If you see something labeled “Court Code F” on your Virginia driving record, it almost certainly refers to the old “F&C” notation the DMV used for suspensions tied to unpaid court fines and costs. Virginia eliminated those suspensions in 2019 and cleared the existing ones from its system, so if a court-related hold is still showing on your record today, it is more likely coming from unpaid child support, an unsatisfied motor vehicle accident judgment, or a failure to appear in court. The fastest way to know for sure is to pull your DMV compliance summary, which spells out every active suspension and what it will take to clear it.
What the “F” Code Actually Refers To
Virginia’s DMV doesn’t publish a public glossary that pairs every internal code letter with a plain-English definition, so no official page says “Code F means X.” What the DMV’s own reinstatement material does use repeatedly is the shorthand “F&C,” short for fines and costs. That notation signaled that a court had reported the driver for failing to pay fines and costs assessed in a case, and the DMV had suspended the license until the driver got into compliance.1Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Ending License Suspensions for Unpaid Court Fines and Costs (F&C)
Guessing at the meaning from a single letter wastes time. Pull your compliance summary from the DMV. It lists every active suspension, what triggered it, which court or agency reported it, and the exact steps to clear it.2Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Compliance Summary
Virginia Ended Fines-and-Costs Suspensions in 2019
Effective July 1, 2019, Virginia courts stopped ordering license suspensions for failure to pay court fines and costs. Any F&C suspensions already in the system on that date were removed, and the related reinstatement fees were waived.1Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Ending License Suspensions for Unpaid Court Fines and Costs (F&C) In 2020, the legislature formally repealed Virginia Code 46.2-395, the statute that had authorized them in the first place.3Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 46.2-395 – Repealed
What that means in practice: if the only reason your license was ever suspended was unpaid court fines or costs, the suspension should already be gone. You still owe the underlying fines to the court, but your license should not be held over them. If an F&C-type notation somehow still shows on your record, call the DMV directly, because it may be a data error or an older entry that didn’t clear properly.
What a Court-Related Hold Probably Is Now
Several other court-ordered actions can still put a hold on your license, and these are the ones most often mistaken for the old F&C code.
Unpaid Child Support
Virginia law allows the DMV Commissioner to suspend or refuse to renew the license of a parent who is at least 90 days behind on child support or owes $5,000 or more. A suspension can also be triggered by ignoring a subpoena or summons in a paternity or support case. The DMV will not lift it until the Department of Social Services certifies that the delinquency is paid, or that the parent has entered a qualifying repayment agreement (capped at ten years, with a minimum initial payment of five percent of the balance or $600, whichever is less), or is participating in a court-ordered intensive case monitoring program.4Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 46.2-320.1 – Other Grounds for Suspension; Nonpayment of Child Support If child support is the issue, your first call is the Department of Social Services, not the DMV.
Unsatisfied Motor Vehicle Accident Judgment
If someone obtained a court judgment against you for damages from a motor vehicle accident and you failed to pay it within 30 days, the judgment creditor can ask the DMV to suspend your license, registration, and plates.5Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 46.2-417 – Suspension for Failure to Satisfy Motor Vehicle Accident Judgment The suspension stays in place until the judgment is satisfied, which can mean up to ten years for a general district court judgment and up to twenty years for a circuit court judgment.6Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Article 13 – Suspension of Licenses for Unsatisfied Judgments and After Certain Accidents
There is a path back to the road short of paying the full judgment at once. You can ask the court that entered the judgment to let you pay in installments. If the court agrees and you file proof of financial responsibility (typically an SR-22) with the DMV, your license must be restored while you make the payments.7Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Article 13 – Suspension of Licenses for Unsatisfied Judgments and After Certain Accidents – Section 46.2-421 Miss a payment and the suspension comes back.
