Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-72 (2026)

When it may issue; what to recite and require

✓ current as of May 2026

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On complaint of a criminal offense to any officer authorized to issue criminal warrants he shall examine on oath the complainant and any other witnesses, or when such officer shall suspect that an offense punishable otherwise than by a fine has been committed he may, without formal complaint, issue a summons for witnesses and shall examine such witnesses. A written complaint shall be required if the complainant is not a law-enforcement officer; however a written complaint is required for a felony offense, regardless of whether the complainant is a law-enforcement officer. If no arrest warrant is issued in response to a written complaint made by such complainant, the written complaint shall be returned to the complainant. If upon such examination such officer finds that there is probable cause to believe the accused has committed an offense, such officer shall issue a warrant for his arrest, except that no magistrate may issue an arrest warrant for a felony offense upon the basis of a complaint by a person other than a law-enforcement officer or an animal control officer without prior authorization by the attorney for the Commonwealth or by a law-enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the alleged offense. The warrant shall (i) be directed to an appropriate officer or officers, (ii) name the accused or, if his name is unknown, set forth a description by which he can be identified with reasonable certainty, (iii) describe the offense charged with reasonable certainty, (iv) command that the accused be arrested and brought before a court of appropriate jurisdiction in the county, city or town in which the offense was allegedly committed, and (v) be signed by the issuing officer. If a warrant is issued for an offense in violation of any county, city, or town ordinance that is similar to any provision of this Code, the warrant shall reference the offense using both the citation corresponding to the county, city, or town ordinance and the specific provision of this Code. The warrant shall require the officer to whom it is directed to summon such witnesses as shall be therein named to appear and give evidence on the examination. But in a city or town having a police force, the warrant shall be directed "To any policeman, sheriff or his deputy sheriff of such city (or town)," and shall be executed by the policeman, sheriff or his deputy sheriff into whose hands it shall come or be delivered. A sheriff or his deputy may execute an arrest warrant throughout the county in which he serves and in any city or town surrounded thereby and effect an arrest in any city or town surrounded thereby as a result of a criminal act committed during the execution of such warrant. A jail officer as defined in § 53.1-1 employed at a regional jail or jail farm is authorized to execute a warrant of arrest upon an accused in his jail. The venue for the prosecution of such criminal act shall be the jurisdiction in which the offense occurred.

Code 1950, § 19.1-91; 1960, c. 366; 1975, c. 495; 1991, c. 420; 2000, c. 170; 2007, c. 412; 2009, cc. 291, 344; 2010, c. 240; 2011, cc. 205, 223; 2013, c. 207; 2016, c. 204; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 524, 542; 2024, c. 809.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 22 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 1977–2026 · leading case: Guidry v. Clare, 442 F. Supp. 2d 282 (E.D. Va. 2006).

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Guidry v. Clare, 442 F. Supp. 2d 282 (E.D. Va. 2006). · cites it 9× “See Va.Code § 19.2-72 (describing process by which criminal warrant can be sworn out based on complaint); Cf.”

Alfred Banks, Jr. v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 795 S.E.2d 908 (Va. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 2× “See Code § 19.2-72 (listing requirements for criminal warrants); Rules 3A:4 (governing issuance and execution of arrest warrants), 3A:6(a) (providing the content requirements of an indictment or information).”

Pierce v. Commonwealth, 633 S.E.2d 755 (Va. Ct. App. 2006). · cites it 8× “1 At the September 2001 revocation hearing, appellant moved to dismiss the probation violation proceedings, arguing that the capias for his arrest was invalid because it was not based on probable cause and was issued on the unsworn written statements of probation officers in…”

Rawls v. Com., 634 S.E.2d 697 (Va. 2006). · cites it 4× “After any such amendment the accused shall be arraigned on the indictment, presentment or information as amended, and shall be allowed to plead anew thereto, if he so desires, and the trial shall proceed as if no amendment had been made; but if the court finds that such…”

Hearn v. Hudson, 549 F. Supp. 949 (W.D. Va. 1982). · cites it 8× “Thus, the controlling code section is Va.Code § 19.2-72. Section 19.2-72 of the Code leaves an officer into whose hands a warrant is delivered no choice.”

Zuniga v. Commonwealth, 375 S.E.2d 381 (Va. Ct. App. 1988). · cites it 4× “” Code § 19.2-72. The record reflects that the warrant was issued September 9, 1985, following the arrest of Samuels.”

Lauren Graham v. C. Gagnon, 831 F.3d 176 (4th Cir. 2016). “6 (citing Va. Code Ann. § 19.2-72 ), and that “[n]o written record of the facts presented to the magistrates exists here.”

Shears v. Commonwealth, 477 S.E.2d 309 (Va. Ct. App. 1996). · cites it 2× “See Code § 19.2-72. *399 While the record does not confirm that Detective Payne actually possessed the warrant, he was, nevertheless, privy to its contents and existence and, therefore, both empowered and duty bound to arrest the named accused, Clyde Boyce.”

Davis v. Commonwealth, 440 S.E.2d 426 (Va. Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 4× “Code § 19.2-72. The warrant is the normal process upon which arrest is to be effected.”

Evans v. Sturgill, 430 F. Supp. 1209 (W.D. Va. 1977). “Code § 19.2-72 (1975 Repl. Vol.) In this case, defendant Sturgill related the facts to the Commonwealth’s Attorney, Mr.”

Terrell v. Petrie, 763 F. Supp. 1342 (E.D. Va. 1991). “§ 19.2-72 concerns the arrest warrant. It provides that: “The warrant shall (i) be directed to an appropriate officer or officers.”

In Re Accelerated Recovery Sys., Inc., 431 B.R. 138 (W.D. Va. 2010). · cites it 2× “§ 19.2-72 (emphasis added). Only upon finding “that there is probable cause to believe the accused had committed an offense” does “such officer .”

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