foreign court.

C. Specifically, recitals of any fact in a deed or deed of trust of record
conveying any interest in real property shall be prima facie evidence of that
fact.

D. “Records” as used in this article, shall be deemed to include any
memorandum, report, paper, data compilation, or other record in any form, or any
combination thereof.

E. The use of the term “copy teste,” “true copy,” or
“certified copy” or a substantially similar term on a certification
affixed or annexed to a copy of an official record maintained by a clerk of
court that bears the signature of the clerk or any deputy clerk, and that has
the name of the court where such record is preserved on the document or on the
certification, shall be prima facie proof that such record is certified by such
clerk to be a true copy of the official record kept in the office of the clerk.
Nothing herein shall be construed to require or prevent a clerk from using an
official seal or prevent a clerk from using any other acceptable method of
certification for a court record.

F. The certification of any record pursuant to this section shall automatically
authenticate such record for the purpose of its admission into evidence in any
trial, hearing, or proceeding.

HISTORY: Code 1950, §§ 8-271, 8-275, 8-276, 8-276.1; 1977, c. 617; 1980, c.
453; 1995, c. 594; 1996, c. 417; 2008, c. 786; 2010, cc. 778, 825; 2013, c. 263.