§ 8.01-195.11.Compensation for wrongful incarceration.
Chapter 3. Actions · Article 18.2. Compensation for Wrongful Incarceration for a Felony Conviction · Last amended 2025 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-195.11 sets the compensation formula for people wrongfully incarcerated for a Virginia felony — a CPI-adjusted per-year base amount, added CPI-adjusted amounts for death-row time or sex-offender registration, reimbursed fines and attorney fees, nonmonetary relief, a transition grant, and tuition reimbursement — and lets a deceased person’s estate claim it.
A.1. Any person who is convicted of a felony by a county or city circuit court of the Commonwealth and is wrongfully incarcerated for such felony may be awarded compensation for each year of incarceration, or portion thereof. The amount of compensation per year shall be $55,000, adjusted on July 1 of each fiscal year by the year- over-year percentage increase in the Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, or any predecessor or successor index. Calculations made pursuant to this section shall be made by the State Treasurer and rounded up to the nearest dollar.
2.For compensation awarded pursuant to this section on or after January 1, 2023, a wrongfully incarcerated person who is awarded compensation pursuant to subdivision 1 shall also receive not less than $30,000, adjusted on July 1 of each fiscal year by the year-over-year percentage increase in the Chained Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U), as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, or any predecessor or successor index, for each year or fraction thereof (i) of imprisonment after being sentenced to death
or (ii) that such person was required to register with the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry pursuant to Chapter 9 (§ 9.1-900 et seq.) of Title 9.1 after release from incarceration.
B.Any compensation computed pursuant to subsection A and approved by the General Assembly shall be paid by the Comptroller by his warrant on the State Treasurer in favor of the person found to have been wrongfully incarcerated. The person wrongfully incarcerated shall be paid a lump sum.
C.In addition to the compensation awarded pursuant to subsection A, the General Assembly shall pay to the person wrongfully incarcerated the amount of any unreimbursed fine, fee, court cost, or restitution imposed and paid and reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred to receive an award pursuant to this section. The wrongfully incarcerated person may also be awarded other nonmonetary relief sought, including counseling, housing assistance, employment assistance, health care and dental care, and personal financial literacy assistance, as appropriate.
D.Any person who is convicted of a felony by a county or city circuit court of the Commonwealth and is wrongfully incarcerated for such felony shall receive a transition assistance grant of $15,000 to be paid from the Criminal Fund, which amount shall be deducted from any award received pursuant to subsection B, within 30 days of receipt of the written request for the disbursement of the transition assistance grant to the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Payment of the transition assistance grant from the Criminal Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written request signed by the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia. In addition, such person shall be entitled to receive reimbursement up to $10,000 for tuition for career and technical training within the Virginia Community College System contingent upon successful completion of the training. Reimbursement for tuition shall be provided by the comprehensive community college at which the career or technical training was completed.
E.If an individual eligible for compensation and benefits under this section is deceased, the individual's estate has standing to be compensated under this section.
Plain-English Summary
Subsection A sets the base compensation formula. A person convicted of a felony in a Virginia circuit court and later found to have been wrongfully incarcerated for it may be awarded compensation for each year of incarceration, or portion of a year, at $55,000 per year — an amount the State Treasurer adjusts every July 1 by the year-over-year change in the Chained Consumer Price Index and rounds up to the nearest dollar. For compensation awarded on or after January 1, 2023, the wrongfully incarcerated person also receives at least an additional $30,000 per year, similarly CPI-adjusted, for each year or fraction of a year spent under a death sentence, or required to register on the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry after release.
Subsection B directs how the money moves: once the General Assembly approves the compensation figured under subsection A, the Comptroller pays it by warrant on the State Treasurer, and the wrongfully incarcerated person receives it as a single lump sum.
Subsection C adds further relief on top of the base award. The General Assembly also pays back any unreimbursed fine, fee, court cost, or restitution the person paid, along with reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred to obtain the award, and may grant nonmonetary relief the person requests — counseling, housing assistance, employment assistance, health and dental care, and help with personal financial literacy.
Subsection D creates a separate, faster-moving benefit: a $15,000 transition assistance grant paid from the Criminal Fund within thirty days of a written request to the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia, later deducted from any award under subsection B. The wrongfully incarcerated person can also be reimbursed up to $10,000 for career and technical training tuition within the Virginia Community College System, paid by the community college once the training is successfully completed. Subsection E lets a deceased eligible person’s estate stand in his place to claim compensation and benefits under this section.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much money can a wrongfully incarcerated person receive per year of incarceration?
The base rate is $55,000 per year, or portion of a year, adjusted each July 1 for inflation using the Chained Consumer Price Index and rounded up to the nearest dollar by the State Treasurer.
Is there extra compensation for someone who was sentenced to death or had to register as a sex offender?
Yes. For compensation awarded on or after January 1, 2023, the person also receives at least an additional $30,000 per year, similarly CPI-adjusted, for time spent under a death sentence or required to register on the Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry after release.
What is the transition assistance grant, and how is it different from the main compensation award?
It is a separate $15,000 payment from the Criminal Fund, made within thirty days of a written request to the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia — faster than the main award, which requires General Assembly approval — and the $15,000 is later deducted from that main award.
Can a wrongfully incarcerated person get help with tuition?
Yes. Subsection D allows reimbursement of up to $10,000 for career and technical training tuition within the Virginia Community College System, paid by the community college once the training is completed successfully.
What happens if the wrongfully incarcerated person has died before receiving compensation?
Subsection E gives the deceased person’s estate standing to be compensated under this section in his place.
Amendment History
2004, cc. 818, 840; 2010, c. 557; 2012, c. 675; 2014, c. 225; 2018, c. 302; 2020, cc. 326, 648; 2022, cc. 572, 573; 2024, c. 396; 2025, cc. 213, 369.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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