Any discovery material not admitted in evidence filed in a clerk's office may be destroyed by the clerk after one year after entry of the final judgment or decree. But if the action or suit is the subject of an appeal, such material may not be destroyed until the lapse of one year after receipt of the mandate on appeal or the entry of any final judgment or decree thereafter.
Rule 4:14.Disposition of Discovery Material.
Part Four: Pretrial Procedures, Dispositions and Production at Trial · Last amended 2021 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceRule 4:14 lets a clerk destroy discovery material that was filed but never admitted into evidence one year after final judgment, or, if the case is appealed, one year after the mandate or any later final judgment.
Full Text of Rule 4:14
Plain-English Summary
Rule 4:14 answers a housekeeping question: what happens to all the depositions, interrogatory answers, and other discovery paper that piles up in a case file but is never used at trial? A clerk may destroy discovery material that was filed but not admitted into evidence, but not before a full year has passed since the entry of final judgment or decree.
If the case went up on appeal, the clock resets: the material cannot be destroyed until a year after the clerk receives the appellate mandate, or, if the case comes back for further proceedings that produce another final judgment or decree, a year after that later judgment. The rule gives clerks a clear, predictable point at which stale discovery material can finally be cleared out, without cutting off access while an appeal or its aftermath is still live.
Frequently Asked Questions
When can a Virginia clerk destroy discovery material that was filed but never used at trial?
Not until one year after entry of the final judgment or decree in the case (Rule 4:14).
Does an appeal change when discovery material can be destroyed?
Yes. If the case is appealed, the material cannot be destroyed until a year after the clerk receives the mandate, or a year after any later final judgment or decree entered on remand.
Does Rule 4:14 apply to discovery material that was admitted into evidence?
No. It applies only to discovery material that was filed with the clerk but not admitted into evidence.
Is the clerk required to destroy discovery material after a year?
No. Rule 4:14 permits destruction after a year passes; it does not require the clerk to destroy the material at that point.
Why would discovery material end up filed with the clerk in the first place?
Amendment History
Last amended by Order dated November 23, 2020; effective March 1, 2021.
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
Also known as: destroying discovery material virginiadiscovery material retention virginiadepositions filed with clerk virginiavirginia rule 4:14