§ 8.01-432.Confession of judgment irrespective of suit pending.

Section 8.01-432 removes the pending-lawsuit requirement entirely. A person who owes money to another can confess judgment in the clerk’s office of any circuit court in Virginia at any time, whether or not anyone has filed a suit, motion, or action over the debt. The confession covers only the principal and interest the creditor is willing to accept — not more.

The person confessing does not have to appear personally. An attorney-in-fact acting under a power of attorney can do it on the debtor’s behalf, which is what makes the modern confession-of-judgment clause in a note or bond work: the debtor signs the power of attorney up front, and the creditor’s designated agent later goes to the clerk’s office to confess judgment if the debt goes unpaid.

Once entered, the clerk records the judgment in the proper order book, and it stands as final and binding as if a judge had rendered it in open court. That finality is not absolute, though — the judgment stays subject to the control of the court in whose clerk’s office it was confessed, which is what makes the debtor protections in § 8.01-433 possible.