Virginia Judgment Satisfaction: How to Mark a Judgment Paid and Release Liens

You Collected — Now You Have a Legal Obligation to Close It Out

Once a Virginia judgment is fully paid, the creditor has a mandatory duty under Va. Code §§ 8.01-454 and 16.1-94.01 to formally record the satisfaction. This isn't optional courtesy — it's a statutory requirement with a hard deadline and consequences for ignoring it.

The 30-Day Filing Deadline

Within 30 days of receiving full payment or satisfaction of the judgment, you must file a written Notice of Satisfaction with the court clerk. The specific form depends on which court holds the judgment:

• General District Court: File Form DC-458 (Notice of Satisfaction)
• Circuit Court: File Form CC-1463 (Authorization for Entry of Satisfaction of Judgment / Release of Judgment Lien)

If you docketed the judgment in Circuit Court to create a real estate lien, you need to file satisfaction in both courts — the GDC where the judgment originated and every Circuit Court where you recorded an abstract.

What the Clerk Does With It

When you file the satisfaction form, the clerk endorses the original court papers and updates the judgment lien docket to reflect complete payment. For Circuit Court liens, this releases the encumbrance from the debtor's real property title — critical for the debtor to sell or refinance.

What Happens If You Don't File

If you fail to file within 30 days, the debtor can force the issue by filing Form DC-459 (Motion for Judgment to Be Marked Satisfied) under Va. Code § 8.01-454. The debtor must serve you with written notice of the motion at least 10 days before the hearing date.

If the court finds that the judgment was fully paid and you neglected to release it, the judge will order the judgment marked satisfied — and may tax court costs against you for the delinquent filing. That means the debtor's filing fees and service costs come out of your pocket.

Stop Active Collection Immediately

If you have ongoing enforcement processes — a wage garnishment withholding from the debtor's paycheck, a pending bank garnishment — you must immediately notify the garnishee (employer or bank) and the court clerk to cease all collection activity when you receive full payment.

Continuing to collect through a garnishment after the judgment is fully satisfied constitutes illegal over-collection. Any funds received after full payment must be returned to the debtor.

Partial Satisfaction

The formal satisfaction forms (DC-458, CC-1463) are for full satisfaction. For partial payments, keep your payment ledger current and ask the clerk about any procedure for recording a partial payment.

Keep your payment ledger current. If enforcement actions are still outstanding and partial payments arrive, track them under the American Rule: applied first to accrued interest, then court costs, then principal.

The Virginia judgment collection guide walks through the complete satisfaction workflow, including how to handle Circuit Court lien releases in multiple jurisdictions and what to do if a debtor disputes whether the judgment has been fully paid.

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