§ 8.01-294.Sheriff to get from clerk's office process and other papers; return of papers; effect of late return.

Process does not serve itself, and § 8.01-294 keeps it moving through the sheriff’s hands on a schedule. Every day the clerk’s office is open, the sheriff has to go there, collect whatever process and papers await service, and give a receipt for them — unless a regular employee has already told him there is nothing waiting. Once he has served the papers, he has 72 hours to return them to the clerk, with the deadline sliding to the next day when it would otherwise fall on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.

The section also answers the question every litigant worries about: what if the return is late? A tardy return does not invalidate the service itself or any judgment that follows. The 72-hour clock is a management tool, not a trap door for undoing a case on a technicality.

That said, lateness is not consequence-free. If a late return prejudices a party or interferes with how the court is managing the case, the judge has discretion to step in — continuing the case, ordering additional or substitute service, or crafting whatever remedy fits the circumstances.