How to Fill Out and File Virginia Form DC-421: Summons for Unlawful Detainer

Virginia Form DC-421, the Summons for Unlawful Detainer, is the one-page form you file in General District Court to start an eviction after a tenant ignores a proper termination notice. You can download it as a fillable PDF from the Virginia Judicial System’s website or pick one up at any General District Court clerk’s office.¹ Filing costs $36, and for cases under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act the court schedules the first hearing within 21 days.²

Serve the Termination Notice First

You cannot file DC-421 until the tenant has received a written termination notice and the notice period has run out. The judge will not grant possession unless you bring a copy of that notice to the hearing.² The notice depends on why you are evicting:

Unpaid rent: a five-day pay-or-quit notice. If the tenant doesn’t pay within five days, you can terminate and file.³
Lease violation that can be fixed: a 30-day notice identifying the breach. The tenant has 21 days to cure; if they don’t, the lease terminates on the date in the notice, which must be at least 30 days out.³
Non-remediable breach: a 30-day notice with no cure period.
Repeat of the same breach the tenant already cured: a 30-day notice referencing the earlier notice, with no second cure period.
Criminal or willful act threatening health or safety: immediate termination.³
Month-to-month tenancy with no fault: at least 30 days before the next rent due date, unless the lease sets a different period.³

Keep your copy. The notice is the first exhibit the judge will ask for.

Filling Out the Form

DC-421 is a single page. You can type into the PDF and print, or write on a blank copy from the clerk.⁴ Work through it section by section.

Court name and address. Use the General District Court in the city or county where the rental property sits. File in the wrong jurisdiction and the case gets dismissed.

Plaintiff. Your full legal name (last, first, middle) and address. If multiple owners or a property management company are filing together, list each one.

Defendants. Every adult tenant you want removed, using the legal names from the lease. Leave a tenant off and the court’s order won’t cover that person.

Property. The street address of the unit.

Reason for eviction. Check the box for unpaid rent or write in the specific lease violation. The form also has a checkbox for tenancies outside the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act and a line to confirm you gave the required notices.

Money claimed. If you want a money judgment along with possession, fill in the unpaid rent for a specific period, late fees, other damages the lease allows, applicable interest rate and start date, court costs, civil recovery, and attorney’s fees. Leave these blank if you only want possession.

The money section is where most filings go wrong. Only list amounts your lease actually authorizes; the judge compares your numbers against the rental agreement. If you aren’t sure whether your lease permits attorney’s fees or the late-fee amount you’re claiming, check before you file. Inflated numbers get cut and can damage your credibility at the hearing.

Filing at the Clerk’s Office

Take the completed form to the clerk’s office at the General District Court for the property’s jurisdiction. Bring a sworn statement (affidavit) describing the facts that justify removing the tenant; the statute requires it before the clerk or magistrate can issue the summons.²

The filing fee is $36.⁵ Sheriff’s service runs $12 per defendant.⁶ For two tenants, expect $60 total ($36 plus two $12 service fees). Private process servers are available and are often faster, though they cost more.

If you can’t afford the fees, Virginia allows a fee waiver petition. Eligibility turns on whether you receive public assistance or meet income thresholds based on household size.⁷

Once the clerk accepts your filing, they assign a return date for the first hearing. Under the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, that date must fall within 21 days of filing, and in no event later than 30 days.²

Getting the Summons Served

The summons must reach the tenant at least 10 days before the return date.² With a hearing set 21 days out, that window is tight. Get the paperwork to the sheriff promptly. Virginia allows three service methods:⁸

Personal delivery: handing the papers to the tenant.
Substituted service: if the tenant isn’t home, leaving the papers with a household member at least 16 years old and telling that person what the papers are.
Posting and mailing: if neither of the above works, posting on the front door or main entrance and mailing a copy. The mailing must happen at least 10 days before any default judgment, and the server files a certificate of mailing with the clerk.

Whoever serves the papers notes the method and date on the originals and files a return of service with the court. Without that return, the judge has no proof the tenant was notified and the case stalls. If service isn’t completed before the 10-day cutoff, the court may strike the case from the docket.

The Return Date

The return date is a status hearing, not a full trial. Bring your copy of the termination notice, the lease, a ledger of rent owed, and any written communications with the tenant. Bring documentation for any additional damages you’re claiming.

If the tenant doesn’t appear after proper service, you can ask for a default judgment. Virginia law lets you prove the amounts owed through an affidavit or sworn testimony covering rent, late charges, attorney fees, and other lease-authorized charges.² Before the judge enters a default, you must file an affidavit stating whether the tenant is an active-duty servicemember. The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act requires this in every case where the defendant doesn’t appear, and a false affidavit is a federal crime punishable by up to one year in prison.⁹ You can check military status for free through the Department of Defense’s SCRA website.

If the tenant appears and contests the eviction, the judge may order both sides to file written clarifications (a bill of particulars from you, grounds of defense from the tenant) with set deadlines, then schedule a trial.¹⁰ Missing either deadline can trigger summary judgment for the other side.

If the Tenant Pays at the Hearing

In a case based only on unpaid rent, the tenant can stop the eviction by paying everything owed (rent, late fees, attorney fees, and court costs) at or before the first return date. This right of redemption is written into Virginia law, not left to the judge’s discretion.¹¹

If the tenant can’t pay in full but presents a redemption tender (a written commitment from a local government agency or nonprofit to pay the full amount), the court continues the case for 10 days. If you receive full payment within that window, the case is dismissed. If payment doesn’t arrive, the court grants you judgment and immediate possession without further evidence.³

There is no general cap on how often a tenant may redeem. If you own four or fewer rental units (or up to a 10 percent interest in four or fewer units), you can limit the tenant to one redemption per lease period, as long as you gave written notice of that limit.¹¹ Redemption does not apply to evictions based on lease violations other than nonpayment.

After You Win: The Writ of Eviction

A judgment in your favor doesn’t return the property immediately. The tenant has 10 days to appeal to Circuit Court, and the judgment can’t be enforced during that window.¹²

If no appeal is filed, go back to the clerk and request a Writ of Eviction (sometimes called a Writ of Possession). The order of possession is good for 180 days from the date granted.¹³ The sheriff’s fee to serve the writ is $25, plus $12 for each additional defendant.⁶

Before removing the tenant, the sheriff must give at least 72 hours’ notice of the date and time, along with information about the tenant’s legal rights. The sheriff should execute the writ within 15 calendar days of receiving it, or as soon as practicable, and in no event later than 30 days after the writ was issued.¹³ The writ reaches every tenant named, their authorized occupants, guests, and any trespassers. If the door is locked and no one opens, the sheriff can use reasonable force to enter after announcing the purpose.

1
Virginia Court System. General District Court Civil Forms
2
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 8.01 – Article 13 Unlawful Entry and Detainer
3
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code Title 55.1 – Article 5 Landlord Remedies
4
Virginia Judicial System. Summons for Unlawful Detainer
5
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 16.1-69.48:2 – Fees for Services of District Court Judges and Clerks
6
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 17.1-272 – Process and Service Fees Generally
7
Virginia Judicial System Court Self-Help. Filing Fees and Waivers
8
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 8.01-296 – Manner of Serving Process Upon Natural Persons
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Default Judgments
10
Virginia Judicial System. Bill of Particulars – Form DC-441
11
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 55.1-1250 – Landlord’s Acceptance of Rent With Reservation
12
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 8.01-129 – Appeal From Judgment of General District Court
13
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 8.01-470 – Writs on Judgments for Specific Property