Rule 5A:3. Filing Deadlines; Post Trial Proceedings Below; Timely Filing by Mail; Filings by Incarcerated Individuals; Extension of Time

(a) Certain Filing Deadlines and Extensions. — The times prescribed for filing a notice of appeal (Rules 5A:6 and 5A:11), a petition for appeal (Rule 5A:12), a petition for rehearing (Rule 5A:33), and a request for rehearing en banc (Rule 5A:34) are mandatory, except that an extension of the time to file a notice of appeal, a petition for rehearing, and a petition for rehearing en banc may be granted in the discretion of this Court on motion for good cause shown. The time period for filing the notice of appeal is not extended by the filing of a motion for a new trial, a petition for rehearing, or a like pleading unless the final judgment is modified, vacated, or suspended by the trial court pursuant to Rule 1:1, in which case the time for filing is computed from the date of the final judgment entered following such modification, vacation, or suspension.

(b) Extensions Generally. — Except as provided in paragraph (a) of this Rule, the times prescribed in these Rules for filing papers, except transcripts (Rule 5A:8(a)), may be extended by a judge of the court in which the papers are to be filed on motion for good cause shown. Filing a motion for extension does not toll the applicable deadline.

(c) Filing Deadlines for Motions for Extension . — A motion for extension of time is timely if filed:

(1) within any specific deadline governing motions to extend, see Rules 5A:8(a), 5A:13(a), 5A:19(b), and 5A:19(c); or

(2) if a rule does not provide a specific deadline governing motions to extend, within 30 days after the filing deadline from which an extension is sought.

(d) How to File by Mail in a Timely Manner . — A document filed with the clerk of this Court by a litigant permitted to file non-electronically under Rule 5A:1(c) will be deemed to be timely filed if (1) it is transmitted expense pre-paid to the clerk of this Court by priority, express, registered, or certified mail via the United States Postal Service, or by a third-party commercial carrier for next-day delivery, and (2) if the official receipt therefor be exhibited upon demand of the clerk or any party and it shows such transmission or mailing within the prescribed time limits. This Rule does not apply to documents to be filed in the office of the clerk of the trial court or clerk of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission.

(e) Filings by incarcerated individuals . —

(1) Timeliness. — A paper filed by an individual confined in an institution, including a prison, jail, or the Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation, is timely filed if deposited in the institution's internal mail system on or before the last day for filing. Timely filing of a paper by an individual confined in such an institution may be established by (i) an official stamp of the institution showing that the paper was deposited in the internal mail system on or before the last day for filing, (ii) an official postmark dated on or before the last day for filing, or (iii) a notarized statement signed by an official of the institution showing that the paper was deposited in the internal mail system on or before the last day for filing.

(2) Extension of time for lack of notice .— Notwithstanding Rule 5A:3(a), if an individual confined in an institution did not receive a copy of the final order until after the appellate filing deadline expired because the lower tribunal either (i) mailed the final order to the wrong address or (ii) mailed it 30 days or more after entry, the individual may move for an extension of the filing deadline. The motion must be accompanied by a copy of the lower tribunal envelope displaying the postmark, a copy of the notice of appeal the individual filed in the lower tribunal after receiving the final order, and either

(i) an official copy of the institution's mail records or (ii) a notarized statement signed by an official of the institution showing the date the individual received the order. The motion must be filed no later than 30 days after the individual received the order. In evaluating the motion, the Court may consider record information showing a failure to timely mail the final order and other information that may be supplied by the lower tribunal.

Committee Notes

Last amended by Order dated June 18, 2025; effective August 17, 2025.