Alexandria Circuit Court Motions Day: Filing, Praecipe, and Hearings

Alexandria Circuit Court holds its motions day for civil cases remotely by Microsoft Teams, generally on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month, with a 10:00 a.m. docket for shorter matters and a 2:00 p.m. docket for longer ones. Criminal motions are not heard on Wednesdays at all; they go on designated Thursday “Commonwealth Day” dockets. Exact dates shift around holidays, so confirm each one against the court’s published calendar at alexandriava.gov/CircuitCourt before you file anything.¹

When Motions Are Heard

The civil 10:00 a.m. docket is for matters that can be fully argued in 25 minutes or less and whose combined filings stay within the court’s five-page limit. Anything longer than 25 minutes, or with filings that exceed five pages, moves to the 2:00 p.m. docket or must be set for a date-certain in-person hearing.²

Two business days before each motions day, the court posts the docket showing which cases will be heard and which judge is assigned to each.¹

Criminal Commonwealth Day

Criminal matters follow their own Thursday schedule, and the dates do not track a simple second-and-fourth pattern. There are two flavors:

First Thursday (10:00 a.m.): A shorter docket with one judge, limited to matters lasting one hour or less. Bond motions, continuances, plea dispositions scheduled within a week of trial, competency evaluations, expert-funds requests, set-date hearings, and similar procedural items are allowed. Substantive and non-substantive motions cannot be heard on a First Thursday.
Regular CW Day (10:00 a.m.): A longer docket with two or three judges. Substantive and non-substantive motions up to two hours may be scheduled, along with bond motions, set dates, and plea dispositions. Anything expected to run over two hours must be set for a non-Thursday date.

The 2026 calendar lists the specific dates for each type.³

Filing Deadlines

Missing a deadline pulls your motion from the docket. If a deadline falls on a holiday, it shifts back one day for each day the court is closed.¹

Civil Motions Day

The memorandum in support of the motion is due two weeks before the hearing. The opposition or response is due one week before. Physical exhibits must be delivered to the fourth-floor drop box at 520 King Street by 4:00 p.m. on the Friday before the hearing.¹

Criminal CW Day

Criminal deadlines depend on what kind of motion you are filing:

Substantive motions: Filed by 12:00 p.m. on the Friday two weeks before the hearing. Response due by 12:00 p.m. on the Friday one week before.
Non-substantive motions: Filed by 12:00 p.m. on the Friday one week before. Response due by 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday of the hearing week.
Add-on motions (bond motions, set dates, plea dispositions, continuances, and uncontested probation violations only): Due by 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday for publication on the Wednesday docket.

Neither substantive nor non-substantive criminal motions may be heard on a First Thursday.⁴

What to File

The motion itself states what you are asking the court to do and why. If your argument depends on legal authority, attach a memorandum of points and authorities citing the relevant statutes or case law. The court also strongly prefers a proposed order filed alongside the praecipe, so the judge can sign it promptly if the ruling goes your way.¹

Page Limit

Effective with the April 22, 2026 motions day, the combined total for motions, memoranda, responses, and oppositions is capped at five pages in 12-point, double-spaced font. That cap applies to the moving party’s package as a whole, so a one-page motion plus a four-page memorandum hits the ceiling. If your filings run longer, the matter must be heard on a date-certain or placed on the 2:00 p.m. remote docket.¹

The Praecipe

A praecipe is the form asking the clerk to place your motion on a specific motions day docket. As of 2026, it must contain three things or the court will reject it and remove the motion from the docket:

A statement that the matter will be heard remotely by Microsoft Teams and that the court will email a meeting link and phone number to all parties two business days before the hearing.
Working email addresses for the moving party, the opposing party or their counsel, and any interested parties.
A Rule 4:15(b) certification that you attempted in good faith to resolve the dispute with the other side before bringing it to court.

The court’s updated praecipe form, revised March 2026, already includes this required language. Using it avoids rejection.²

If you don’t have the opposing party’s email address but can confirm they have phone access, you can still schedule remotely. When the court emails the meeting link, forward the call-in number to the other side yourself. If you can’t confirm any contact method, call the court administrator at (703) 746-4123 to schedule an in-person hearing on a non-motions-day date.²

Signing Your Motion

Under Virginia Code 8.01-271.1, whoever signs the motion certifies they have read it, that it is well-grounded in fact and supported by existing law or a good-faith argument for changing the law, and that it is not filed to harass or cause unnecessary delay. The court is required to impose sanctions for violations, which can include ordering the signer to pay the other side’s reasonable expenses and attorney fees.⁵

Where and How to File

The Alexandria Circuit Court clerk’s office does not accept electronic filing or emailed documents. All originals must be filed in person at Room 307, 520 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. The clerk’s office phone is (703) 746-4044.⁶

On the same day you file in Room 307, you must deliver a mandatory copy to the judges’ chambers through the fourth-floor drop box. Chambers does not accept emailed documents either. You also need to serve a copy on opposing counsel or the opposing party. The fourth-floor copies are working copies for the judge; the clerk enters the case from the original filed downstairs.¹

Service and Conferral

Virginia Supreme Court Rule 4:15 requires reasonable written notice of the motion on all counsel of record at least seven days before the hearing, absent leave of court. Before filing, make a reasonable effort to confer with the other side to try to resolve the dispute without court action and to agree on a hearing date. The Rule 4:15(b) certification on the praecipe confirms you did this.⁷

Include a certificate of service with your filing. It should state what documents you served, when you served them, how you delivered them (hand delivery, first-class mail, or another agreed method), and who received them. Without a valid certificate, the court may refuse to hear the motion because the opposing party has not been shown to have had notice.

The Remote Hearing

Civil motions day hearings are held remotely until further notice. Two business days before the hearing, the court emails a Microsoft Teams meeting link and a telephone call-in number to all parties. You can attend two ways:

Click the Teams link from the court’s email. If you don’t already have the Teams app, download it free from microsoft.com.
Dial the phone number from the meeting invitation and enter the access code for audio-only attendance.

Check the posted docket to confirm your case is listed and which judge is assigned.¹

Trials and other non-motions-day hearings are still held in person on the fourth floor of the courthouse at 520 King Street. If a civil motion cannot be heard remotely because the opposing party lacks both email and phone access, the court will schedule an in-person hearing on a separate date.²

The judge starts with a docket call to confirm who is present. When your case is called, the moving party presents first, then the opposing side. On the 10:00 a.m. civil docket, the entire argument, including questions from the bench, must fit within 25 minutes. Lead with your strongest point, skip background the judge can read in your memo, and answer questions directly. After hearing both sides, the judge usually rules from the bench, and may sign your proposed order that day or direct you to submit a revised one.

Motions Filed Close to Trial

If you need to bring a motion shortly before trial rather than waiting for a regular motions day, the requirements tighten. The motion must be filed no later than two business days before the trial date. Deliver a mandatory copy to the fourth-floor drop box and call judges’ chambers at (703) 746-4123 to alert them. Even then, the judge will hear the motion only for good cause.¹

1
City of Alexandria, VA. Circuit Court Judges
2
Alexandria Circuit Court. Alexandria Circuit Court – Remote Motions Day Guidance
3
City of Alexandria. Alexandria Circuit Court 2026 Calendar
4
City of Alexandria, VA. Circuit Court Local Procedures – Criminal
5
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 8.01-271.1 – Signing of Pleadings, Motions, and Other Papers; Oral Motions; Sanctions
6
City of Alexandria, VA. Clerk of Court Contact Information
7
Virginia’s Judicial System. Rules of Supreme Court of Virginia