§ 8.01-382.Verdict, judgment or decree to fix period at which interest begins; final order; judgment or decree for interest.

Money owed today is worth more than the same amount owed years from now, so Virginia law makes sure a judgment carries interest rather than sitting frozen at its original value while an appeal or collection effort drags on. Section 8.01-382 lets the jury’s verdict, or the court’s final order, judgment, or decree — including one issued in an Administrative Process Act proceeding — set exactly when interest on the principal sum starts running, and the interest continues until that principal is paid.

Not every verdict or judgment addresses interest directly, so the section supplies a default. If the final order, judgment, or decree does not provide for interest, it bears interest anyway, at the judgment rate set out in § 6.2-302, running from the date of entry or, for a jury verdict, from the date the verdict was rendered. Nobody has to remember to ask for interest — the statute attaches it automatically when the decisionmaker stays silent on the subject.

Negotiable instruments get their own rule layered on top. A judgment entered for a sum due under a negotiable instrument follows § 8.3A-112 and bears interest at the rate the instrument itself specifies; only if the instrument does not specify a rate does the judgment fall back to the general judgment rate in § 6.2-302. The section closes with a practical note for administrative proceedings: once an agency head or designee certifies a final order, it can be recorded, enforced, and satisfied just like a circuit court order or decree.