Va. Code » Title 53.1. Prisons and Other Methods of Correction » Chapter 3. Local Correctional Facilities » Article 7. Prisoner Programs and Treatment
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-131.3 (2026)

Payment of costs associated with prisoners' keep

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Any sheriff or jail superintendent may establish a program to charge inmates a reasonable fee, not to exceed $3 per day, to defray the costs associated with the prisoners' keep. The Board shall develop a model plan and adopt regulations for such program, and shall provide assistance, if requested, to the sheriff or jail superintendent in the implementation of such program. Such funds shall be retained in the locality where the funds were collected and shall be used for general jail purposes; however, in the event the jail is a regional jail, funds collected from any such fee shall be retained by the regional jail. Any person jailed for an offense they are later acquitted for shall be refunded any such fees paid during their incarceration.

2003, c. 860; 2009, c. 842; 2010, c. 548.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2004–2025 · leading case: Waters v. Bass, 304 F. Supp. 2d 802 (E.D. Va. 2004).
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Waters v. Bass, 304 F. Supp. 2d 802 (E.D. Va. 2004). · cites it 14× “Room and Board Fee Next, Waters claims that the one dollar per day room and board fee charged by the VBCJ pursuant to Va. Code § 53.1-131.3 violates his constitutional rights.”
Calvin Slade v. Hampton Roads Reg'l Jail, 407 F.3d 243 (4th Cir. 2005). · cites it 2× “The Jail’s practice, which began in November 2003, is authorized by Va.Code § 53.1-131.3, which provides, in full: Any sheriff or jail superintendent may establish a program to charge inmates a reasonable fee, not to exceed $1 per day, to defray the costs associated with the…”
Slade v. Hampton Roads Reg'l Jail, 303 F. Supp. 2d 779 (E.D. Va. 2004). · cites it 13× “Va.Code Ann. § 53.1-131.3 (Michie Supp.2003).”
Mills v. City of Roanoke, 518 F. Supp. 2d 815 (W.D. Va. 2007). · cites it 2× “2004) (holding that the jail does not violate the Equal Protection Clause by charging its inmates a daily fee, as permitted by Virginia Code § 53.1-131.3, even if other local jails choose not to exercise such authority, “as long as that facility applies the statute equally to…”
Dandridge v. Middle Peninsula Reg'l Sec. Ctr., No. 3:21-cv-00735 (E.D. Va. June 8, 2022). · cites it 4× “Plaintiff's needs. See Farmer, 511 U.S. at 834. In fact, when any of the Defendants were made aware of Plaintiff's lack of underclothing, they tried to help him obtain it.”
Cecil v. Sw. Virginia Reg'l Jail Auth., No. 7:19-cv-00658 (W.D. Va. Jan. 27, 2020). · cites it 2× “Construing Cecil’s complaint liberally, the court treats it as asserting an equal 1 Virginia Code § 53.1-131.3 states that “[a]ny sheriff or jail superintendent may establish a program to charge inmates a reasonable fee, not to exceed $1 per day, to defray the costs associated…”
Moss v. Trent, No. 7:23-cv-00116, 2025 WL 84218 (W.D. Va. Jan. 13, 2025). · cites it 2× “See Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-131.3 (“Any sheriff or jail superintendent may establish a program to charge inmates a reasonable fee, not to exceed $3 per day, to defray the costs associated with the prisoners’ keep.”
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