§ 8.01-654.When and where petition filed; what petition to contain.
Chapter 25. Extraordinary Writs · Article 3. Habeas Corpus · Last amended 2021 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-654 sets the filing deadlines and jurisdictional rules for a Virginia habeas corpus petition — one year for non-conviction detentions, two years (or one year after the direct appeal ends) for conviction challenges — and requires the petitioner to disclose every prior petition and its outcome.
A.1. A petition for a writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum may be filed in the Supreme Court or any circuit court showing by affidavits or other evidence that the petitioner is detained without lawful authority.
2.A petition for writ of habeas corpus ad subjiciendum, other than a petition challenging a criminal conviction or sentence, shall be brought within one year after the cause of action accrues. A habeas corpus petition attacking a criminal conviction or sentence shall be filed within two years from the date of final judgment in the trial court or within one year from either final disposition of the direct appeal in state court or the time for filing such appeal has expired, whichever is later.
B.1. With respect to any such petition filed by a petitioner whose detention originated under criminal process, and subject to the provisions of § 17.1-310, only the circuit court that entered the original judgment or order resulting in the detention complained of in the petition shall have authority to issue writs of habeas corpus. If a district court entered the original judgment or order resulting in the detention complained of in the petition, only the circuit court for the city or county wherein the district court sits shall have authority to issue writs of habeas corpus. Hearings on such petition, where granted in the circuit court, may be held at any circuit court within the same circuit as the circuit court in which the petition was filed, as designated by the judge thereof.
2.Such petition shall contain all allegations the facts of which are known to petitioner at the time of filing and such petition shall enumerate all previous applications and their disposition. No writ shall be granted on the basis of any allegation the facts of which petitioner had knowledge at the time of filing any previous petition. The provisions of this section shall not apply to a petitioner's first petition for a writ of habeas corpus when the sole allegation of such petition is that the petitioner was deprived of the right to pursue an appeal from a final judgment of conviction or probation revocation, except that such petition shall contain all facts pertinent to the denial of appeal that are known to the petitioner at the time of the filing, and such petition shall certify that the petitioner has filed no prior habeas corpus petitions attacking the conviction or probation revocation.
3.Such petition may allege detention without lawful authority through challenge to a conviction, although the sentence imposed for such conviction is suspended or is to be served subsequently to the sentence currently being served by petitioner.
4.In the event the allegations of illegality of the petitioner's detention can be fully determined on the basis of recorded matters, the court may make its determination whether such writ should issue on the basis of the record.
5.The court shall give findings of fact and conclusions of law following a determination on the record or after hearing, to be made a part of the record and transcribed.
6.If petitioner alleges as a ground for illegality of his detention the inadequacy of counsel, he shall be deemed to waive his privilege with respect to communications between such counsel and himself to the extent necessary to permit a full and fair hearing for the alleged ground.
Plain-English Summary
Section 8.01-654 opens Virginia’s civil habeas corpus process. A person held without lawful authority — or someone acting for that person — can ask the Supreme Court of Virginia or a circuit court to examine the detention and order relief, backed by affidavits or other evidence showing the confinement lacks legal justification.
The section runs two different clocks. A habeas petition that does not attack a criminal conviction or sentence must be filed within one year of when the claim arose. A petition attacking a conviction or sentence gets more room: two years from the trial court’s final judgment, or one year after the direct appeal ends — or the time to file one runs out — whichever date lands later.
Jurisdiction narrows once the case involves criminal process. A petition may generally be filed with the Supreme Court or any circuit court, but only the circuit court that entered the judgment or order being challenged — or, for a district court judgment, the circuit court for the city or county where that district court sits — has authority to issue the writ, subject to § 17.1-310. Hearings on a granted petition, though, may be held at any circuit court within that same judicial circuit, as the presiding judge designates.
The petition itself must lay out every fact the petitioner already knows and list every earlier habeas petition and how each one turned out; a court will not grant relief based on facts the petitioner knew about but left out of an earlier petition, though a first petition raising only a denied right to appeal is spared that bar. Petitioners may challenge a conviction even when its sentence is suspended or stacked behind another sentence, courts may rule on the existing record when the facts allow it, findings of fact and conclusions of law must go into the record, and a claim of ineffective counsel waives the attorney-client privilege to the extent needed for a full and fair hearing on that ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a habeas corpus petition in Virginia?
It depends on what you are challenging. A petition that does not attack a criminal conviction or sentence must be filed within one year after the claim arose. A petition attacking a conviction or sentence must be filed within two years of the trial court’s final judgment, or within one year after the direct appeal ends (or the time to file one expires), whichever is later.
Which court can hear my habeas petition?
You may generally file with the Supreme Court or any circuit court. But if your detention stems from a criminal case, only the circuit court that entered the judgment or order you are challenging has authority to issue the writ — or, if a district court entered it, the circuit court for the city or county where that district court sits — though a hearing may be held at any circuit court within the same circuit.
Can I raise a new ground in a later habeas petition that I forgot to include earlier?
No. The court will not grant a writ based on facts you already knew about at the time you filed an earlier petition, unless this is a first petition whose only allegation is that you were denied the right to appeal.
Can I challenge a conviction if my sentence is suspended or has not started yet?
Yes. The section allows a petition to allege unlawful detention through a challenge to a conviction even though the sentence for that conviction is suspended or is to be served after a sentence the petitioner is currently serving.
If I claim my lawyer was ineffective, do I give up my attorney-client privilege?
Yes, to the extent necessary for a full and fair hearing on that ground — the section treats raising ineffective assistance as a waiver of the privilege between the petitioner and that attorney.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 8-596; 1958, c. 215; 1968, c. 487; 1977, c. 617; 1978, c. 124; 1995, c. 503; 1998, c. 577; 2005, c. 836; 2019, cc. 8, 48; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 344, 345.
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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