Records and Requests
Who holds which Virginia record — courts, DMV, State Police — how to request each one, and what can be expunged or sealed.
3 guides
The document a reader wants is rarely the one they ask for. A court file comes from the clerk of the court that heard the case, under § 16.1-69.54:1 for a district court or § 17.1-208 for a circuit court, with a 30-day outer limit and costs payable in advance. A driving record comes from the DMV under § 46.2-208 and shows something different: convictions the courts reported, demerit points and the license's status. Neither is a Freedom of Information Act request — FOIA (§ 2.2-3704) reaches DMV and the police, not the judiciary.
These pages set out who to ask for what, what each record contains, how long entries last, and the narrow circumstances in which § 19.2-392.2 allows a charge to be expunged.
All guides
- Virginia Public Records: Which Office Holds Yours, and How to Ask
Virginia public records are split across the courts, the DMV and the police, each with its own statute and its own deadline. Who to ask, and what it costs.
- How to Expunge a Record in Virginia, and When You Cannot
How to expunge a record in VA: the charge must have ended in acquittal, nolle prosequi or dismissal. A conviction never qualifies, nor a reduced charge.
- Virginia Driving Records: What They Show and Who Can See Them
Virginia driving records come from the DMV, not the courts. What is on one, how long entries stay, who else can obtain it, and how to request your own.