§ 8.01-446.1.Keeping of docket books by clerk of court using micrographic process; form.

Chapter 17. Judgments and Decrees Generally · Article 5. Keeping of Docket Books; Execution Thereon; Disposal of Exhibits · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 16, 2026

In one sentenceA clerk whose docketing process cannot take later handwritten notations must instead record a separate statutory-form certificate reflecting an assignment, release, partial release, credit, added debtor, or debtor name change, and a judgment creditor who knowingly gives false information on that certificate commits a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Full Text of § 8.01-446.1

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Whenever judgments are docketed in the judgment lien book in the office of the clerk of the circuit court and are recorded by a procedural micrographic process as provided in § 17.1-240, or by any other method or process which renders impractical or impossible the subsequent entry of notations upon the docketed judgment, an appropriate certificate of assignment, release, partial release, certified copy of any order, or other separate instrument setting forth the necessary information as provided in this section shall be recorded and indexed according to law. Such instrument shall conform substantially with the following form: ORIGINAL BOOK # _____ PAGE _____ (or instrument no)

ORIGINAL DATE DOCKETED: ____________________ TYPE OF FILING (Check One) ( ) Assignment ( ) Release ( ) Partial Release

( ) Credit(s) ( ) Additional Debtor(s) ( ) New Name of Debtor Date of Judgment: ____________________

Amount of Judgment: ____________________ Plaintiff(s): ________________________________________ Defendant(s): ________________________________________ Assignee (If assignment): ________________________________________ Payments (If credits): AMOUNT __________ DATE PAID __________

(Complete below if additional debtor or change of name of debtor) Debtor: ________________________________________ Social Security Number of Debtor (Last Four Digits) (If known): __________ Given under my hand this __________ day of __________, __________ ________________________________________ (Plaintiff) (Attorney for Plaintiff) (Authorized Agent for Plaintiff) Any judgment creditor who knowingly gives false information upon such certificate made under this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. 1985, c. 48; 2008, cc. 823, 833.

Plain-English Summary

A judgment docketed on paper can take a clerk’s handwritten notation right in the margin when something changes — a payment, a release, an assignment. A judgment docketed by microphotographic process cannot, since there is no page to write on. Section 8.01-446.1 supplies the workaround: instead of a marginal note, the clerk records and indexes a separate certificate.

The statute lays out that certificate’s form in detail. It references the original book, page, or instrument number and the original docketing date, and it checks a box identifying what kind of update it reflects — an assignment, a release, a partial release, a credit, an additional debtor, or a new debtor name. Depending on which box is checked, the form calls for the judgment amount, the parties’ names, the assignee’s name, payment amounts and dates, or the debtor’s new name and the last four digits of a Social Security number if known.

The person submitting the certificate — the plaintiff, the plaintiff’s attorney, or an authorized agent — signs it under oath, in effect. Knowingly putting false information on that certificate is not a paperwork slip; the section makes it a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does this section exist for clerks using a micrographic docketing process?

Because that process, or similar methods, make it impractical or impossible to enter later notations directly on the docketed judgment, so a separate recorded certificate is used instead.

What kinds of updates does the certificate cover?

An assignment, a release, a partial release, credits, additional debtors, or a new name for the debtor.

What information does the certificate need to reference from the original judgment?

The original book and page number, or instrument number, and the original date the judgment was docketed.

What is the penalty for knowingly giving false information on this certificate?

A Class 1 misdemeanor.

Must the certificate be recorded and indexed like other instruments?

Yes, it must be recorded and indexed according to law.

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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