Virginia Municipal Court Information

The state of Virginia boasts the oldest judicial system in the country. At present the judicial system is divided into four levels. The Supreme Court of the state occupies the top of the judicial pyramid. It is followed by the Court of Appeals, the Circuit Courts and the General District Courts, and the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts. The courts are spread across the state and are placed under 31 judicial circuits.

Virginia has a unified district court system. There is no Virginia Municipal Court as the issues covered by the court are looked into by the district courts in the state. The Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Courts and the General District Courts are located in practically every county.  Both these courts are trial courts and have a limited jurisdiction in both criminal and civil matters.

The General District Court in the state has jurisdiction over violations of the laws, ordinances and by-laws of the respective city or county and misdemeanors as stated by the laws of the state. Minor offenses are often punished with fines. Civil cases worth an amount not more than $4,500 are to be filed in the district courts only.  The court also conducts hearings on traffic violations, both DUI and DWI cases, child custody and support, traffic infractions, and ordinance violations. There are no jury trials held in the district courts and a single judge presides over the hearings.

Contact Information for Virginia Municipal Courts

You can find information about the General District Court in each of the counties by visiting http://www.courts.state.va.us/courts/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/gd.html. If you want to find out the address of any of the county General District Courts, visit http://www.courts.state.va.us/directories/dist.pdf. Here you will find the addresses of the general district courts, their respective judicial districts, the presiding judge of the court, the working hours of the clerk and the contact details along with the court schedule. For example, contact information for Accomack County is:

Accomack GD
2A Judicial District
P.O Box 276
23371 Front Street
Accomack, VA 23301

The court is headed by Gordon S. Vincent. The clerk of the court can be reached at

Francina Violet Charm
(757) 787-0923 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

To access forms of the General District court and their respective costs you can browse through the online list at http://www.courts.state.va.us/forms/district/dc_forms_list.pdf. Information on how to fill out the forms can be found at http://www.courts.state.va.us/courtadmin/aoc/legalresearch/resources/manuals/dcforms/districtcourtformsmanual.pdf.

Juvenile and Domestic Courts in Virginia

The Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court handles juvenile delinquency, foster care, spousal support, neglected children, and underage traffic violations. The location for each county’s Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court can be obtained from http://www.courts.state.va.us/courts/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/jdr.html. You will find a list of the counties. Click on the name of the county and you should be redirected to a page containing the contact details, working hours and mailing address.

Office of the Magistrate in Virginia

The lower rung of the Virginia judicial system structure comprises the office of the magistrate. They are the first point of contact in the judicial system for the ordinary people.

The Magistrate’s office is responsible for hearing complaints filed by citizens, sheriffs, deputies and police officers. The Magistrate’s office also performs functions like the issuance of arrest and search warrants, medical custody orders, summons, bonds, subpoenas, emergency protective orders and temporary detention orders. The magistrate also has the power to take prepayments in cases of minor misdemeanors and traffic infractions and also to preside over appeals for bail. 

Specific Municipal Courts in Virginia:

Fairfax Court

Portsmouth Court

Virginia Beach Court