Where does a Virginia circuit court clerk file a foreign spousal-support order that names no specific dollar amount?

Plain-English summary

The Fairfax County Circuit Court Clerk asked AG Cuccinelli about a Maryland court order giving an ex-wife a portion of her former husband's pension. The order did not state a specific dollar amount and did not say the husband was in arrears. Should the clerk enter it in the judgment lien book (which the clerk must use for money judgments) or in the order book?

The AG said both options were acceptable. Statute requires the clerk to enter "any judgment for a specific amount of money" in the judgment docket; this Maryland order had no specific amount, so the mandatory rule did not apply. Where statutes are silent or ambiguous about how the clerk handles a record, the manner of compliance falls within the clerk's sound discretion. The clerk could enter the order in the judgment docket, the order book, or another record deemed suitable under local practice. The Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act (Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-465.2) authorizes circuit court clerks to accept nonmonetary foreign judgments, not just money decrees.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2010. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: When must a clerk enter a judgment in the judgment lien book?
A: When the judgment is "for a specific amount of money." Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-458. Entry in the judgment docket creates a lien on real property in the locality.

Q: What if the judgment is nonmonetary or has no specific amount?
A: The mandatory docketing rule does not apply. The clerk may use the judgment docket, the order book, or any other record reasonable under local practice. The opinion frames this as a matter of clerk discretion.

Q: Are foreign judgments treated differently?
A: Not in this respect. The Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act tells clerks to "treat the foreign judgment in the same manner" as a Virginia judgment. § 8.01-465.2. A 1995 AG opinion confirmed that the Act covers nonmonetary foreign judgments too.

Q: Why does the clerk have this discretion?
A: Because clerks are constitutional officers (Va. Const. art. VII, § 4) with exclusive control over the operation of their offices unless statute provides otherwise. Where the Code prescribes the method, the clerk must follow it. Where the Code is silent, the clerk decides how to discharge the duty.

Background and statutory framework

The Virginia Constitution creates the office of clerk and leaves most duties to statute. Hundreds of statutes prescribe specific clerk duties, including recording of deeds, financing statements, and judgments. Section 8.01-446 governs the judgment docket; § 8.01-458 spells out the docketing duty and its consequences; § 8.01-460 addresses support and maintenance decrees. Section 8.01-465.2 implements the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act.

The opinion essentially restates the gap-filling principle. Where the legislature has not chosen the recording method, the clerk does, subject to local practice and sound discretion.

Citations

• Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-446 (judgment docket)
• Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-458 (docketing money judgments)
• Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-460 (support and maintenance decrees)
• Va. Code Ann. § 8.01-465.2 (Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act)
• Va. Const. art. VII, § 4 (office of clerk)
• 1995 Op. Va. Att'y Gen. 26 (nonmonetary foreign judgments under UEFJA)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.oag.state.va.us/annual-reports-opinions/official-opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.oag.state.va.us/files/Opinions/2010/10-011_Frey.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain. The linked PDF is authoritative.

COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA
Office of the Attorney General
Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II, Attorney General
July 8, 2010

The Honorable John T. Frey
Clerk, Fairfax County Circuit Court
4110 Chain Bridge Rd.
Fairfax, Virginia 22030-4048

Dear Mr. Frey:

I am responding to your request for an official advisory opinion in accordance with § 2.2-505 of the Code of Virginia.

Issue Presented

You ask whether a foreign judgment for spousal support and maintenance tendered for recording, which does not contain a specific monetary amount, should be docketed in the judgment docket (judgment lien book) or if it can be entered of record in the clerk's order book.

Response

It is my opinion that because the judgment does not detail a specific monetary award, it may be entered either in the judgment docket or in the order book, or in any other record deemed suitable, in accord with local practice and the sound discretion of the clerk.

Background

You relate that a Maryland court order provides that the former wife is entitled to a portion of the former husband's pension plan. The order does not provide a specific judgment amount, nor does it state that the former husband is in arrears. You note that the attorney for the former wife has presented the order to your Office so that it might be docketed in the judgment lien book.

Applicable Law and Discussion

Article VII, § 4 of the Constitution of Virginia establishes the office of "a clerk, who shall be clerk of the court in the office of which deeds are recorded" and mandates that the duties of the office "shall be prescribed by general law or special act." As a general rule, circuit court clerks have no inherent powers, and the scope of powers must be determined by reference to applicable statutes. There are several hundred specific statutes that prescribe the duties of the clerk, which include the recording of deeds, orders, financing statements and other instruments. This requires the clerk to effectively address changing and competing demands for personnel and resources. The manner in which these duties are performed are a function of management, tradition, custom and local practice.

Considerable deference is given to decisions made by clerks and, "in the absence of a constitutional or statutory provision to the contrary, constitutional officers have exclusive control over the operation of their offices." The clerk, as a constitutional officer, "is free to discharge his prescribed powers and duties in the manner in which he deems appropriate" unless limited by law. Nor can clerks be compelled to perform duties that are not required by statute, but may assume additional responsibilities at their discretion.

A 1995 opinion of the Attorney General concluded the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act ("the Act") is not solely limited to monetary judgments and noted that the Act "authorizes circuit court clerks to accept properly authenticated copies of nonmonetary foreign judgments, in addition to monetary decrees or awards." The clerk "shall treat the foreign judgment in the same manner" and such judgment "has the same effect and is subject to the same procedures, defenses and proceedings" as if rendered by a circuit court of this Commonwealth.

The clerk is required by statute to keep a "judgment docket" in book or other form, popularly known as a judgment lien book, "in which he shall docket, without delay, any judgment for a specific amount of money." Entry in the judgment docket constitutes a lien against real property. A properly authenticated and legible foreign or domestic money judgment must be recorded in the judgment docket. Likewise, a decree for support and maintenance "payable in future installments or a monetary award for future installments as provided for in § 20-107.3," shall be entered in the judgment docket if "so ordered by the court in such decree."

In this instance, you relate that the subject Maryland court order provides that a former wife is entitled to a portion of the former husband's pension plan without referencing a specific amount. Entry in the judgment docket is not required because the judgment does not mention a specific amount of money. If a statute specifically directs the manner in which a clerk performs a duty, the clerk must comply with the statute. Where, as here, the statute is silent or ambiguous as to how a clerk is to comply with a duty, how the duty is discharged lies within the sound discretion of the clerk. Therefore, where such an order is made a matter of record lies within the sound discretion of the clerk.

Conclusion

Accordingly, it is my opinion that because the judgment does not detail a specific monetary award, it may be entered either in the judgment docket or in the order book, or in any other record deemed suitable, in accord with local practice and the sound discretion of the clerk.

With kindest regards, I am
Very truly yours,
Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II
Attorney General