Except as provided in subsection B of § 8.01-262.1, an initial application shall be made to the court of the county or city in which the agreement provides the arbitration hearing shall be held or, if the hearing has been held, in the county or city in which it was held. Otherwise, venue of the application shall be as provided in Chapter 5 (§ 8.01- 257 et seq.) of this title. All subsequent applications shall be made to the court hearing the initial application unless the court otherwise directs.
§ 8.01-581.015.Venue.
Chapter 21. Arbitration and Award · Article 2. Uniform Arbitration Act · Last amended 1991 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceThe first arbitration application goes to the court where the agreement says the hearing will be held, or where it was held if the hearing already happened, otherwise venue follows the general Title 8.01 venue chapter, and every later application in the case returns to that same court unless it directs otherwise.
Full Text of § 8.01-581.015
Plain-English Summary
Venue rules for arbitration applications work backward from where the arbitration itself happens. The initial application belongs in the court of the county or city that the arbitration agreement names for the hearing, or, if the hearing already took place, wherever it was held. When the agreement is silent on location, venue falls back to the general venue provisions in Chapter 5 of Title 8.01, subject to the exception in § 8.01-262.1(B).
Once a court has taken the initial application, that court becomes the case’s home base. Every subsequent application connected to the same arbitration goes back to that same court, and it stays there unless the court itself directs the parties elsewhere. That continuity keeps one judge handling the whole arc of a single arbitration dispute — the compel-or-stay fight, the confirmation, and any motion to vacate or modify — instead of scattering related filings across multiple courthouses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which court gets the initial application to compel or confirm arbitration?
The court of the county or city where the arbitration agreement provides the hearing shall be held, or, if the hearing has already been held, the county or city where it was held.
What if the arbitration agreement doesn’t specify where the hearing will happen?
Then venue follows the general venue rules in Chapter 5 (§ 8.01-257 et seq.) of Title 8.01, except as provided in subsection B of § 8.01-262.1.
Do all later applications in the same arbitration go to the same court?
Yes, all subsequent applications must be made to the court that heard the initial application, unless that court directs otherwise.
Can the court that heard the first application send later applications somewhere else?
Yes, the rule that subsequent applications go to the same court applies “unless the court otherwise directs.”
Does an exception to the general venue rule apply here?
Yes, the section carves out an exception under subsection B of § 8.01-262.1, which controls instead of the Chapter 5 venue rules in that circumstance.
Amendment History
1986, c. 614; 1991, c. 489.
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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