A. On application of a party showing an agreement described in § 8.01-581.01, and the opposing party's refusal to arbitrate, the court shall order the parties to proceed with arbitration. However, if the opposing party denies the existence of the agreement to arbitrate, the court shall proceed summarily to the determination of the issue of the existence of an agreement and shall order arbitration only if found for the moving party.
§ 8.01-581.02.Proceedings to compel or stay arbitration.
Chapter 21. Arbitration and Award · Article 2. Uniform Arbitration Act · Last amended 1986 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceA court must order arbitration once a party shows a valid agreement and the other side’s refusal to arbitrate, may stay a threatened or pending arbitration if there is no real agreement to arbitrate, decides any genuine dispute over the agreement’s existence summarily, and cannot refuse arbitration just because the underlying claim looks weak.
Full Text of § 8.01-581.02
B. On application, the court may stay an arbitration proceeding commenced or threatened on a showing that there is no agreement to arbitrate. Such an issue, when in substantial and bona fide dispute, shall be forthwith and summarily tried and the stay ordered if found for the moving party. If found for the opposing party, the court shall order the parties to proceed to arbitration.
C. If an issue referable to arbitration under the alleged agreement is involved in an action or proceeding pending in a court having jurisdiction to hear applications under subsection A of this section, the application shall be made therein. Otherwise, subject to § 8.01-581.015, the application may be made in any court of competent jurisdiction.
D. Any action or proceeding involving an issue subject to arbitration shall be stayed if an order for arbitration or an application therefor has been made under this section. However, if the issue is severable, the stay may be with respect thereto only. When the application is made in such action or proceeding, the order for arbitration shall include the stay.
E. An order for arbitration shall not be refused on the ground that the claim in issue lacks merit or bona fides or because any fault or grounds for the claim sought to be arbitrated have not been shown.
Plain-English Summary
This section is the engine that turns an arbitration clause into something a court will enforce. A party who shows an agreement to arbitrate, plus the other side’s refusal to go along with it, is entitled to an order compelling arbitration. The only wrinkle comes when the opposing party denies the agreement even exists — then the court has to decide that threshold question itself, quickly and without a full trial, and only orders arbitration if it finds the agreement is real.
The mirror-image remedy runs the other way. Someone facing an arbitration that has started, or is about to, can ask the court to stay it on the ground that no valid agreement to arbitrate exists. That question gets the same fast, summary treatment: if the court sides with the party seeking the stay, arbitration stops; if it sides with the other party, the court orders arbitration to proceed instead.
Two housekeeping rules round out the section. If an arbitrable issue is already tangled up in a pending case, the application to compel or stay belongs in that same court; otherwise it can go to any court with proper jurisdiction and venue. And once an order or application for arbitration is on file, the related court case is stayed — entirely, or just as to the arbitrable issue if the rest of the case can be separated out.
Finally, a court cannot deny an order for arbitration by second-guessing the merits of the underlying claim. Whether the dispute has a good case behind it is exactly what arbitration exists to sort out, not a reason to keep the parties out of arbitration in the first place.
Frequently Asked Questions
What must a party show to get a court order compelling arbitration?
An agreement to arbitrate as described in § 8.01-581.01, and the opposing party’s refusal to arbitrate.
What happens if the opposing party denies that an arbitration agreement even exists?
The court proceeds summarily to determine whether the agreement exists, and orders arbitration only if it finds in favor of the party seeking to compel it.
Can a court refuse to order arbitration because the underlying claim seems weak?
No. An order for arbitration cannot be refused on the ground that the claim in issue lacks merit or bona fides, or because fault or grounds for the claim have not been shown.
What happens to a pending lawsuit once arbitration is ordered?
Any action or proceeding involving an issue subject to arbitration is stayed, though if the arbitrable issue is severable, the stay may apply to that issue alone.
Can a court stay an arbitration that has already started?
Yes, on a showing that there is no agreement to arbitrate, the court may stay the arbitration proceeding after summarily trying that issue.
Amendment History
1986, c. 614.
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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