No appeal shall be taken from any judgment of a circuit court except when the controversy is for a matter of $500 or more in value or amount, and except in cases in which it is otherwise expressly provided; nor to a judgment of any circuit court in a civil case when the controversy is for a matter less in value or amount than $500, exclusive of costs, unless there be drawn in question a freehold or franchise or the title or bounds of land, or some other matter not merely pecuniary.
§ 8.01-675.6.Jurisdictional amount.
Chapter 26.1. Appeals to the Court of Appeals · Last amended 2022 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-675.6 bars an appeal from a circuit court's civil judgment unless the amount in controversy is at least $500, unless a statute expressly provides otherwise or the case involves a freehold, franchise, land title or boundary, or another non-pecuniary matter.
Full Text of § 8.01-675.6
Plain-English Summary
Section 8.01-675.6 sets a dollar floor on the right to appeal a circuit court judgment: no appeal lies unless the controversy involves $500 or more in value or amount, except in cases where the law expressly provides otherwise.
The floor bends for disputes that are not, at bottom, about money. Even in a civil case worth less than $500, exclusive of costs, an appeal may still lie if the case draws into question a freehold or franchise, or the title or bounds of land, or some other matter that is not merely pecuniary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a minimum dollar amount required to appeal a circuit court civil judgment in Virginia?
Yes. Generally the controversy must be for a matter of $500 or more in value or amount.
What happens if my case is worth less than $500?
No appeal lies unless another statute expressly provides otherwise, or the case draws into question a freehold or franchise, the title or bounds of land, or some other matter not merely pecuniary.
Does the $500 threshold include court costs?
No. The section measures the below-$500 exception "exclusive of costs."
Does this section govern criminal appeals as well as civil ones?
The text addresses judgments of a circuit court generally and specifies "a civil case" for the below-$500 exception; it does not separately address criminal appeals.
What kinds of disputes escape the dollar threshold entirely?
Ones drawing into question a freehold, a franchise, the title or bounds of land, or another matter that is not merely pecuniary.
Amendment History
2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 489; 2022, c. 714.
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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