Failure to Appear
Missing a required court date on a traffic summons is another route to a DMV suspension. Virginia Code 46.2-936 treats a willful failure to appear as promised under the enforcement provisions of 46.2-938, which can include a suspension.8Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 46.2-936 – Arrest for Misdemeanor; Release on Summons Clearing one of these usually means going back to the court that issued the summons and resolving the underlying charge.
Clearing the Hold and Getting Reinstated
Start with the compliance summary. It is available free through DMV online services and lists every active suspension, the reason behind it, the fees owed to the DMV, any documents you need, and contact information for the court or agency involved.2Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Compliance Summary Treat it as a checklist. Once every item is satisfied, the DMV reinstates driving privileges.9Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Reinstate Driver’s License
The specific steps depend on why your license was suspended:
- For a child support delinquency, work with the Department of Social Services to pay in full or enter a qualifying repayment plan. DSS then notifies the DMV.
- For an unsatisfied accident judgment, pay the judgment or get a court order allowing installment payments and file an SR-22 with the DMV.
- For a failure to appear, contact the court that issued the summons, appear before a judge, and resolve the underlying case. The court then notifies the DMV.
After the underlying issue is resolved, a DMV reinstatement fee still has to be paid before driving privileges actually come back. Build in time for processing. The DMV does not flip a switch the same day a court reports compliance, and if your reinstatement letter directs you to bring documents into an office, don’t assume you can finish the job online.
The reinstatement fee depends on the reason for the suspension:
- $145 for failure to satisfy an accident judgment, failure to pay child support, or failure to maintain automobile liability insurance.10Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Reinstatement Fees
- $175 for driving while suspended for a non-DUI reason, or for violating probation or suspension conditions.
- $220 for DUI-related suspensions or financial responsibility violations.
If more than one suspension order is active, the DMV adds a $5 “multiple order” fee for each order beyond the first.10Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Reinstatement Fees These fees go to the DMV and are separate from fines, court costs, or judgment amounts owed to a court or another party.
Restricted License While You Work Through It
Virginia courts have discretion to grant a restricted license that allows driving for limited purposes during a suspension period, usually to and from work, school, medical appointments, and court-ordered programs.11Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 46.2-392 – Suspension of License or Issuance of a Restricted Permit Not every type of suspension qualifies, and the court is not required to grant one. If your suspension stems from an unsatisfied judgment or a child support delinquency, ask the court whether a restricted license is available in your situation. Driving outside the terms of a restricted license carries the same penalties as driving on a fully suspended one.
Why You Don’t Want to Drive on It
Driving while your license is suspended or revoked in Virginia is a Class 1 misdemeanor.12Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 46.2-301 – Driving While License, Permit, or Privilege to Drive Suspended or Revoked The maximum penalty is up to 12 months in jail, a fine of up to $2,500, or both.13Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 18.2-11 – Punishment for Conviction of Misdemeanor On top of the criminal sentence, the court must extend your suspension for the same period originally imposed, or by up to 90 additional days if the original suspension had no set end date. The reinstatement fee after a driving-while-suspended conviction is $175, in addition to whatever you already owed on the original suspension.10Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. Reinstatement Fees
Officers can see your suspension status instantly during a stop, so the risk is real, not theoretical. A conviction also makes insurance more expensive and can disqualify you from jobs that require a clean driving record.
When to Get Legal Help
Most straightforward holds can be cleared by pulling the compliance summary, satisfying what is owed, and paying the reinstatement fee. Some situations are worth taking to an attorney: contested accident judgments where you dispute liability, child support arrearages tangled up with custody disputes, outstanding failure-to-appear warrants, or records that still show an F&C-type suspension that should have been cleared after the 2019 change. A Virginia traffic or administrative lawyer can file motions for installment payment plans, argue for restricted driving privileges, and push the DMV to remove suspensions that no longer have a legal basis.
If you can’t afford private counsel, Virginia has legal aid organizations that handle license-related cases, especially those involving court debt from criminal or traffic matters. The statewide legal aid referral line at 1-866-534-5243 can point you to one serving your area.