The sheriff or other officer levying a writ of fieri facias or distress warrant on property, the sale of which is suspended under this chapter at the instance of a claimant thereof, may, if such claimant desires the property to remain in such possession as it was immediately before the levy, and if the case be one in which a bond for the forthcoming of the property is not prohibited from being taken from the debtor by § 8.01-531, take from the claimant a bond, with sufficient surety, in a penalty equal to double the value of the property, payable to the creditor, with such recital as is required in a forthcoming bond taken from the debtor, and with condition that the property shall be forthcoming at such day and place of sale as may be thereafter lawfully appointed. Such property may then be permitted to remain, at the risk of such claimant, in such possession as it was immediately before the levy; and §§ 8.01-130.7, 8.01-527, 8.01-528, 8.01-530 and 8.01-531 shall apply to such forthcoming bond in like manner as to a forthcoming bond taken from the debtor.
§ 8.01-371.How forthcoming bond taken of claimant of property the sale whereof has been suspended.
Chapter 12. Interpleader; Claims of Third Parties to Property Distrained or Levied On, · Article 2. Claims of Third Parties to Property Distrained or Levied On · Last amended 1977 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceLets a claimant who has suspended the sale of levied property keep possession of it by posting a forthcoming bond worth double its value, promising to produce the property at the eventual sale, under the same statutory framework that governs a forthcoming bond taken from the original debtor.
Full Text of § 8.01-371
Plain-English Summary
Posting a suspending bond stops a sale, but it does not automatically let a claimant keep the property in hand. This section fills that gap: the officer who levied the property can take a forthcoming bond from the claimant, with sufficient surety and a penalty equal to double the property’s value, payable to the creditor, promising the property will show up at whatever sale date and place eventually gets set.
With that bond posted, the property can stay right where it was before the levy, though the claimant bears the risk of anything happening to it in the meantime. This option is not available in every case — it is off the table wherever § 8.01-531 bars taking a forthcoming bond from the debtor. Where it is available, the same statutory framework that governs a debtor’s forthcoming bond — §§ 8.01-130.7, 8.01-527, 8.01-528, 8.01-530, and 8.01-531 — applies equally to this claimant’s bond.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a forthcoming bond let a levied-property claimant do?
Keep the property in the same possession it was in immediately before the levy, at the claimant’s own risk, instead of having it removed.
How much security must the claimant’s forthcoming bond provide?
A penalty equal to double the value of the property.
Is a forthcoming bond always available to a claimant under this section?
No, not in a case where taking a forthcoming bond from the debtor is prohibited by § 8.01-531.
What must the claimant promise as the bond’s condition?
That the property shall be forthcoming at such day and place of sale as may thereafter be lawfully appointed.
Do the same rules governing a debtor’s forthcoming bond apply to this bond?
Yes. Sections 8.01-130.7, 8.01-527, 8.01-528, 8.01-530, and 8.01-531 apply to this bond in like manner as to a forthcoming bond taken from the debtor.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 8-233; 1977, c. 617.
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
Also known as: virginia claimant forthcoming bond levied propertydouble value bond keep possession virginia