(a) General Principle. All relevant evidence is admissible, except as otherwise provided by the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of Virginia, statute, Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia, or other evidentiary principles. Evidence that is not relevant is not admissible.
Rule 2:402.RELEVANT EVIDENCE GENERALLY ADMISSIBLE; IRRELEVANT EVIDENCE INADMISSIBLE
Part Two: Virginia Rules of Evidence · Last amended 2012 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceRule 2:402 makes relevant evidence admissible unless the Constitution, a statute, another rule, or another evidentiary principle excludes it, makes irrelevant evidence inadmissible outright, and specifically bars polygraph examination results regardless of relevance.
Full Text of Rule 2:402
(b) Results of Polygraph Examinations. T he results of polygraph examinations are not admissible.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 2:402 turns Rule 2:401’s definition of relevance into an operating rule. Subdivision (a) states the general principle plainly: relevant evidence is admissible, and evidence that is not relevant is not admissible. Relevance is necessary for admissibility, though it is not always sufficient — the “except as otherwise provided” clause preserves every other reason evidence might be kept out, whether that reason comes from the United States Constitution, the Constitution of Virginia, a statute, another Rule of the Supreme Court of Virginia, or another evidentiary principle such as the balancing test in Rule 2:403 or a privilege under Article V.
Subdivision (b) carves out one specific, categorical exclusion: polygraph examination results are never admissible. Unlike the general relevance-based framework in subdivision (a), this exclusion does not depend on how probative a particular polygraph result might be in a given case — Virginia treats polygraph evidence as inadmissible without regard to relevance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is all relevant evidence automatically admissible in a Virginia court?
Relevant evidence is generally admissible under Rule 2:402(a), but that general rule yields to exclusions found in the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of Virginia, statutes, other Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia, and other evidentiary principles.
What happens to evidence that isn’t relevant?
It is not admissible. Rule 2:402(a) states the flip side of the general principle directly: evidence that is not relevant is not admissible, with no exceptions.
Can polygraph test results be introduced at trial in Virginia?
No. Rule 2:402(b) makes the results of polygraph examinations inadmissible, a categorical exclusion that applies regardless of how relevant or probative a particular result might otherwise be.
What are some examples of “other evidentiary principles” that might keep relevant evidence out?
Rule 2:403’s balancing test excluding evidence whose prejudice, confusion, or cumulative nature outweighs its value; the privilege rules in Article V; and rules like Rule 2:404 restricting character evidence are all examples of principles that can exclude evidence despite its relevance.
Why does Rule 2:402 single out polygraph evidence for exclusion?
The rule does not state a reason within its text, but the categorical exclusion reflects long-standing skepticism about polygraph reliability. Subdivision (b) treats polygraph results as inadmissible as a matter of law rather than leaving the question to case-by-case relevance and balancing analysis.
Amendment History
Adopted and promulgated by Order dated June 1, 2012; effective July 1, 2012.
Source & verification. Rule text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Rules of Supreme Court of Virginia, published by the
Supreme Court of Virginia. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
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