Civil Division

Civil cases are disputes between individuals, entities, or groups of individuals or entities. Typical civil disputes seek monetary damages stemming from tort (civil wrong) or breach of contract. Not all civil cases stem from monetary or contract disputes. Other types of civil cases may include but are not limited to adoption, annulment, appointment of church trustees, conservatorships and/or guardianships of incapacitated adults or minors, divorce, encumbrance/conveyance of church property, name changes, partition of real estate or will or estate matters that are not handled in probate.

Click on title below to expand for more information on each topic:

Filing a Civil Case

When filing a civil case in the Circuit Court, the filing party is responsible for ensuring that all pleadings are prepared in accordance with the Code of Virginia and rules of the Virginia Supreme Court. Unlike the two District Courts, the Circuit Court does not provide forms for use by litigants in filing civil suits. Hence, it is strongly recommended that the services of an attorney be employed when filing a civil action at the Circuit-Court level.

Cover Sheets

As of September 1, 2018, all filings must have a typed Cover Sheet for Filing Civil Actions (Form CC-1416) included with filing. Instructions for completing the cover sheet can be found here. Inaccurate, incomplete or handwritten cover sheets will be returned for correction and/or completion.

More Information about Circuit Court - Civil

Monetary Disputes

In civil cases where monetary claims range from $4,500 to $25,000, the Circuit Court has concurrent jurisdiction with the District Court. Monetary disputes involving more than $25,000 fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Circuit Court.

Appellate Court

The Circuit Court serves as the Appellate Court in civil cases appealed from the District Court. Likewise, the Circuit Court serves as the Appellate Court in civil (domestic relations) cases appealed from the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. These are typically child support, custody, and visitation matters.

Domestic Relations Cases

In civil cases of a domestic relations nature, the Circuit Court has exclusive jurisdiction in divorce and annulment matters, including property settlement and equitable distribution of marital assets. Matters involving child support, custody, and visitation may or may not originate in the Circuit Court, depending on various factors.

Officer of the Court Remote Access (OCRA)

Our civil and criminal records including all scanned (non-sealed) images are available online via the Officer of the Court Remote Access (OCRA). The service is available to Virginia attorneys (must be in good standing), their agents/assistants, and Pro Hac Vice attorneys.

Each account is for individual use only. Sharing of an account/login is a violation of the user agreement.

Members of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Bar Association and their staff

The service is free for attorneys and/or their agents that are members of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Bar Association.

To request access, please complete the OCRA Agreement for Local Users and return it to our office. See below for ways to return application.

Attorneys and their staff outside of Harrisonburg-Rockingham County

and Pro Hac Vice attorneys

For attorneys, their agents/assistants outside of the Harrisonburg-Rockingham area and Pro Hac Vice attorneys, the fee is $25 a month per a registered user.

To request access, please complete the OCRA Agreement and return it to our office with payment. See below for ways to return application.
Payment can be made by cash, check, money order or by credit card. Credit card transactions are subject to a 4% surcharge. Checks can be made payable to Clerk of Court.

Employees from Other Governmental Agencies - Exempt Users

Employees of governmental agencies are exempt from fees.

To request access, please complete the OCRA Agreement for Exempt Users and return it to our office. See below for ways to return application.

Ways to Return an Application

In person in the Clerk's Office within the Deed Room
If payment is not required or is going to be paid by credit card over the phone, completed application(s) can be scanned and submitted online. Call us at 540-564-3126 or 540-564-3124 to pay over the phone.
By mail, include payment if required.
- Mail to: Rockingham County Circuit Court, Attn: OCRA, 80 Court Square, Harrisonburg, VA 22802

e-Filing Info

eFileVA

You can e-file Civil filings through eFileVA™, a division of Tyler Technology.

Virginia Judiciary E-Filing System (VJEFS)

This system, for use by members of the Virginia State Bar and their designated staff, allows electronic filing of most civil cases in circuit court. VJEFS may be used to track case submissions, receive status and other notifications by email, request service of process, and calculate and pay fees online.

VJEFS Registration

If you have filed an application in another locality, you do not need to complete an application for this locality. Once registered in one locality, you have statewide access to any court using VJEFS. Complete the application to register administrator(s) for your organization. Administrators will then have the responsibility to add all other users for the organization.

Bring completed applications to the Clerk's Office or mail to:

Rockingham County Circuit Court
Attn: VJEFS
80 Court Square
Harrisonburg, VA 22802

Resources and Reference Materials

Copy Requests

There are several ways to request copies of our records:

In person
- The Clerk's Office is located at 80 Court Square in Harrisonburg, VA.
- Office hours are Monday - Friday, 8:30am-4:30 pm, excluding holidays.
- There are public access computers for self service searching and printing. Copies are 50¢ per page. Certification fee is $2 plus cost for copies of entire document. We accept cash, checks, money orders or credit cards. All credit card transactions will include a 4% surcharge.
By mail
- Please provide all information needed to locate the record and specify what you are requesting copies of. You can mail a copy request along with payment and a self-addressed stamped envelope for copies to our office at:
  - You may need to contact the Civil Division at 540-564-3113 or 540-564-3114 prior to mailing the request to determine the amount needed for payment. Checks should be made payable to Clerk of Court.
  - Mailing Address:
    Rockingham County Circuit Court
    Attn: Civil Division
    80 Court Square
    Harrisonburg, VA 22802
By phone as long as:
- the caller has all the information needed to locate the document quickly.
- Payment must be made over the phone by credit card only. Copies are 52¢ per page including the credit card surcharge and copies can be emailed or mailed. Regular certified copies must be mailed.
- Copies can be requested at 540-564-3113 or 540-564-3114.
Online by subscription for attorneys and/or their agents/assistants and Pro Hac Vice attorneys
- Civil and criminal records including all scanned (non-sealed) images are available online via Officer of the Court Remote Access (OCRA) for a fee for non-local attorneys. The service is available to Virginia attorneys (must be in good standing), their agents/assistants and Pro Hac Vice attorneys only. For information, expand the Officer of the Court Remote Access (OCRA) link above.

Info about our Courtroom Technology

All 3 of our courtrooms are equipped with the Nomad Digital AV Podium. The interactive technology with these podiums includes:

Confidence Monitor: Duplicates any image that is being shown on the big screen. Presenters can remain confident in what is being seen by the audience while maintaining a natural, face-forward presentation.
Document Camera: The 21st century version of the overhead projector…without the transparencies. The doc cam gives presenters the ability to display any type of non-digitized content in real-time, such as books, newspaper articles, 3D models, etc.
Annotation including witness annotation: By using the touchscreen monitors, presenters or witnesses can draw on or highlight the image on the screen. Multiple colors can be used, if needed.
Mounted Touch Screen Controller: The touch screen controller provides presenters with a user interface that allows them to easily control the AV podium.
Blu-Ray Player: The Blu-ray player gives presenters the ability to play previously recorded content that is stored on CDs, DVDs, or Blu-ray discs.
Personal Device Connections (BYOD): Hard-wired HDMI and VGA cables give presenters the ability to present multimedia content from their personal devices such as notebook computers, tablets and smart phones.
Blank Image: The image on the big screen can be quickly blanked and restored as the confidence monitor stays active in cases where the visual aid needs to be prepared before it is presented.

Training Website

If you are going to be using our courtroom and want to familiarize yourself with the technology offered with these podiums, please visit the Nomad AV Systems Online Training site for video guides based on the exact model of podiums that we have in the courtrooms.