If the condition of such forthcoming bond be not performed, the officer, unless payment be made of the amount due on the execution or warrant, including his fee, commission, and charges as aforesaid, shall, after the bond is forfeited, return it forthwith, with the execution or warrant, to such court, or the clerk's office of such court as is prescribed by § 15.1-80. The clerk shall endorse on the bond the date of its return; and against such of the obligors therein as may be alive when it is forfeited and so returned, it shall have the force of a judgment. But no execution shall issue thereon under this section.
§ 8.01-527.If bond forfeited, where returned; its effect; clerk to endorse time of return.
Chapter 19. Forthcoming Bonds · Last amended 1977 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceIf the debtor does not produce the bonded property as promised, the officer returns the forfeited bond to the clerk’s office, the clerk stamps the return date on it, and the bond then carries the force of a judgment against the surviving obligors, though this section alone does not let an execution issue on it.
Full Text of § 8.01-527
Plain-English Summary
A forthcoming bond only postpones the reckoning; it does not erase it. If the debtor fails to produce the property at the appointed sale, the bond’s condition goes unperformed, and no one pays off the underlying execution or warrant, the officer must return the forfeited bond, along with the execution or warrant itself, to the court or the clerk’s office designated under § 15.1-80.
The clerk marks the date the bond comes back, and that endorsement matters: from that point, the forfeited bond carries the force of a judgment against whichever obligors, the debtor and his surety, are still alive when it is forfeited and returned. That gives creditors a shortcut without filing a fresh lawsuit.
The shortcut has a limit, though. This section itself does not allow an execution to issue directly on the bond; turning that judgment-like obligation into cash requires following through under the sections that follow.
Frequently Asked Questions
What triggers the officer’s duty to return the bond?
The bond’s condition is not performed, and payment is not made of the amount due on the execution or warrant.
Where does the officer send the forfeited bond?
To the court, or the clerk’s office of such court as is prescribed by § 15.1-80.
What does the clerk do when the bond comes back?
He endorses on the bond the date of its return.
What legal effect does a forfeited, returned bond have against the obligors?
It has the force of a judgment against such of the obligors as may be alive when it is forfeited and so returned.
Can an execution issue directly on the bond under this section?
No, the section states that no execution shall issue thereon under this section.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 8-451; 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: forfeited forthcoming bond virginiabond returned clerk virginia forthcomingforthcoming bond force of judgmentvirginia code 8.01-527