Chapter 17.2. Uniform Foreign-country Money Judgments Recognition Act · Last amended 2014 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceThis section requires an action to recognize a foreign-country judgment to be filed within whichever period ends first — the time the judgment stays effective under the foreign country's own law, or fifteen years after the judgment became effective there.
Full Text of § 8.01-465.13:8
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An action to recognize a foreign-country judgment must be commenced within the earlier of the time during which the foreign-country judgment is effective in the foreign country or 15 years from the date that the foreign-country
judgment became effective in the foreign country.
Plain-English Summary
Recognition proceedings need a deadline like any other action, and this section sets one that ties back to the judgment's own life span abroad. An action to recognize a foreign-country judgment must be commenced within the earlier of two periods: the time during which the judgment is effective in the foreign country, or fifteen years from the date the judgment became effective there.
Because the rule picks whichever period ends first, a judgment that stays effective abroad for only a short time gives a party a correspondingly short window to bring a recognition action in Virginia. A judgment that stays effective indefinitely under foreign law does not escape a deadline altogether — the fifteen-year cap still applies as the outer limit.
The measuring point is the date the foreign-country judgment became effective in the foreign country, not the date the Virginia action would otherwise be filed. That anchors the limitations period to the judgment's own history rather than to anything that happens later in Virginia.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the two possible limitations periods this section sets?
The time the foreign-country judgment remains effective in the foreign country, or fifteen years from the date it became effective there.
Which period controls if the two differ?
The earlier of the two.
What happens if foreign law makes the judgment effective indefinitely?
The fifteen-year cap in this section still applies as the outer limit, since the action must be commenced within the earlier of the two periods.
From what date is the limitations period measured?
The date the foreign-country judgment became effective in the foreign country.
Does this limitations period apply to sister-state judgments filed under Chapter 17.1?
No, it applies to actions to recognize a foreign-country judgment under this chapter.
Amendment History
2014, c. 462.
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
Also known as:statute of limitations to recognize a foreign country judgment virginiahow long to bring an action to recognize a foreign judgment virginiafifteen year limit foreign judgment recognition virginiatime limit for filing foreign country judgment recognition action