No person engaged in the business of dyeing, dry cleaning, or laundering wearing apparel, cloth or other articles, shall be liable, or in any action or suit against him be held liable, for the loss of, or injury to, any wearing apparel, cloth or other articles delivered to him to be dyed, dry cleaned, or laundered, in an amount greater than the purchase price minus depreciation of such wearing apparel, cloth or other articles, unless at the time of the delivery to him of any such wearing apparel, cloth or other articles, the value of the same, and when there is more than one piece or article the value of each piece or article, be agreed upon and evidenced by a writing stating such value, or separate values when there is more than one piece or article, signed by him; provided, however, that:
§ 8.01-42.Loss or injury to clothing in dyeing, dry cleaning, or laundering.
Chapter 3. Actions · Article 3. Injury to Person or Property · Last amended 1977 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceCaps what a Virginia dry cleaner, dyer, or launderer owes for lost or damaged clothing at the item’s purchase price minus depreciation, unless the parties agreed in a signed writing at drop-off on a specific value, while preserving the standard of care and shielding hotels from liability for a guest’s own cleaning.
Full Text of § 8.01-42
1. Nothing in this section contained shall be construed as requiring of any such person more than the exercise of such degree of care as is now imposed by existing law;
2. In no event shall any such person be held liable in any suit or action involving any such loss or injury for any sum greater than the damages suffered, and proved, by the plaintiff therein when such damages would not under the rules of law existing prior to June 18, 1920, exceed the purchase price minus depreciation of such wearing apparel, cloth, or other article;
3. Nothing in this section shall be construed as interfering with or inhibiting, or impairing the obligation of, any written contract between any hotel, railroad company, steamboat company or other patron and any person engaged in the business of dyeing, dry cleaning, or laundering of wearing apparel, cloth or other article, in relation to such work;
4. No liability shall rest upon or be borne by any hotel for any loss of or damage to wearing apparel, cloth or other article, the property of any guest of such hotel who shall have delivered, or caused the same to have been delivered, for dyeing, dry cleaning, or laundering to any person engaged in the business of dyeing, dry cleaning, or laundering.
5. [Repealed.]
Plain-English Summary
The default rule caps what a person in the business of dyeing, dry cleaning, or laundering wearing apparel, cloth, or other articles owes for loss of or injury to those items at the purchase price minus depreciation. That cap gives way only if, at the time of delivery, the value of the item — or the value of each item, when more than one piece is dropped off — was agreed upon and evidenced by a writing signed by the business.
Four numbered provisos qualify the rule. The cap does not lower the degree of care already required under existing law. It does not let a plaintiff recover more than the damages suffered and proved, measured against the rule that existed before June 18, 1920, where that measure would not exceed the purchase price minus depreciation. It leaves written contracts between a hotel, railroad, steamboat company, or similar patron and a cleaning business untouched. And it relieves a hotel of any liability for loss of or damage to a guest’s clothing that the guest personally sent out, or had sent out, for cleaning. A fifth proviso has been repealed.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much can I recover if a dry cleaner ruins my clothing?
Generally no more than the purchase price of the item minus depreciation, unless you and the cleaner agreed in a signed writing at the time of delivery on a specific value for the item.
Is there a way to get more than the purchase-price-minus-depreciation cap?
Yes. If the value of the item, or of each item when more than one is delivered, was agreed upon and put in a writing signed by the cleaner at the time of delivery, that agreed value controls instead of the default cap.
Does this section lower the level of care a dry cleaner has to use with my clothes?
No. The first proviso states that nothing in the section requires less than the degree of care already imposed by existing law.
If I am a hotel guest and the hotel sends my clothes out to be cleaned, is the hotel liable if they are damaged?
No. The fourth proviso relieves a hotel of liability for loss of or damage to a guest’s clothing that the guest delivered, or caused to be delivered, for dyeing, dry cleaning, or laundering.
Does this cap apply to businesses that dye or launder items, or only dry cleaners?
It applies to any person in the business of dyeing, dry cleaning, or laundering wearing apparel, cloth, or other articles.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 8-654; 1977, cc. 192, 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
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