A motion to reconsider in Virginia asks the same circuit court judge who issued a final order to change, suspend, or vacate it, and Rule 1:1 gives that judge exactly 21 days from the date of entry to act. Not 21 days to file. Twenty-one days for the whole thing: your motion, any briefing, and the judge’s ruling. Miss that window and the order is locked in, with appeal as your only remaining option.
The 21-Day Window Under Rule 1:1
Rule 1:1 of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia says every final judgment, order, and decree “remain[s] under the control of the trial court and may be modified, vacated, or suspended for twenty-one days after the date of entry, and no longer.”1Supreme Court of Virginia. Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia After day 21, the trial court has no power over the case. Anything it tries to do is a nullity.
The clock runs from the date the judge signs the final order, not the date you find out about it. If the order sits in the mail for a week, that week is gone. Watch the docket.
Here is the detail that catches people. Filing the motion inside the 21 days is not enough. The court also has to enter an order acting on it within the same window. In James v. James, the Supreme Court of Virginia held that neither filing a post-judgment motion, nor the court taking it under advisement, nor the motion still being pending on day 21 stops the clock.2CaseMine. James v. James If no order modifying, vacating, or suspending the judgment is entered in time, the motion dies on its own.
There is one way to keep the case open. If the judge enters an order vacating or suspending the final judgment before day 21, the original order is no longer final. When a new final order is later entered, a fresh 21-day period runs from that new date. But the court has to take that step affirmatively and inside the original window. Asking for more time does not create more time.
Grounds That Give the Judge a Reason to Look Again
Judges do not grant reconsideration because someone is unhappy with the result. You have to give the court a concrete reason to revisit its decision. Three categories work in Virginia: newly discovered evidence, a legal or factual error in the ruling, and a change in the controlling law.
Newly Discovered Evidence
Virginia uses a strict four-part test from Odum v. Commonwealth. The evidence must have been discovered after the hearing, must not have been obtainable earlier through reasonable diligence, must not merely duplicate what was already presented, and must be material enough that it would likely change the outcome.3Justia. Odum v. Commonwealth Every element has to be met. The diligence prong is where most motions fail. If the evidence existed during the case and you just did not go looking for it, reconsideration will be denied.
Legal or Factual Error
If the court applied the wrong statute, used the wrong legal standard, or ruled on a demonstrably wrong understanding of the facts, that can justify reconsideration. The error has to be substantial enough to have changed the outcome. Reweighing testimony or second-guessing a judgment call almost never qualifies. Point to something specific: the wrong burden of proof, a misread statute, a sentence exceeding the statutory maximum, a financial calculation that is provably off. General disagreement with the ruling is not an error.
Change in the Applicable Law
If the Supreme Court of Virginia or the Court of Appeals of Virginia issues a decision that changes the legal framework governing your case, you can argue the ruling is now incorrect. The change has to come down, and you have to raise it, inside the 21-day window. A new precedent on day 22 does you no good at the trial level. And the decision has to be genuinely on point, not just related to your issue.
What to Put in the Motion and How to File It
File the motion in the same circuit court that entered the order. The caption identifies the court, case number, and parties. The body states the grounds, cites the authorities you rely on, spells out the relief you want, and attaches any supporting evidence or affidavits.
Rule 4:15 governs motion practice in circuit court and adds several requirements.1Supreme Court of Virginia. Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia Before filing, you have to make a good-faith effort to confer with opposing counsel about whether the dispute can be resolved without the court. A written certification of that effort goes in the motion. A supporting brief of five pages or fewer must be filed and served at least 14 days before the hearing; opposition briefs are due at least seven days before. Longer briefs need their own schedule. The ceiling on any brief is 20 pages, double-spaced, unless the judge allows more.
Because of the 21-day jurisdictional cap, these timelines can collide badly. File on day 15 and there may not be time for full briefing and a ruling. File on day two and the court has room to work.
Rule 1:12 requires that a copy of the motion be served on every counsel of record on or before the day of filing. Hand delivery, commercial same-day or next-day delivery, fax, email where Rule 1:17 or written consent allows, and regular mail are all acceptable.1Supreme Court of Virginia. Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia Include a certificate of service showing the date, method, and recipients. Bad service can get the motion dismissed or delayed past the deadline.
