A. A judgment or award on a foreign-money claim must be stated in an amount of the money of the claim. However, assessed costs must be entered in United States dollars. A judgment in substantially the following form complies with this subsection: [IT IS ADJUDGED AND ORDERED, that Defendant (insert name) pay to Plaintiff (insert name) the sum of (insert amount in the foreign money) plus interest on that sum at the rate of (insert rate -- see § 8.01-465.22) percent a year or, at the option of the judgment debtor, the number of United States dollars which will purchase the (insert name of foreign money) with interest due, at a bank-offered spot rate at or near the close of business on the banking day next before the day of payment, together with assessed costs of (insert amount) United States dollars.]
§ 8.01-465.20.Judgments and awards on foreign-money claims; times of money conversion; form of judgment.
Chapter 17.3. Uniform Foreign-money Claims Act · Last amended 1991 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceThis section requires a judgment on a foreign-money claim to be stated in that money with costs in dollars, gives the debtor the option to pay in dollars sufficient to buy the foreign money at the bank-offered spot rate on the conversion date, sets a netting method when a claim and counterclaim are in different currencies, and gives the judgment ordinary docketing, lien, and discharge treatment.
Full Text of § 8.01-465.20
B. A judgment or award on a foreign-money claim is payable in that foreign money or, at the option of the debtor, in the amount of United States dollars which will purchase that foreign money on the conversion date at a bank-offered spot rate.
Each payment in United States dollars must be accepted and credited on a judgment or award on a foreign-money claim in the amount of the foreign money that could be purchased by the dollars at a bank-offered spot rate of exchange at or near the close of business on the conversion date for that payment.
C. A judgment or award made in an action or distribution proceeding on both a defense, setoff, recoupment, or counterclaim and the adverse party's claim, must be netted by converting the money of the smaller into the money of the larger, and by subtracting the smaller from the larger, and shall specify the rates of exchange used.
D. If a contract claim is of the type covered by § 8.01-465.18 A or B, the judgment or award must be entered for the amount of money stated to measure the obligation to be paid in the money specified for payment or, at the option of the debtor, the number of United States dollars which will purchase the computed amount of the money of payment on the conversion date at a bank-offered spot rate.
E. A judgment shall be docketed and indexed in foreign money in the same manner, and has the same effect as a lien, as other judgments. It may be discharged by payment.
Plain-English Summary
All the definitional and default-rule work in the earlier sections of this chapter builds toward this one: how does a judgment on a foreign-money claim get written and paid? The core rule is that the judgment or award must be stated in the money of the claim, though assessed costs still get entered in United States dollars. The section even supplies model judgment language a court can adapt, ordering payment of the foreign-money sum with interest, or, at the debtor's option, the number of dollars that will buy that sum at a bank-offered spot rate near the time of payment.
That dollar option runs throughout the section. A judgment or award is payable in the foreign money itself, or, at the debtor's choice, in the dollar amount that will purchase that foreign money on the conversion date at a bank-offered spot rate. Each dollar payment gets credited against the judgment in the amount of foreign money it could have bought at a bank-offered spot rate at or near the close of business on the conversion date for that particular payment — so a debtor cannot game the timing of a partial payment to get more currency credit than the exchange rate on that day supports.
Where a case involves both a claim and a counterclaim, setoff, or recoupment in different currencies, the section requires netting: convert the smaller amount's currency into the larger amount's currency, subtract the smaller from the larger, and specify the exchange rates used in the judgment itself. Contract claims covered by § 8.01-465.18(A) or (B) follow a parallel rule, entering judgment for the money specified for payment or its dollar equivalent computed on the conversion date.
Finally, a foreign-money judgment is not a second-class judgment for enforcement purposes. It gets docketed and indexed in the foreign money the same way any other judgment would be, carries the same lien effect, and can be discharged by payment like any other Virginia judgment.
Frequently Asked Questions
In what currency must a judgment on a foreign-money claim be stated?
The money of the claim, though assessed costs must be entered in United States dollars.
Does the debtor have to pay in the foreign currency itself?
No, at the debtor's option, the debtor may instead pay the number of United States dollars that will purchase that foreign money at a bank-offered spot rate on the conversion date.
How is a dollar payment credited against a foreign-money judgment?
In the amount of foreign money the dollars could have purchased at a bank-offered spot rate at or near the close of business on the conversion date for that payment.
How does the court handle a judgment involving both a claim and a counterclaim or setoff in different currencies?
It nets them by converting the smaller amount's currency into the larger amount's currency, subtracting the smaller from the larger, and specifying the exchange rates used.
Does a foreign-money judgment create a lien the way a dollar judgment does?
Yes, it “shall be docketed and indexed in foreign money in the same manner, and has the same effect as a lien, as other judgments,” and may be discharged by payment.
Amendment History
1991, c. 24.
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: foreign money judgment form virginiapaying a judgment in foreign currency or dollars virginianetting a foreign currency counterclaim virginiadocketing a foreign money judgment lien virginia