Except in condemnation actions, every order of publication shall give the abbreviated style of the suit, state briefly its object, and require the defendants, or unknown parties, against whom it is entered to appear and protect their interests on or before the date stated in the order which shall be no sooner than 50 days after entry of the order of publication. Such order of publication shall be published once each week for four successive weeks in such newspaper as the court may prescribe, or, if none be so prescribed, as the clerk may direct, and shall be posted at the front door of the courthouse wherein the court is held; also a copy of such order of publication shall be mailed to each of the defendants at the post office address given in the affidavit required by § 8.01-316. The clerk shall cause copies of the order to be so posted, mailed, and transmitted to the designated newspaper within 20 days after the entry of the order of publication. Upon completion of such publication, the clerk shall file a certificate in the papers of the case that the requirements of this section have been complied with. The court may, in any case where deemed proper, dispense with such publication in a newspaper or may order that appropriate notice be given by electronic means, under such terms and conditions as the court may direct, either in addition to or in lieu of publication in a newspaper, provided that such electronic notice is reasonably calculated, under all circumstances, to apprise interested parties of the pendency of the action and afford them an opportunity to present their objections. The cost of such publication or notice shall be paid by the petitioner or applicant. Costs in proceedings to enforce tax liens of a locality shall be recovered according to the provisions of Article 4 (§ 58.1-3965 et seq.) of Chapter 39 of Title 58.1.
Code 1950, § 8-72; 1977, c. 617; 1982, c. 384; 1996, cc. 352, 710; 2020, c. 159; 2025, c. 267.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
13
cases (
1 in the last 5 years), 1981–2021 · leading case:
Carlton v. Paxton, 415 S.E.2d 600 (Va. Ct. App. 1992).
Carlton v. Paxton, 415 S.E.2d 600 (Va. Ct. App. 1992).
· cites it 14× “The trial court held that, in light of the affidavits, it was reasonable to conclude that a mailing had occurred and that there had thus been substantial compliance with Code § 8.01-317, such as to give the adoption court personal jurisdiction over *109 appellant.”
BP Prods. North Am., Inc. v. Dagra, 236 F.R.D. 270 (E.D. Va. 2006).
· cites it 4× “Conclusion Accordingly, the Court deems that an acceptable method of service on Defendant shall be publication in English in the Pakistani newspapers Daily Jang and the Dawn once a week for four weeks in the form dictated by Section 8.01-317 of the Code of Virginia (2000).”
Forrer v. Brown, 277 S.E.2d 483 (Va. 1981).
· cites it 2× “), provided in pertinent part: “Every order of publication shall give the abbreviated style of the suit, state briefly its object, and require the defendants against whom it is entered, or the unknown parties, to appear within ten days after due publication thereof and do what…”
Carlton v. Paxton, 415 S.E.2d 600 (Va. Ct. App. 1992).
· cites it 14× “The trial court held that, in light of the affidavits, it was reasonable to conclude that a mailing had occurred and that there had thus been substantial compliance with Code § 8.01-317, such as to give the adoption court personal jurisdiction over appellant.”
Evans v. Evans, 860 S.E.2d 381 (Va. 2021).
· cites it 2× “159, at 231 (amending Code § 8.01-317 to allow the court to order “that appropriate notice be given by electronic means .”
In re Washington Newspaper Publ'g Co., 72 Va. Cir. 186 (Fairfax Cir. Ct. 2006).
· cites it 9× “01-316 and prescribes what an order of publication must include under Va. Code § 8.01-317. Both sections are intended to protect the innocent party, provide the defendant with actual notice, and give him an opportunity to make his defense, if he has any.”
In re Dow Jones & Co., 79 Va. Cir. 514 (Norfolk Cir. Ct. 2009).
· cites it 7× “Va. Code § 8.01-317 is one example of a statute that specifies the identity of the official who shall select the newspaper used for notice by publication.”
Sakowski v. Sakowski, 65 Va. Cir. 249 (Roanoke County Cir. Ct. 2004).
· cites it 3× “An argument might be made that Rule 2:7 requires responsive pleadings to be filed within twenty-one days of acceptance of process.”
Allan Haynes Powell v. Commonwealth, No. 2925054 (Va. Ct. App. Mar. 13, 2007).
· cites it 2× “In response to the bill of complaint collaterally attacking the final order of adoption, the trial judge ruled “it was reasonable to conclude that a mailing had occurred and that there had thus been substantial compliance with Code § 8.01-317,” even though the record lacked…”
In re Adoption of A. R. M., 20 Va. Cir. 301 (Richmond County Cir. Ct. 1990).
· cites it 2× “Code' § 8.01-317 requires the clerk of the court to mail a copy of the order of publication to each defendant at the last known address given in the required affidavit.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.