No officer receiving money under execution, when the person to whom it is payable resides in a different county or city from that in which the officer resides, shall be liable to have any judgment rendered against him or his sureties for the nonpayment thereof, until a demand of payment be made of such officer in his county or city, by such creditor or his attorney-at-law, or some person having a written order from the creditor.
§ 8.01-496.Officer not required to go out of his jurisdiction to pay over money.
Chapter 18. Executions and Other Means of Recovery · Article 4. Enforcement Generally · Last amended 1977 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceAn officer who has collected money under an execution cannot be held liable in a judgment for failing to pay it over to a creditor who lives in a different county or city, unless that creditor, the creditor’s attorney, or someone with the creditor’s written order first makes a demand for payment within the officer’s own jurisdiction.
Full Text of § 8.01-496
Plain-English Summary
Section 8.01-496 protects an officer from being sued over money the officer is holding but has had no real chance to deliver. When the person entitled to receive execution proceeds lives in a different county or city than the officer, the officer is not automatically on the hook for failing to hand the money over.
Before any judgment can be rendered against the officer, or against the officer’s sureties, for not paying the money, someone must go to the officer’s own county or city and demand payment there. That demand can come from the creditor personally, from the creditor’s attorney-at-law, or from anyone else carrying a written order from the creditor authorizing them to collect it. Until that demand happens, the officer’s failure to travel the money to the creditor is not a basis for liability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an officer be sued for not delivering execution proceeds to an out-of-town creditor?
No, the officer is not liable to have a judgment rendered against him or his sureties for nonpayment until a demand of payment is made.
Where must the demand for payment be made?
In the officer’s own county or city.
Who can make the demand for payment?
The creditor, the creditor’s attorney-at-law, or a person holding a written order from the creditor.
Does this section require the officer to travel to pay the creditor?
No, it relieves the officer of liability for not doing so until a proper demand is made in the officer’s own jurisdiction.
What is protected by this section — the officer alone, or others too?
The section also protects the officer’s sureties from having judgment rendered against them before a proper demand is made.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 8-425; 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
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