Virginia’s new probation violation laws, built around Code § 19.2-306.1, bar any active jail time for a first technical violation, cap a second at 14 days, and only let a judge revoke your full suspended sentence once you reach a third technical violation or pick up a new criminal conviction.1Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 19.2-306.1 – Limitation on Sentence Upon Revocation of Suspension of Sentence; Exceptions A 2024 statute, SB 505, added speedy-hearing rules that limit how long you can sit in jail waiting for a violation hearing.2Virginia LIS. SB505 – 2024 Regular Session The details below determine what a judge can and cannot do if you are accused of breaking your probation.
What Counts as a Technical Violation
The tiered protections only apply if your alleged violation fits one of ten categories listed in § 19.2-306.1. Anything outside that list is not a technical violation and carries harsher exposure. The statutory categories cover failures to:1Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 19.2-306.1 – Limitation on Sentence Upon Revocation of Suspension of Sentence; Exceptions
- Report any arrest, including traffic charges, to your probation officer within three days.
- Maintain regular employment or notify your officer about changes.
- Report within three days of release from any period of incarceration.
- Allow your probation officer to visit where you live and work.
- Follow your officer’s instructions, including truthfulness, cooperation, and reporting as directed.
- Avoid alcohol use to the extent it disrupts your employment or general conduct.
- Avoid using, possessing, or distributing controlled substances or paraphernalia.
- Avoid using, owning, possessing, or transporting a firearm.
- Get your officer’s permission before changing residence or leaving the Commonwealth.
- Keep your whereabouts known to your probation officer.
A judgment for the underlying suspended sentence generally comes with a schedule of conditions your probation officer enforces. If the alleged breach is not one of these ten items, the tiered penalty caps below do not apply.
The Three-Tier Penalty Structure
Virginia’s technical-violation penalties escalate across three tiers, not four. There is no separate “30-day cap” for a third violation and no “fourth violation” trigger, despite what some older summaries still say:1Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 19.2-306.1 – Limitation on Sentence Upon Revocation of Suspension of Sentence; Exceptions
- First technical violation. The court cannot impose any active jail time. The judge must use alternative sanctions such as modified probation terms, community service, or treatment programs.
- Second technical violation. There is a legal presumption against jail. The court can impose up to 14 days of active incarceration, but only if the judge finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that you cannot be safely managed through less restrictive means.
- Third or subsequent technical violation. The court may impose whatever sentence could have been originally imposed. At this stage the statutory guardrails come off and the judge can revoke your full suspended sentence.
The Firearm and Absconding Exception
Two categories carry elevated consequences from the start. If your first technical violation involves possessing a firearm, or losing contact so your whereabouts are unknown, the court treats it as if it were your second violation.1Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 19.2-306.1 – Limitation on Sentence Upon Revocation of Suspension of Sentence; Exceptions That means the very first offense in those categories can carry up to 14 days of jail, and a second such offense opens the door to full revocation.
Absconding also triggers a separate power under § 19.2-306: the judge can extend the period of probation or suspended sentence by the length of time you were absent.3Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 19.2-306 – Revocation of Suspension of Sentence and Probation If you disappeared for eight months, the court can add eight months to your probation, on top of whatever incarceration or other sanctions it imposes for the violation itself.
How Violations Are Counted
Your violation number is set by how many previous revocation hearings addressed a technical violation, not by how many rule-breaking events occurred. Multiple technical violations arising from a single incident, or addressed at the same revocation hearing, count as a single violation for sentencing purposes.1Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 19.2-306.1 – Limitation on Sentence Upon Revocation of Suspension of Sentence; Exceptions Miss an appointment and fail a drug test the same day, and the court treats that as one violation, not two. The Commonwealth cannot stack violations from a single hearing to push you into a higher tier.
The 2024 amendments reinforce this. The court must consider all alleged technical violations that occurred before the hearing and have not been previously adjudicated at the same revocation hearing, which prevents the Commonwealth from bringing violations one at a time across multiple hearings to escalate the count.2Virginia LIS. SB505 – 2024 Regular Session
When the Tier Caps Do Not Apply: Substantive Violations
If you are convicted of a new criminal offense committed after the date your sentence was suspended, the tiered protections drop away. Under § 19.2-306.1(B), the court may revoke your suspended sentence and impose or resuspend any or all of the time previously suspended.1Virginia Code Commission. Code of Virginia 19.2-306.1 – Limitation on Sentence Upon Revocation of Suspension of Sentence; Exceptions A felony conviction while on probation can result in the judge imposing your full original sentence on top of whatever the new crime carries.
The same full-revocation authority applies to “good conduct” violations that resulted in a criminal conviction. A good-conduct violation that did not produce a criminal conviction is a narrower category: the judge must weigh the nature of the conduct, your history, and the circumstances rather than defaulting to full revocation.
The 14-Day Hearing Rule After Arrest
A violation case begins with either a summons or a capias (arrest warrant). If you are arrested on a technical violation where the maximum possible sentence is 14 days — meaning it is treated as a second technical violation — SB 505 requires the court to adjudicate your case within 14 days of your being taken into custody.2Virginia LIS. SB505 – 2024 Regular Session
If the court misses that deadline, you must be admitted to bail unless you consent to continued detention, or the Commonwealth proves by clear and convincing evidence that you present a significant risk of harm due to substance use disorder or serious mental illness and you have been referred for residential treatment. No one can be held more than 30 days awaiting adjudication of a technical violation without consenting to it.
What Happens at the Hearing
A revocation hearing is not a criminal trial. The court uses a preponderance of the evidence standard, meaning the judge only needs to find it more likely than not that you violated your probation.4Virginia Judicial System. Memorandum Opinion – James Frederick Browne v. Commonwealth of Virginia Hearsay, such as a probation officer testifying about a lab report, may be admitted if the judge finds it reliable. That evidentiary bar is meaningfully lower than in a typical criminal case.
You still have core due process rights. The U.S. Supreme Court held in Gagnon v. Scarpelli that a probationer facing revocation is entitled to notice of the alleged violations, an opportunity to be heard and present evidence, and a conditional right to confront adverse witnesses.5Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center. Gagnon v. Scarpelli
Virginia goes further on the right to counsel. Under Virginia Code § 19.2-157, whenever someone faces a charge where confinement is possible, including a probation revocation, the court must inform them of their right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, you can complete a statement of indigence and request appointed counsel. The right applies even to technical violations where the maximum exposure is 14 days. Do not waive it lightly. Whether an alleged breach counts as a first, second, or third technical violation, and whether the Commonwealth is trying to stack incidents that belong together, often decides the outcome.
After hearing the evidence, the judge determines whether a violation occurred and selects a sanction within the applicable limits. On a technical violation the tier caps bind the court. On a substantive violation the court has broad discretion, including full revocation. In either case the judge may also modify your conditions, add treatment or community service, extend supervision within the statutory caps, or order electronic monitoring. A revocation ruling can be appealed.
What Could Change in 2026: Earned Probation Credits
In 2025 the General Assembly passed HB 2252, which would let courts reduce a probationer’s supervision period based on compliance. Credits would be capped at 150 days per calendar year, and no credits could be earned while in technical violation status. The key provisions do not take effect unless reenacted by the 2026 legislative session, so whether this credit system becomes law depends on what the current General Assembly does.6Virginia LIS. HB2252 – 2025 Regular Session Until then, the tiered structure and the 14-day hearing rule are the framework a Virginia probationer is working under.