No writ of levari facias, writ of extendi facias, writ of elegit, writ of capias ad satisfaciendum, or writ of distringas shall be issued hereafter.
§ 8.01-467.What writs may not issue.
Chapter 18. Executions and Other Means of Recovery · Article 1. Issue and Form; Motion to Quash · Last amended 1984 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceThis section abolishes five archaic common-law writs — levari facias, extendi facias, elegit, capias ad satisfaciendum, and distringas — confirming that Virginia judgment creditors must rely on fieri facias and the other modern writs the Code still authorizes to collect what they are owed.
Full Text of § 8.01-467
Plain-English Summary
Before modern execution statutes took over, Virginia recognized a menagerie of medieval writs for collecting judgments, each with its own quirks and its own Latin name. Section 8.01-467 closes the door on five of them by name: levari facias, extendi facias, elegit, capias ad satisfaciendum, and distringas.
The most notable casualty is capias ad satisfaciendum, the old writ that let a creditor have a debtor arrested and jailed until the debt was paid. Barring it here confirms that Virginia law does not permit debtor’s-prison-style collection. The other four writs targeted specific kinds of property or interests through procedures the General Assembly decided were no longer worth preserving once fieri facias could do the job more directly.
For anyone researching old judgments or historical property records, seeing one of these writ names in a title chain signals a transaction that predates this section’s cutoff. Today, a judgment creditor works through fieri facias, writs of possession, and writs of eviction — the tools the rest of this chapter describes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which writs does this section bar from issuing?
The section prohibits the issuance of a writ of levari facias, writ of extendi facias, writ of elegit, writ of capias ad satisfaciendum, or writ of distringas.
Does this mean a creditor can have a debtor arrested for not paying a judgment?
No. Capias ad satisfaciendum, the writ historically used to imprison a debtor until payment, is one of the writs this section bars.
What writ does a creditor use instead?
The verbatim text does not name a substitute, but the surrounding chapter makes fieri facias, along with writs of possession and eviction, the operative tools for enforcing a judgment.
Is this a recent change?
The prohibition traces to Code 1950, § 8-400, and was carried into this section in 1977, showing it reflects a long-settled policy rather than a new rule.
Does the ban on these writs apply to judgments entered before the statute existed?
The text states only that no such writ “shall be issued hereafter,” meaning the bar applies to future issuance regardless of when the underlying judgment was entered.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 8-400; 1977, c. 617; 1984, c. 94.
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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