§ 8.01-262.Category B or permissible venue.

Chapter 5. Venue · Last amended 2024 · Last verified July 16, 2026

In one sentenceSection 8.01-262 lists ten fallback “Category B” venue options — the defendant’s residence or principal place of business, a registered agent’s location, where the claim arose, and more — that apply whenever an action is not covered by a Category A preferred venue under § 8.01-261.

Full Text of § 8.01-262

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In any actions to which this chapter applies except those actions enumerated in Category A where preferred venue is specified, one or more of the following counties or cities shall be permissible forums, such forums being sometimes referred to as "Category B" in this title:

1. Wherein the defendant resides or has his principal place of employment or, if the defendant is not an individual, wherein its principal office or principal place of business is located;

2. Wherein the defendant has a registered office, has appointed an agent to receive process, or such agent has been appointed by operation of the law; or, in case of withdrawal from the Commonwealth by such defendant, wherein venue herein was proper at the time of such withdrawal;

3. Provided there exists any practical nexus to the forum including, but not limited to, the location of fact witnesses, plaintiffs, or other evidence to the action, wherein the defendant regularly conducts substantial business activity, or in the case of withdrawal from the Commonwealth by such defendant, wherein venue herein was proper at the time of such withdrawal;

4. Wherein the cause of action, or any part thereof, arose;

5. In actions to recover or partition personal property, whether tangible or intangible, the county or city:

a. Wherein such property is physically located; or

b. Wherein the evidence of such property is located;

c. And if subdivisions a and b do not apply, wherein the plaintiff resides.

6. In actions against a fiduciary as defined in § 8.01-2 appointed under court authority, the county or city wherein such fiduciary qualified;

7. In actions for improper message transmission or misdelivery wherein the message was transmitted or delivered or wherein the message was accepted for delivery or was misdelivered;

8. In actions arising based on delivery of goods, wherein the goods were received;

9. If there is no other forum available in subdivisions 1 through 8 of this category, then the county or city where the defendant has property or debts owing to him subject to seizure by any civil process; or

10. Wherein any of the plaintiffs reside if (i) all of the defendants are unknown or are nonresidents of the Commonwealth or if (ii) there is no other forum available under any other provisions of § 8.01-261 or this section.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, in actions in which an administrator has been appointed pursuant to § 64.2-454, permissible venue shall only lie in a county or city in which venue would have been properly laid if the person for whom such appointment is made had survived.

End

Plain-English Summary

Where § 8.01-261 pins venue to one narrow forum for specific kinds of cases, § 8.01-262 works differently: it gives a menu of permissible forums for every other action Chapter 5 covers, and any one of them is proper. The most familiar options come first — where the defendant resides or has a principal place of employment or business, where the defendant has a registered office or an agent for service of process, and where the cause of action, or part of it, arose.

The remaining subdivisions handle narrower situations: recovering or partitioning personal property, where the property or its records are, or failing that, where the plaintiff resides, suits against a court-appointed fiduciary, where the fiduciary qualified, disputes over an improperly transmitted or misdelivered message, delivery-of-goods disputes where the goods were received, and a catch-all for defendants with property or debts subject to seizure in Virginia when no other forum in the list applies. A final catch-all lets a plaintiff sue where any plaintiff resides if every defendant is unknown or a nonresident, or if no other forum is available under either § 8.01-261 or this section.

One late addition narrows the list for a special case: in actions where an administrator has been appointed under § 64.2-454 for a still-living person, venue is confined to a county or city where venue would have been proper had that person survived.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Category B venue under Virginia law?

It is the set of permissible forums listed in § 8.01-262 that apply to actions not covered by a Category A preferred venue, with any listed forum being proper.

Where can a plaintiff sue a defendant based on residence under Category B?

Wherein the defendant resides or has a principal place of employment, or, if the defendant is not an individual, wherein its principal office or principal place of business is located.

What venue applies when a defendant has no connection to Virginia and cannot be found?

If all defendants are unknown or nonresidents, or if no other forum is available under § 8.01-261 or § 8.01-262, venue may lie wherein any plaintiff resides.

Where is venue proper for a suit to recover personal property?

Wherein the property is physically located, or wherein evidence of the property is located, and if neither applies, wherein the plaintiff resides.

Does Category B apply to actions against a court-appointed fiduciary?

Yes. Subdivision 6 makes the county or city where the fiduciary qualified a permissible venue for actions against a fiduciary as defined in § 8.01-2.

Amendment History

1977, c. 617; 1978, c. 414; 1979, c. 331; 1985, c. 213; 1999, c. 73; 2004, c. 979; 2013, cc. 71, 103; 2024, cc. 50, 340.

Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026. · Official source

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