Current through January 1, 2025 · Last verified July 8, 2026
In one sentenceRule 81 lists where these rules apply only in modified form or not at all -- magistrate and administrative appeals, family court and circuit-court divorce proceedings, tax-forfeited land sales, ex parte and juvenile proceedings, and habeas corpus petitions -- carrying out the exception Rule 1 itself reserves.
(a)Review of decisions of magistrates and administrative agencies.
(1)Review of magistrate proceedings. These rules apply to an appeal in circuit court, except that Rules 26 through 37 may not be used and no pleadings other than those used in the case in the magistrate court may be used except by order of the court.
(2)Review of administrative proceedings. These rules, where applicable, apply in circuit court when any testimony is taken before the court in the judicial review of an order or decision rendered by an administrative agency.
(b)Divorce, annulment, affirmation and separate maintenance.
(1)Family court. These rules apply in family court divorce, annulment, affirmation and separate maintenance. proceedings only to the extent expressly authorized by the Rules of Practice and Procedure for Family Court.
(2)Circuit court. These rules apply to actions filed in circuit court as provided by law for divorce, annulment, affirmation and separate maintenance, except as to the following qualifications.
(A)All pleadings shall be verified. The case shall be tried and heard independently of the admissions of either party in the pleadings.
(B)Costs may be awarded to either party and the court may suspend or withhold any order or judgment until the costs are paid.
(C)A divorce or annulment action shall not be tried or heard prior to the expiration of the maximum period of time within which the defendant in such action is required to file an answer as provided in Rule 12.
(D)Unless specifically authorized by statute, no judgment of divorce, annulment or affirmance of marriage shall be granted on the uncorroborated testimony of the parties or either of them.
(E)Rules 26 through 37 may not be used in actions for divorce, annulment, affirmation of marriage and separate maintenance for the purpose of discovery except by order of the court in the action and only to the extent provided by the order.
These rules apply to proceedings to sell land purchased by the State for nonpayment of taxes and become irredeemable, or forfeited for nonentry, or escheated, or waste and unappropriated, title to which remains in the State, subject to the following qualifications.
(2)Rule 4 does not apply except that the order of publication must be modified to conform with the provisions of Rule 4, and judgment by default may be rendered against any defendant in such action who must fail to appear and defend by the date mentioned in the order of publication; and
(3)items, interests, parties and claims may be joined in such actions as authorized by W.Va. Code § 11A-4-1.
Rules 5(b), 5(d)(2), 5(d)(3) and 80 apply to ex parte proceedings. The other rules do not apply to such proceedings except by order of the court for cause shown in the proceeding and only to the extent provided by the order. Such proceedings include, but are not limited to:
(1)adoption;
(2)change of name;
(3)statutory summary procedure for the sale, lease, or encumbrance of property of persons under legal disability; or
(4)statutory summary procedure for the sale, lease, or other conveyance of property subject to future interests; or
(5)statutory summary procedure for the compromise and settlement of claims by a guardian or committee for personal injuries sustained by the guardian’s or committee’s ward.
(e)Juvenile proceedings. Rules 5(b), 5(d)(2), 5(d)(3) and 80 apply. The other rules do not apply to juvenile proceedings brought under the provisions of the West Virginia Code.
(f)These rules, to the extent they are not inconsistent with the West Virginia Rules Governing Post-Conviction Habeas Corpus Proceedings, may be applied, when appropriate, to petitions filed in West Virginia circuit courts when seeking post-conviction habeas corpus relief.
Amendment History
The current West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure took effect January 1, 2025, as part of a rewrite that modernized the rules’ numbering and structure. West Virginia does not publish a per-rule amendment history inside the compiled rules text reproduced here. The text above is verified current through the source’s own January 1, 2025 update; for the underlying adopting order and any later amendments, see the West Virginia Judiciary’s compiled rules page.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 1 says these rules govern every civil action except as Rule 81 provides, and Rule 81 is where those carve-outs live. Appeals from magistrate court get the ordinary rules, but without Rules 26 through 37's discovery tools, and generally without pleadings beyond what was already used in magistrate court. Judicial review of an administrative agency's decision gets these rules too, wherever testimony is taken before the circuit court in that review.
Family court divorce, annulment, affirmation, and separate maintenance proceedings follow these rules only to the extent the Rules of Practice and Procedure for Family Court expressly say so. The same kinds of cases filed in circuit court follow these rules with real modifications: pleadings have to be verified and the case tried independent of any admissions in them, costs can go to either party (with the court able to withhold a judgment until they're paid), the case can't be tried before the defendant's Rule 12 answer deadline expires, no divorce or annulment can rest on the parties' own uncorroborated testimony unless a statute allows it, and discovery under Rules 26 through 37 is off the table except by court order.
A handful of other proceedings get their own carve-outs: sales of land forfeited or escheated to the State exclude joinder and party rules like 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, and 23, modify Rule 4's publication requirements, and allow joinder of interests under a specific statute; ex parte proceedings (adoption, name changes, and certain statutory summary sales) apply only the service rules and Rule 80, plus whatever else the court specifically orders; juvenile proceedings work the same limited way; and post-conviction habeas corpus petitions can borrow from these rules where doing so doesn't conflict with West Virginia's own habeas corpus rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does discovery under Rules 26 through 37 apply to a magistrate-court appeal?
No. Rule 81(a)(1) excludes Rules 26 through 37 from magistrate-court appeals in circuit court.
How are circuit-court divorce actions different from ordinary civil cases under these rules?
Pleadings must be verified, the case is tried independent of pleading admissions, the case can't be tried before the defendant's answer deadline expires, uncorroborated testimony alone can't support a divorce or annulment unless a statute allows it, and discovery under Rules 26 through 37 is unavailable except by court order.
Do these rules apply to ex parte proceedings like adoptions?
Only in a limited way — Rules 5(b), 5(d)(2), 5(d)(3), and 80 apply, and nothing else applies except by court order for cause shown.
Do these rules apply to post-conviction habeas corpus petitions?
Yes, where appropriate and to the extent they aren't inconsistent with the West Virginia Rules Governing Post-Conviction Habeas Corpus Proceedings.
Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the
official West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure (W. Va. R. Civ. P. 81). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia (W. Va. Const. art. VIII, § 3). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 8, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:rules applicability exceptionsdivorce action procedure West Virginiamagistrate court appeal ruleshabeas corpus civil rules