If, after a right of action or remedy is barred by a statute of limitations, the statute be repealed, the bar of the statute as to such right or remedy shall not be deemed to be removed by such repeal.
§ 8.01-234.Repeal of limitation not to remove bar of statute.
Chapter 4. Limitations of Actions · Article 1. In General · Last amended 1977 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-234 provides that once a right of action or remedy is already barred by a statute of limitations, later repealing that statute does not remove the bar or revive the claim, so a bar that has already vested stays permanent regardless of what the legislature does next.
Full Text of § 8.01-234
Plain-English Summary
Section 8.01-234 answers a narrow but important question: what happens to a claim that is already dead under the statute of limitations if the legislature later repeals the same statute that killed it? Nothing changes. Once a right of action or remedy is barred, repeal of the limiting statute does not lift that bar. The claim stays barred.
This rule keeps repeals from becoming a backdoor way to revive stale claims. Without it, every time the General Assembly repealed or replaced a limitations provision, litigants with claims that had already expired under the old law might argue the repeal wiped the slate clean. Section 8.01-234 forecloses that argument outright, so the bar attaches permanently once the limitations period has run, regardless of what the legislature does with the statute afterward.
Frequently Asked Questions
If a statute of limitations is repealed, does that revive claims that were already time-barred under it?
No. Section 8.01-234 provides that once a right of action or remedy is barred by a statute of limitations, repeal of that statute does not remove the bar.
Does this section apply only to claims barred at the moment of repeal, or to future claims too?
It applies to rights of action or remedies already barred by the statute of limitations before the repeal; the section addresses the effect of repeal on bars that already exist.
Can the legislature revive a time-barred claim by rewriting the limitations statute?
Section 8.01-234 says repeal alone does not remove an existing bar, which forecloses the argument that a repeal automatically revives previously barred claims.
Why does Virginia law need a rule like this?
Without it, a repeal of a limitations statute could be read to reopen claims that had already expired, undermining the finality the statute of limitations was meant to provide.
Does Section 8.01-234 apply to remedies as well as rights of action?
Yes. The text covers both a “right or remedy” barred by a statute of limitations.
Amendment History
Code 1950, § 8-36; 1977, c. 617.
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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