Virginia Eviction Record Sealing: Automatic Expungement in 30 Days

By Steve Levine · Updated November 3, 2026

Short answer: Virginia eviction record sealing takes the form of expungement, and much of it happens automatically. Under Va. Code § 8.01-130.01, a general district court must expunge an unlawful detainer on its own once a dismissal is 30 days old or a voluntary nonsuit is six months old, as long as no order of possession was entered. If you won at trial, or your case was filed before July 1, 2024, you file a short petition and the court must expunge without a hearing.

The one thing Virginia will not erase is a case where the landlord got an order of possession. That single line on the docket decides whether you qualify, so check it before anything else.

Virginia Eviction Record Sealing Quick Reference

Rule	Virginia	Statute
Dismissed case	Court expunges on its own after 30 days	§ 8.01-130.01(A)(i)
Voluntary nonsuit by the landlord	Court expunges on its own after 6 months	§ 8.01-130.01(A)(ii)
Disqualifier	Any order of possession entered in the case	§ 8.01-130.01(A)
Judgment for the tenant	Not automatic; petition, granted without a hearing	§ 8.01-130.01(A)
Cases filed before July 1, 2024	Petition on the Supreme Court form	§ 8.01-130.01(B)
Petition form	DC-425, Petition for Expungement of Unlawful Detainer	Form DC-425

Automatic Expungement for Recent Cases

Subsection A of § 8.01-130.01 covers unlawful detainers filed in general district court. If the case was dismissed and 30 days have run since the dismissal, or the landlord took a voluntary nonsuit and six months have run, the court “shall, without further petition or hearing” order the records expunged. You do not have to ask.

Note the gap: a nonsuit waits six times longer than a dismissal, so the way a landlord ends the case changes your timeline. Either way, the order of possession bar applies: if the judge ever entered one in the case, automatic expungement is off the table, even if the landlord later let you stay.

When You Have to Petition

Two groups must ask. The first is tenants who won. Subsection A says the court will not automatically expunge a case ending in judgment for the defendant, but that defendant may petition, and the court must expunge without a hearing. The second is anyone whose qualifying dismissal or nonsuit came in a case commenced before July 1, 2024, as long as the court still has the records.

The petition goes to the general district court where the unlawful detainer was filed, on Form DC-425. Under § 8.01-130.01(B) it must give the date of the dismissal, nonsuit or judgment in your favor, the property address, and the landlord’s name. The form also asks where to mail the order. Once the judge confirms the facts, the court enters the expungement order without a hearing.

What Happens to Your Screening Report

An expungement order clears the court’s records, but screening companies may have copied the case before it was wiped. They are consumer reporting agencies, as the CFPB notes in its list of companies that sell eviction and rental histories, and the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires them to report accurately. A case shown after it was expunged is a strong basis for a dispute.

File the dispute directly with the company and attach the order. 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1) gives it 30 days to reinvestigate for free and correct or delete what it cannot verify. A landlord who rejects you over a report must, under § 1681m(a), tell you which company supplied it and how to get a free copy. Our tenant screening report explainer walks through the request.

Cases that cannot be expunged

If an order of possession was entered, the case stays public and reportable within federal limits. 15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)(2) bars reporting civil suits and judgments older than seven years from entry, or older than the governing statute of limitations if that runs longer. In Virginia, Va. Code § 8.01-251(A) allows enforcement of a judgment dated on or after July 1, 2021 for 10 years, so a money judgment for rent may be reportable beyond seven years.

The CFPB’s tenant background check snapshot found eviction entries often led to denials regardless of how the case ended, which is why getting a qualifying outcome matters so much in Virginia.

Worked Example: Andre in Norfolk

Andre’s landlord filed an unlawful detainer in Norfolk General District Court on February 3, 2025, for $1,850 in unpaid rent. Andre paid the full balance before the return date, and the case was dismissed on March 10, 2025. No order of possession was ever entered.

Thirty days after the dismissal, on April 9, 2025, the court was required to expunge the records without any petition. In June, a screening report still showed the case. Andre requested his file, attached the dismissal and expungement order to a written dispute, and the company had 30 days to delete it. Had the landlord nonsuited instead, Andre would have waited until September 10, 2025.

Steering Your Case Toward an Expungeable Outcome

Avoid an order of possession. In settlement talks, ask the landlord to dismiss or nonsuit rather than take a judgment for possession.
Show up on the return date. Missing it risks a default judgment for possession, and any order of possession disqualifies the case.
Calendar the waiting period. Note the date 30 days after a dismissal or six months after a nonsuit, then check the online case information to confirm the expungement.
Explain non-qualifying cases. If a possession order is on your record, a short written explanation and a recent landlord reference can help.

Learn how the Virginia court steps fit together in our eviction process guides, compare other states on the eviction record sealing hub or in our general sealing guide, and if your deposit is also in dispute, see Virginia security deposit law.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Virginia expunge an eviction if I paid and the landlord dropped the case?

Yes, if the case was dismissed and no order of possession was entered. Section 8.01-130.01(A) requires the court to expunge it on its own 30 days after dismissal.

I won my Virginia eviction trial. Why is it still on record?

The statute excludes judgments for the defendant from automatic expungement. File Form DC-425 in the same general district court; the court must expunge without a hearing.

Can I expunge a Virginia eviction from 2019?

Yes, if it was dismissed or nonsuited, the waiting period has passed, no order of possession was entered, and the court still has the records. Section 8.01-130.01(B) lets you petition for cases commenced before July 1, 2024.

What if the judge entered an order of possession but I stayed?

The case does not qualify under § 8.01-130.01, because the statute requires that no order of possession was entered. Your protection is the federal reporting limit and your right to dispute inaccurate details.

Does expungement apply to circuit court appeals?

Section 8.01-130.01 speaks of actions filed in general district court, though Form DC-425 includes a circuit court checkbox. If your case went up on appeal, ask the clerk which court should receive the petition.

Start by pulling your case on Virginia’s online court records, then file DC-425 or dispute any screening entry that should already be gone. This is general information, not legal advice; for free help, use the Legal Services Corporation locator.

Sources

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