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SB189 • 2026

Consumer debt collection proceedings; signing of pleadings, motions, and other papers.

An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 8.01-271.2, relating to consumer debt collection proceedings; signing of pleadings, motions, and other papers.

Enacted

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

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

Plain English Breakdown

The exact impact on court procedures is unclear until the effective date.

Rules for Signing Legal Papers in Debt Collection Cases

This law requires lawyers to include their full name, business address, and phone number when filing papers related to collecting consumer debts.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires lawyers handling debt collection cases to put their full names on all legal documents.
  • Lawyers must also write down their business addresses and phone numbers where they can be reached directly by the court or the person who owes money.
  • If a lawyer forgets to include this information, the document is considered incomplete and needs to be fixed within 21 days.
  • If the mistake isn't corrected in time, the legal paper becomes invalid and won’t be used in court.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Lawyers who handle debt collection cases
  • People or businesses that owe money to others

Terms To Know

consumer debt
Money owed by an individual for personal, family, or household purposes.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law only applies to civil actions involving consumer debts.
  • It does not affect criminal cases or other types of legal proceedings.
  • The exact impact on court procedures is unclear until the effective date.

Amendments

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

SB189AHC1

2026-02-18 • Committee

Civil Subcommittee Amendment

Plain English: The amendment changes how certain legal documents are signed and defines what 'consumer debt' means.

  • Changes the word 'notion' to 'motion' in the bill text.
  • Adds a definition for 'consumer debt', which includes obligations that arise from personal, family, or household transactions.
  • The amendment's full impact on legal procedures is not fully explained beyond these changes.
SB189AH1

2026-03-02 • Committee

Courts of Justice Amendment

Plain English: The amendment changes how certain legal documents are signed and defines what 'consumer debt' means.

  • Changes the word 'notion' to 'motion' in the bill text.
  • Adds a definition for 'consumer debt', which includes obligations that arise from personal, family, or household transactions.
  • The amendment's technical instructions might be hard to understand without seeing the original bill text.
SB189EDOC

2026-03-04 • House

House Amendments

Plain English: The amendment changes how certain legal documents are signed and defines what 'consumer debt' means.

  • Changes the word 'notion' to 'motion' in the bill text.
  • Adds a definition for 'consumer debt', which includes obligations that arise from personal, family, or household transactions.
  • The amendment's technical changes might be hard to understand without legal context.
SB189AS1

2026-02-11 • Member

Senator Williams Graves Amendment

Plain English: The amendment adds a new section to the bill that sets a specific date for when the bill's rules will start.

  • Adds a clause stating that all provisions of SB189 will take effect on January 1, 2027.
  • The amendment does not provide details about what happens before January 1, 2027, or how the existing rules for consumer debt collection proceedings are handled until then.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-08 Governor

    Approved by Governor-Chapter489 (Effective 1/1/2027)

  2. 2026-04-08 Governor

    Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0489)

  3. 2026-03-14 Senate

    Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 14, 2026

  4. 2026-03-14 Governor

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

  5. 2026-03-12 House

    Signed by Speaker

  6. 2026-03-12 Senate

    Signed by President

  7. 2026-03-12 Senate

    Enrolled

  8. 2026-03-12 Senate

    Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB189ER)

  9. 2026-03-12 Senate

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB189)

  10. 2026-03-09 Senate

    Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB189)

  11. 2026-03-06 Senate

    House amendments agreed to by Senate

  12. 2026-03-06 Senate

    House amendments agreed to by Senate (37-Y 3-N 0-A)

  13. 2026-03-04 House

    Read third time

  14. 2026-03-04 House

    committee amendments agreed to

  15. 2026-03-04 House

    Engrossed by House as amended

  16. 2026-03-04 House

    Passed House with amendments Block Vote (97-Y 0-N 0-A)

  17. 2026-03-04 House

    Reconsideration of passage agreed to by House

  18. 2026-03-04 House

    Passed House with amendments Block Vote (99-Y 0-N 0-A)

  19. 2026-03-03 House

    Read second time

  20. 2026-03-02 Courts of Justice

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

  21. 2026-02-18 Civil

    Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (10-Y 0-N)

  22. 2026-02-17 House

    Placed on Calendar

  23. 2026-02-17 Courts of Justice

    Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice

  24. 2026-02-17 Civil

    Assigned HCJ sub: Civil

  25. 2026-02-17 House

    Read first time

  26. 2026-02-12 Senate

    Read third time and passed Senate (36-Y 4-N 0-A)

  27. 2026-02-11 Senate

    Read second time

  28. 2026-02-11 Senate

    Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute as amended (Voice Vote)

  29. 2026-02-11 Senate

    Engrossed by Senate as amended

  30. 2026-02-11 Courts of Justice

    Committee substitute agreed to (Voice Vote)

  31. 2026-02-11 Senate

    Reading of amendment waived (Voice Vote)

  32. 2026-02-11 Senate

    Senator Williams Graves Amendment agreed to (Voice Vote)

  33. 2026-02-11 Senate

    Engrossed by Senate (Voice Vote)

  34. 2026-02-11 Senate

    Floor offered

  35. 2026-02-10 Senate

    Rules suspended

  36. 2026-02-10 Senate

    Passed by for the day

  37. 2026-02-10 Courts of Justice

    Committee substitute printed 26107486D-S1

  38. 2026-02-10 Senate

    Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A)

  39. 2026-02-10 Senate

    Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

  40. 2026-02-09 Courts of Justice

    Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (10-Y 1-N 3-A)

  41. 2026-02-09 Senate

    Senate committee offered

  42. 2026-01-21 General Laws and Technology

    Rereferred from General Laws and Technology to Courts of Justice (14-Y 0-N)

  43. 2026-01-09 Senate

    Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101335D

Official Summary Text

Consumer debt collection proceedings; signing of pleadings, motions, and other papers.
Requires the attorney of record in any civil action to collect or enforce a consumer debt, as defined in the bill, to include in the initial pleading or any subsequent filing such attorney's (i) full name; (ii) business address; and (iii) business telephone number. The bill provides that any such pleading, motion, or other paper not in compliance with such provisions is defective and provides that if such defect is not properly cured within 21 days after it is brought to the attention of the pleader or movant, such pleading, motion, or other paper is invalid and shall be stricken. The bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2027.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered
8.01-271.2
, relating to consumer debt collection proceedings; signing of pleadings, motions, and other papers.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered
8.01-271.2
as follows:
§
8.01-271.2
. Signing of pleadings, motions, and other papers in consumer debt collection proceedings.
In addition to any other requirement set forth in §
8.01-271.1
, in any civil action to collect or enforce a consumer debt, the attorney of record shall include in the initial pleading and any subsequent filing the name of the attorney of record, the attorney's business address, and the attorney's business telephone number where such attorney can be reached directly by the court and the consumer or the consumer's attorney. If such pleading, motion, or other paper is not signed in compliance with this section, it is defective. Such a defect shall render the pleading, motion, or other paper voidable. If a signature defect is not timely and properly cured after it is brought to the attention of the pleader or movant, the pleading, motion, or other paper is invalid and shall be stricken. A signature defect shall be cured within 21 days after it is brought to the attention of the pleader or movant. If a signature defect is timely and properly cured, the pleading, motion, or other paper shall be valid and relate back to the date it was originally served or filed. For purposes of this section, the summons shall not be deemed an initial pleading.
For purposes of this section, "consumer debt" means an obligation or alleged obligation of an individual to pay money that arises out of a transaction in which the money, property, insurance, or service that is the subject of the transaction is primarily for a personal, family, or household purpose.
2. That the provisions of this act shall become effective on January 1, 2027.