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§ 8.01-600.How money under control of court deposited; record kept; liability of clerk.

Chapter 22. Receivers, General and Special · Article 3. General Provisions for Moneys under Control of Court · Last amended 2017 · Last verified July 16, 2026

In one sentenceThis section lets a circuit court, on a party's motion for good cause, direct the clerk — rather than a general receiver — to hold, invest, and disburse judgment funds under a scheme mirroring § 8.01-582, complete with sealed beneficiary affidavits, mandatory CD investment, sixty-day liability deadlines, and audit.

Full Text of § 8.01-600

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A. This section pertains only to money held by the clerk of the circuit court, when the court orders moneys to be held by the clerk pursuant to this section. Where judgment is taken in the circuit court, upon motion of a party for good cause shown, the court may enter an order directing the clerk to hold moneys pursuant to this section. The clerk shall have the duty, unless it is otherwise specially ordered, to receive, take charge of, hold or invest in such manner as the court orders and also to pay out or dispose of these moneys as the court orders or decrees. To this end, the clerk is authorized to verify, receive, and give acquittances for all such moneys as the court may direct.
B. Orders creating funds pursuant to this section or § 8.01-582 shall include information necessary to make prudent investment and disbursement decisions. The orders shall include, except when it is unreasonable, the proposed dates of periodic and final disbursements. Prior to the entry of the order, the beneficiary or his representative shall file an affidavit with the court providing the beneficiary's name, date of birth, address and social security number. The affidavit shall be maintained under seal by the clerk unless otherwise ordered by the court, and the information therein shall be used solely for the purposes of financial management and reporting.
Unless otherwise ordered by the court, the provisions of this section shall not apply to:
1. Cash or other money received in lieu of surety on any bond posted in any civil or criminal case, including but not limited to bail bonds, appeal bonds in appeals from a district court or circuit court, bonds posted in connection with the filing of an attachment, detinue seizure or distress, suspending bonds, and performance bonds;
2. Cash or other money paid or deposited in the clerk's office prior to final disposition of the case, including but not limited to interpleaders or eminent domain; or
3. Cash or other money deposited in lieu of surety on any bond posted in the clerk's office which is not posted in connection with any civil or criminal case, including bonds posted by executors or administrators.
C. All deposits under this section shall be secured in accordance with the Virginia Security for Public Deposits Act (§ 2.2-4400 et seq.).
D. Moneys held pursuant to this section shall be invested in certificates of deposit and time deposits, and in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 45 (§ 2.2-4500 et seq.) of Title 2.2 as ordered by the court.
E. Any interest which accrues on the funds, minus allowable fees and bond costs, shall be credited and payable to the person or persons entitled to receive such funds. The court may order the clerk to consolidate for investment purposes money received under this section, with income received hereunder to be apportioned among the several accounts.
F. Except as otherwise ordered by the court, for good cause shown, the clerk shall be liable for any loss of income which results from his (i) failure to invest the money within sixty days of the court order creating the fund or (ii) failure to pay out any money so ordered by the court within sixty days of the court order. He shall be charged with interest from the date of the court order until such investment or payment is made.
G. The clerk shall keep an accurate and particular account of all moneys received, invested, and paid out by him, showing the respective amounts to the credit of each case in the court and designating in the items the judgments, orders or decrees of court under which the respective sums have been received, invested or paid out. At least annually and no later than October 1 of each year, the clerk shall make a report to the court, which shall include the chief judge of the circuit or the resident judge, showing the balance to the credit of each case in the court in which money has been received by him, the manner in which money has been received by him, the manner in which it is invested, the amounts received, invested or paid out during the year ending June 30 of the current year, the approximate date on which the moneys held for the beneficiaries will become payable, and the whole amount then invested and subject to the future order of the court. The clerk shall make a copy of such report available to the Auditor of Public Accounts for purposes of audit. A copy of this report shall be recorded in the trust fund order book. The clerk shall, at any time when required by the court or the Auditor of Public Accounts to do so, furnish a statement of the amount subject to the order of the court in any case pending therein and any other information required by the court or the Auditor of Public Accounts as to any money or other property under his control before the court. When the clerk receives funds under this section, he shall be entitled to receive fees in accordance with § 17.1-287 in the amounts as specified for general receivers in § 8.01-589.
H. All moneys received under this section are subject to audit by the Auditor of Public Accounts.
End

Plain-English Summary

Not every circuit court judgment needs a full receivership to hold its proceeds. This section gives courts a parallel option: upon a party's motion for good cause shown, the court may order the clerk of the circuit court to receive, hold, invest, and pay out money under this section rather than referring it to a general receiver. The clerk gets the same authority to verify, receive, and give acquittances for the money that a receiver would have.

The safeguards track § 8.01-582 closely. Before the order creating the fund is entered, the beneficiary or a representative must file a sealed affidavit with name, date of birth, address, and Social Security number, and the order itself must include the information needed for prudent investment and disbursement decisions, including proposed disbursement dates. The same three categories of funds — bail and appeal bonds, money deposited pending final disposition of a case, and certain non-case bond deposits — are excluded unless the court orders otherwise, and deposits must be secured under the Virginia Security for Public Deposits Act and invested in certificates of deposit and time deposits.

The clerk's obligations and exposure mirror a receiver's as well. He is liable for lost income if he fails to invest within sixty days of the order or fails to pay out ordered funds within sixty days, absent good cause, and is charged interest until he complies. He must keep detailed accounts, report annually by October 1 to the court — including the chief or resident judge — make that report available to the Auditor of Public Accounts, and is entitled to the same fees § 8.01-589 allows general receivers.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does this section apply?

Only when the circuit court, upon motion of a party for good cause shown, enters an order directing the clerk to hold moneys pursuant to this section, rather than appointing a general receiver.

What must be filed before the court's order creating the fund is entered?

An affidavit from the beneficiary or a representative giving the beneficiary's name, date of birth, address, and Social Security number, maintained under seal by the clerk.

How must the clerk invest the money he holds under this section?

In certificates of deposit and time deposits, in accordance with Chapter 45 of Title 2.2, with the deposits secured under the Virginia Security for Public Deposits Act.

What is the clerk's liability for delay in investing or paying out the funds?

He is liable for any resulting loss of income if he fails to invest within sixty days of the order or fails to pay out ordered funds within sixty days, absent good cause shown, and is charged interest until he complies.

What fees can the clerk collect for handling funds under this section?

Fees under § 17.1-287 in the amounts specified for general receivers in § 8.01-589.

Amendment History

Code 1950, § 8-744; 1977, c. 617; 1986, c. 644; 1988, c. 841; 1990, cc. 3, 414; 1991, c. 635; 2002, c. 832; 2015, c. 633; 2017, c. 35.

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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