Va. Code » Title 8.01. Civil Remedies and Procedure » Chapter 14. Evidence » Article 4. Witnesses Generally
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-396 (2026)

No person incompetent to testify by reason of interest, or because a party

✓ current as of May 2026
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No person shall be incompetent to testify because of interest, or because of his being a party to any civil action; but he shall, if otherwise competent to testify, and subject to the rules of evidence and practice applicable to other witnesses, be competent to give evidence in his own behalf and be competent and compellable to attend and give evidence on behalf of any other party to such action; but, in any case, the court, for good cause shown, may require any such person to attend and testify ore tenus and, upon his failure to so attend and testify, may exclude his deposition.

Code 1950, § 8-285; 1977, c. 617.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases, 1983–2017 · leading case: VA Bd. of Med. & VA Dep't of Health Professions v. Leila Hadad Zackrison, M.D., 796 S.E.2d 866 (Va. Ct. App. 2017).
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VA Bd. of Med. & VA Dep't of Health Professions v. Leila Hadad Zackrison, M.D., 796 S.E.2d 866 (Va. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 6× “The current version of the Virginia statute, Code § 8.01-396, provides, in pertinent part, that [n]o person shall be incompetent to testify because of interest, or because of his being a party to any civil action; but he shall, if otherwise competent to testify, and subject to…”
Toraish v. Lee, 797 S.E.2d 760 (Va. 2017). · cites it 2× “2d 286 , 288 (1997) ; Code § 8.01-396 ("No person shall be incompetent to testify because of interest, or because of his being a party to any civil action.”
State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. v. Kendrick, 491 S.E.2d 286 (Va. 1997). · cites it 2× “See Code § 8.01-396 (“No person shall be incompetent to testify because of interest, or because of his being a party to any civil action.”
Stephens v. Caruthers, 97 F. Supp. 2d 698 (E.D. Va. 2000). · cites it 5× “” Va.Code § 8.01-396. In that case, the word “interest” is used as a noun, not an adjective as in the phrase "interested party.”
Mullins v. Tench, 25 Va. Cir. 425 (Fredericksburg Cir. Ct. 1991). “Statutes have abolished the rule excluding parties as witnesses (Virginia Code, § 8.01-396), and modern civil practice now embraces an array of pretrial discovery devices (Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia, Part IV).”
State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. v. Kendrick, 491 S.E.2d 286 (Va. 1997). · cites it 2× “See Code § 8.01-396 ("No person shall be incompetent to testify because of interest, or because of his being a party to any civil action.”
Dickerson v. Campeau, 51 Va. Cir. 532 (Richmond County Cir. Ct. 1998). · cites it 2× “Based on this evidence, the Court cannot find that the statutory requirement of corroboration pursuant to Virginia Code § 8.01-396 has been met. One of the purposes of the “dead man” statute is to prevent a surviving party from having the benefit of his own testimony where, by…”
Strosnider v. Shelly, 12 Va. Cir. 501 (Frederick Cir. Ct. 1983). “The present statutory provision on the subject is § 8.01-396, very little changed from § 6208, Code 1919, as follows: No person shall be incompetent to testify because of interest, or because of his being a party to any civil action; but he shall, if otherwise competent to…”
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