A. Except in the case of a fiduciary or any other person from whom in the opinion of the court awarding an injunction it may be improper or unnecessary to require bond, no temporary injunction shall take effect until the movant gives bond with security in an amount that the trial court considers proper to pay the costs and damages sustained by any party found to have been incorrectly enjoined, with such conditions as the trial court may prescribe.
§ 8.01-631.Injunction bond.
Chapter 24. Injunctions · Last amended 2012 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-631 requires the party who wins a temporary injunction to post a court-set bond covering the costs and damages of a wrongly enjoined opponent before the injunction takes effect, lets the trial court set new bond terms during an appeal of a permanent injunction ruling, and exempts the Commonwealth from posting any bond.
Full Text of § 8.01-631
B. When an appeal is taken from an interlocutory order or final judgment granting, dissolving, or denying a permanent injunction, and while the appeal is pending, the trial court in its discretion may suspend, modify, restore, or grant an injunction during the pendency of the appeal upon such terms as to bond or otherwise as it considers proper for the security of the rights of the adverse party.
C. The bond shall be given before the clerk of the court in which the injunction is awarded.
D. An order by the trial court under subsection A or B may be modified or vacated by the appellate court having jurisdiction over the appeal in accordance with § 8.01-676.1.
E. For any temporary or permanent injunction sought by, or awarded to, the Commonwealth, or any of its officers or agencies, no bond shall be required.
Plain-English Summary
Subsection A supplies the bond that backs up nearly every temporary injunction in Virginia: before the injunction takes effect, the party who obtained it has to post bond with security, in an amount the trial court considers proper, to cover the costs and damages of anyone later found to have been wrongly enjoined. The court sets its own conditions on that bond. The one carve-out is for a fiduciary, or anyone else the court believes it would be improper or unnecessary to bond.
Subsection B looks past the trial court to an appeal involving a permanent injunction — whether the appeal challenges an order granting, dissolving, or denying one. While that appeal is pending, the trial court still has discretion to suspend, modify, restore, or grant injunctive relief, on whatever bond terms or other conditions it thinks fair to protect the other side.
The remaining subsections round out the mechanics: the bond is posted with the clerk of the court that awarded the injunction, and an appellate court can modify or vacate the trial court’s bond or injunction order under § 8.01-676.1. Subsection E carries the most consequential exception — the Commonwealth, or any of its officers or agencies, never has to post a bond for a temporary or permanent injunction it seeks or wins.
Frequently Asked Questions
When must the injunction bond be posted?
Before the temporary injunction takes effect.
Who decides the bond amount and its conditions?
The trial court, in an amount it considers proper, with conditions it prescribes.
Is a bond ever excused?
Yes — for a fiduciary or anyone else the court finds it improper or unnecessary to bond, and for the Commonwealth or its officers or agencies under subsection E.
What happens to injunctive relief while an appeal of a permanent injunction ruling is pending?
The trial court may suspend, modify, restore, or grant an injunction during the appeal on whatever bond terms it considers proper to protect the adverse party.
Where is the bond physically posted?
Before the clerk of the court in which the injunction is awarded.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 8-623; 1976, c. 238; 1977, c. 617; 2012, cc. 8, 77.
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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