Va. Code » Title 8.01. Civil Remedies and Procedure » Chapter 27. Virginia Prisoner Litigation Reform Act
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-691 (2026)

Payment of filing fees and costs by prisoners; when in forma pauperis status granted

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section VA-LISlaw.lis.virginia.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

A prisoner seeking in forma pauperis status shall provide the court with a certified copy of his inmate trust account for the preceding twelve months. Any prisoner granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis shall nonetheless make payments, in equal installments as the court directs, towards satisfaction of the filing fee and costs. If the court determines the prisoner has had no deposits in his inmate trust account for the preceding six months, the court shall permit the prisoner to proceed without paying the filing fee and costs. However, the filing fee and costs shall be taxed as costs at the end of the case. Any prisoner failing to make any payment when due shall have his case dismissed without prejudice.

2002, c. 871.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 2014–2024 · leading case: Grethen v. Robinson, 806 S.E.2d 406 (Va. 2017).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Grethen v. Robinson, 806 S.E.2d 406 (Va. 2017). · cites it 22× “We conclude that he should have been afforded in forma pauperis status under Code § 8.01-691 and, accordingly, we will reverse the trial court's judgment.”
Johnson v. Clerk, Wise Cnty. Circuit Court (ORDER) (Va. 2024). · cites it 6× “Yelverton received petitioner’s motion for judgment, but because petitioner did not provide his inmate trust account statements for the proceeding twelve months, as required by Code § 8.01-691, she refused to file the pleading.”
Lockett v. Davis, 89 Va. Cir. 357 (Roanoke County Cir. Ct. 2014). · cites it 6× “In this case, the Respondents mistakenly contend, and the Clerk apparently believed, that Lockett’s petition is similarly time-barred because, under Va. Code § 8.01-691, “[a] prisoner seeking in forma pauperis status shall provide the court with a certified copy of his inmate…”
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.