Whether You Get a Hearing
The judge can rule on the papers alone or set a hearing. Under Rule 4:15(d), oral argument on a motion for reconsideration happens only if the court asks for it, not on demand.1Supreme Court of Virginia. Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia So the written filing usually does the heavy lifting. Weak papers may never get argued.
If the motion identifies a real legal error, produces compelling new evidence, or shows a controlling change in the law, the judge can modify or vacate the ruling. If it just recycles the arguments that lost at trial, it will be denied. Judges see repackaged trial briefs constantly, and nothing tanks a motion faster.
And remember: if no order issues within 21 days, the court loses power over the case. The motion is effectively denied by operation of law and the original judgment stands. That is where most reconsideration efforts fail, not on the merits but on a crowded docket.
The Appeal Deadline Keeps Running
This is the trap. Filing a motion to reconsider does not pause or extend the deadline to file a notice of appeal. Rule 5A:6(a) requires a notice of appeal to the Court of Appeals of Virginia within 30 days after entry of the final judgment.1Supreme Court of Virginia. Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia That 30-day clock keeps ticking while your motion sits with the trial judge.4Virginia’s Judicial System. Self-Represented Litigant Guide
Say you file the motion on day 10 and the court denies it on day 25. You have five days left to note your appeal. If you thought the motion bought you extra time, you may already be out of luck. The safe move is to file the notice of appeal alongside the motion to reconsider. If the court grants reconsideration and enters a new order, the appeal period resets from that new order and you can withdraw or amend the appeal as needed.
One exception: if the trial court actually vacates or suspends the final order inside the 21-day window, that order is no longer final and its 30-day appeal period goes with it. A new period starts only when the court enters a replacement final order. Do not count on the court making that move in time. Protect the appeal on your own.
Clerical Errors Are a Separate Track
Virginia Code 8.01-428 lets a court correct clerical mistakes in a judgment or court record at any time, even during a pending appeal with leave of the appellate court. If the written order has a typo, the wrong dollar figure, or an omission that does not reflect what the judge actually decided, that fix is not bound by the 21-day window.5Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 8.01-428 – Setting Aside Default Judgments, Clerical Mistakes, Independent Actions The same statute also allows a court to set aside default judgments on specific grounds (a fraud motion must be filed within two years) and preserves the option of an independent action to challenge a judgment for fraud on the court.
The line is important. Clerical corrections cover true scrivener’s errors, not substantive disagreements with what the court decided. Trying to dress up a merits challenge as a clerical fix will not succeed.
If the Case Was in General District Court
Reconsideration practice under Rule 1:1 belongs to circuit courts. If a general district court decided your case, the path forward is different. General district courts are courts not of record, and Virginia Code 16.1-136 gives you an appeal to circuit court that is heard de novo, meaning the whole case is retried from scratch as if the district court ruling never happened.6Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 16.1-136 – How Appeal Tried Because you get a fresh hearing, filing a motion to reconsider in general district court is rarely the right move. Note the appeal within the time allowed and present your case in circuit court.
Practical Points That Improve the Odds
- File early. The closer to day one, the more room the court has to schedule and rule before the window closes.
- Do not rehash. Reconsideration is not a second closing argument. Focus on what has changed: new evidence, a specific error you can pinpoint, or a recent appellate decision.
- Protect the appeal. File the notice of appeal at the same time as the motion. You can always withdraw it. You cannot file it late.
- Serve immediately. Service problems can give the other side grounds to challenge the motion and burn days you do not have.
- Attach a proposed order. Something the judge can sign with minimal editing reduces the friction that keeps rulings from happening on time.
Self-represented litigants get no procedural break. The Court of Appeals of Virginia’s own guidance says pro se litigants are “responsible for performing all of the functions of a lawyer, including filing documents, making arguments, and adhering to procedural rules.”4Virginia’s Judicial System. Self-Represented Litigant Guide The 21-day window, the service rules, and the appeal deadline apply to you exactly as they apply to any firm.