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

(a) Filing Deadlines. — The times prescribed for filing a notice of appeal (Rules 5:9(a), 5:14(a), 5:21(a)(3), and 5:21(b)(2)), a petition for review pursuant to Code § 8.01-626 (Rule 5:17A) and a petition for rehearing (Rules 5:20 and 5:37), are mandatory. A single extension not to exceed 30 days may be granted if at least two Justices of the Supreme Court of Virginia concur in a finding that an extension for papers to be filed is warranted on motion for good cause shown.

(a1) Filing Deadlines for Petitions for Appeal. — The times prescribed for filing a petition for appeal (Rules 5:17(a) and 5:21(a)(6)) are mandatory; provided, however, that an extension may be granted, in the discretion of the Supreme Court, on motion for good cause shown.

(b) Post-Trial Proceedings Below and Their Effect on the Notice of Appeal . — The time period for filing a notice of appeal or a petition for appeal where permitted by law 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 or other tribunal, pursuant to Rule 1:1, or a timely petition for rehearing is filed in the Court of Appeals. In any such case, the time for filing a notice of appeal and a petition for appeal is computed from the date of final judgment entered following such modification, vacation, or suspension, or from the date the Court of Appeals refuses a timely petition for rehearing or enters final judgment following the granting of such a petition.

(c) How to File in a Timely Manner. — Filing must be accomplished electronically as provided in Rule 5:1B. For any party exempt from the e-filing requirements under Rule 5:1B(b), any document required to be filed with the clerk of this Court is 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 of this Court 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 or clerk of the State Corporation Commission.

(d) 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 5:5(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.

(e) Extensions Generally . — Except as provided in paragraph (a) of this Rule, a motion for an extension of time is timely if filed either within the original filing deadline or within any extension period specified by the governing rule. Filing the motion within the original filing deadline or within the specified extension period does not toll the original filing deadline or further extend the period of extension.

Committee Notes

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