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HB1382 • 2026

Members of U.S. Armed Forces, etc.; domicile & residential requirements for annulment, etc.

An Act to amend and reenact § 20-97 of the Code of Virginia, relating to domicile and residential requirements for annulment, affirmance, or divorce; members of the Armed Forces of the United States and civilian employees of the United States; return from station.

Labor
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Carnegie
Last action
2026-04-08
Official status
Acts of Assembly Chapter
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details about the exact date this law will start or mention living on ships with home ports in Virginia. The summary also doesn't include information about setting up a separate domicile upon separation of a married couple.

Domicile Requirements for Military Personnel

This act changes Virginia's law about where people need to live to get an annulment, affirmation of marriage, or divorce if they are in the military or work for the U.S. government and have returned from being stationed abroad.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the rules so that members of the U.S. Armed Forces or civilian employees of the United States who return to Virginia after being stationed overseas can get an annulment, affirmation of marriage, or divorce if they lived in Virginia for six months before going overseas.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Members of the U.S. Armed Forces
  • Civilian employees of the United States government

Terms To Know

Domicile
The place where a person has their permanent home.
Bona fide resident
A person who lives somewhere honestly and openly, not just for short-term reasons.

Limits and Unknowns

  • Does not specify the exact date when this law will start.
  • Only applies to people stationed or living in Virginia before going overseas.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HB1382AS1

2026-03-09 • Committee

Courts of Justice Amendment

Plain English: The amendment removes the phrase 'upon suit' from a specific section of Virginia's Code of Virginia.

  • Removes the words 'upon suit' from the text.
  • It is unclear what removing these two words will change in practice without more context about how they were used originally.
HB1382EDOC

2026-03-10 • Senate

Senate Amendment

Plain English: The amendment removes the phrase 'upon suit' from a specific section of Virginia's Code of Justice.

  • Removes the words 'upon suit' from the text.
  • It is unclear what removing these two words will change in practice without more context about how they were used originally.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-08 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter 469 (effective 7/1/2026)

  2. 2026-04-08 Governor

    Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0469)

  3. 2026-03-31 House

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026

  4. 2026-03-31 Governor

    Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026

  5. 2026-03-31 House

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026

  6. 2026-03-31 Governor

    Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026

  7. 2026-03-31 House

    Signed by Speaker

  8. 2026-03-31 House

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026

  9. 2026-03-31 Governor

    Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026

  10. 2026-03-31 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1382)

  11. 2026-03-30 Senate

    Signed by President

  12. 2026-03-30 House

    Enrolled

  13. 2026-03-30 House

    Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB1382ER)

  14. 2026-03-11 House

    Senate amendment agreed to by House (97-Y 2-N 0-A)

  15. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Read third time

  16. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Read third time

  17. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Engrossed by Senate as amended

  18. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Passed Senate with amendment Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

  19. 2026-03-10 Courts of Justice

    Courts of Justice Amendment agreed to

  20. 2026-03-10 Senate

    Passed Senate with substitute Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

  21. 2026-03-09 Senate

    Rules suspended

  22. 2026-03-09 Senate

    Passed by for the day

  23. 2026-03-09 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

  24. 2026-03-09 Senate

    Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

  25. 2026-03-05 Courts of Justice

    Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment (14-Y 0-N)

  26. 2026-02-18 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading)

  27. 2026-02-18 Courts of Justice

    Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

  28. 2026-02-17 House

    Read third time and passed House Block Vote (97-Y 0-N 0-A)

  29. 2026-02-16 House

    Read second time and engrossed

  30. 2026-02-13 House

    Read first time

  31. 2026-02-11 Courts of Justice

    Reported from Courts of Justice (22-Y 0-N)

  32. 2026-02-09 Civil

    Subcommittee recommends reporting (10-Y 0-N)

  33. 2026-02-05 Civil

    Assigned HCJ sub: Civil

  34. 2026-02-03 House

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB1382)

  35. 2026-01-21 House

    Presented and ordered printed 26103535D

  36. 2026-01-21 Courts of Justice

    Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

Official Summary Text

Domicile and residential requirements for annulment, affirmance, or divorce; members of the Armed Forces of the United States and civilian employees of the United States; return from station.
Provides that, for the purposes of domicile requirements for annulment, affirmance, or divorce, any member of the Armed Forces of the United States or any civilian employee of the United States, including any foreign service officer, who (i) at the time the suit is filed, or immediately preceding such suit, has returned to the Commonwealth following being stationed in any territory or foreign country and (ii) resided or lived in in the Commonwealth for the six-month period immediately preceding his being stationed in such territory or country shall be deemed to have been domiciled in and to have been a bona fide resident of the Commonwealth during the six months preceding the filing of a suit for annulment or divorce.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
An Act to amend and reenact §
20-97
of the Code of Virginia, relating to domicile and residential requirements for annulment, affirmance, or divorce; members of the Armed Forces of the United States and civilian employees of the United States; return from station.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §
20-97
of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§
20-97
. Domicile and residential requirements for suits for annulment, affirmance, or divorce.
No suit for annulling a marriage or for divorce shall be maintainable, unless one of the parties was at the time of the filing of the suit and had been for at least six months preceding the filing of the suit an actual bona fide resident and domiciliary of the Commonwealth, nor shall any suit for affirming a marriage be maintainable, unless one of the parties be domiciled in, and is and has been an actual bona fide resident of, the Commonwealth at the time of filing such suit.
For the purposes of this section only:
1. If a member of the Armed Forces of the United States has been stationed or resided in the Commonwealth and has lived for a period of six months or more in the Commonwealth next preceding the filing of the suit, then such person shall be presumed to be domiciled in and to have been a bona fide resident of the Commonwealth during such period of time.
2. Being stationed or residing in the Commonwealth includes
, but is not limited to,
a member of the
armed forces
Armed Forces
being stationed or residing upon a ship having its home port in the Commonwealth or at an air, naval, or military base located within the Commonwealth over which the United States enjoys exclusive federal jurisdiction.
3. Any member of the Armed Forces of the United States or any civilian employee of the United States, including any foreign service officer, who (i) at the time the suit is filed is, or immediately preceding such suit was, stationed in any territory or foreign country
, or at the time the suit is filed, or immediately preceding such suit, has returned to the Commonwealth following being stationed in any territory or foreign country
and (ii)
was domiciled
resided or lived
in the Commonwealth for the six-month period immediately preceding his being stationed in such territory or country shall be deemed to have been domiciled in and to have been a bona fide resident of the Commonwealth during the six months preceding the filing of a suit for annulment or divorce.
4. Upon separation of a married couple, either spouse may establish his own and separate domicile, though the separation may have been caused under such circumstances as would entitle such spouse to a divorce or annulment.