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State guide · VA

Virginia Family Court: Custody and Parenting-Time Guide

Plain-language Virginia information for a custody or parenting-time route, including filing, official forms, free help, fee waivers, and legal-cost context.

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This page provides general legal information, not legal advice. State law, court rules, forms, and local procedures can change. Confirm current requirements with the court handling the case.

State laws, court rules, and forms can change. Automated link checks will run every week once the monitoring job is deployed. Please check each cited source before relying on it. Report a broken link or changed law.

Find the right family court

The custody or parenting-time route described in this guide is handled through the Virginia Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts. Other family-law matters can follow a different court or procedure.

Find the court for your area.

How Virginia courts decide custody

Virginia law directs the court to give primary consideration to the child's best interests in custody decisions.Sources:20-124.2 Court-ordered custody and visitation arrangements

Key legal sources

Parenting time

Virginia law allows the phrase parenting time to be used synonymously with visitation in a custody or visitation case involving a parent.Sources:20-124.2 Court-ordered custody and visitation arrangements

Key legal sources

How to file

This draft is limited to a parent's new Virginia custody or visitation case with no existing custody or visitation order and no pending divorce, started through the local Court Service Unit of a Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. It excludes divorce, modification, enforcement, emergency, protection-order, nonparent, adoption, guardianship, interstate, and child-support-only matters.Sources:Custody Visitation Support, JDR Manual Juvenile Civil Procedures

  1. Confirm the new J and DR route fits

    Virginia Courts says a new case with no existing custody, visitation, or support order may be initiated through the local Court Service Unit of a Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. Contact the local unit before filing to confirm this narrow route and local intake practice.Sources:Custody Visitation Support, Frequently Asked Questions

  2. Prepare the separate custody or visitation petition

    The current J and DR manual says proceedings for custody or visitation are instituted by a petition through the intake officer, or by an attorney through the clerk, using DC-511. It says separate petitions are used for custody and visitation and for each child. In a child-custody case, the petitioner must also file a completed DC-620 affidavit with the initial pleadings.Sources:JDR Manual Juvenile Civil Procedures, 20-146.20 Information to be submitted to court

  3. Address the filing fee or a fee-waiver request, then await the clerk-issued summons

    The J and DR manual says the $25 custody-or-visitation filing fee is paid to the clerk unless the petitioner is granted in forma pauperis status, and no hearing should be set until the fee is paid or that status is granted. DC-409 is the current court form for asking a J and DR court to proceed without payment of fees or costs. After a case number is assigned, the clerk should issue DC-510 with copies of the petition and DC-620; confirm local intake details with the Court Service Unit.Sources:JDR Manual Juvenile Civil Procedures, 16.1-69.48:5 Fees for services of juvenile and domestic relations district court judges and clerks in certain civil cases, DC-409 Petition for Proceeding in Civil Case Without Payment of Fees or Costs

Official forms

Open the official forms portal.

Free court self-help

Find court self-help near you.

  • Central Virginia Legal Aid Society

    Area served: Specified central Virginia cities and counties

    Lists family matters including custody, support, and divorce among its case-acceptance areas.Sources:Get Help

    Eligibility: The provider says applicants must meet its service-area, citizenship or exception, income, asset, and case-acceptance guidelines; an intake specialist confirms eligibility.

  • Virginia Legal Aid Society

    Area served: 20 counties and 6 cities served by offices in Lynchburg, Farmville, Martinsville, Danville, and Suffolk

    Provides free civil legal assistance to low-income people in its service area and lists custody among its personal and family safety matters.Sources:Our Services

    Eligibility: The provider limits its free civil assistance to low-income people living in, or with legal problems in, its stated service area; confirm current capacity directly.

Fee waivers

For a custody or visitation case, Virginia law allows the court to set the case without the filing fee on account of poverty as provided by Virginia Code § 17.1-606.Sources:16.1-69.48:5 Fees for services of juvenile and domestic relations district court judges and clerks in certain civil cases

Who may qualify

What to do

  1. Use the current J and DR fee-waiver petition if applicable

    DC-409 is the current court form for a Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court request to proceed without payment of fees or costs. The manual says a petitioner whose request is denied must pay the filing fee or receive in forma pauperis status within 90 days of petition issuance; confirm submission details with the local Court Service Unit or clerk.Sources:DC-409 Petition for Proceeding in Civil Case Without Payment of Fees or Costs, JDR Manual Juvenile Civil Procedures

Official fee-waiver forms

Key statute or rule

Attorney cost benchmark

Lawyer fees vary by county, experience, services, and the facts of a case. This state benchmark is context for planning, not a quote.

State and local details to confirm

  • The current J and DR manual says separate petitions should be used for custody and visitation and for each child, and it does not establish local intake or notice rules.Sources:JDR Manual Juvenile Civil Procedures

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