# Virginia HB224: Paternity; proceedings to establish.

Virginia HB224, Paternity; proceedings to establish., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Patrick A. Hope (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-08 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0369)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB224-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB224
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Paternity; proceedings to establish.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-08
- Last action: 2026-04-08, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0369)
- Sponsor: Patrick A. Hope (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 7 (223 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

Proceedings to establish paternity. Adds the methods by which the Department of Social Services administratively establishes paternity for the purposes of child support enforcement to the lists of ways that a parent and child relationship may be established in domestic relations proceedings under Title 20 and that a parent and child relationship may be established for determining rights related to a deed, will, trust, or other instrument. As introduced, this bill was a recommendation of the Boyd-Graves Conference.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Limits on fathers inheriting from children: cost, medium. Establishing paternity alone does not qualify a father or his relatives to inherit from or through the child. The father must have openly treated the child as his and must not have refused to support the child.
- Paternity rules set parents’ rights and duties: mixed, medium. Reliable genetic tests showing at least a 98% probability of paternity have the same legal effect as a court judgment. The mother and father can also establish paternity by signing a sworn written acknowledgment, which has the same legal effect. Before signing, both must receive written and spoken…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Patrick A. Hope (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Passed Senate Block Vote | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) | pass | 40 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-09 | Senate | Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) | pass | 0 | 0 |   |
| 2026-03-05 | Senate | Reported from Courts of Justice | pass | 14 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-10 | House | Read third time and passed House Block Vote | pass | 98 | 0 |   |
| 2026-02-04 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) | pass | 22 | 0 |   |
| 2026-01-28 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) | pass | 9 | 0 |   |

## Actions (30)

- 2026-04-08: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0369) (Governor)
- 2026-04-08: Approved by Governor-Chapter 369 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB224) (House)
- 2026-03-31: Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 (Governor)
- 2026-03-31: Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 31, 2026 (House)
- 2026-03-31: Signed by Speaker (House)
- 2026-03-30: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HB224ER) (House)
- 2026-03-30: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Passed Senate Block Vote (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Read third time (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 2nd reading) (40-Y 0-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Reported from Courts of Justice (14-Y 0-N) (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB224) (House)
- 2026-02-11: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (Senate)
- 2026-02-10: Read third time and passed House Block Vote (98-Y 0-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-09: Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (HB224) (House)
- 2026-02-09: Engrossed by House as amended (House)
- 2026-02-09: committee amendments agreed to (House)
- 2026-02-09: Read second time (House)
- 2026-02-06: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-04: Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) (22-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-28: House subcommittee offered (House)
- 2026-01-28: Subcommittee recommends reporting with amendment(s) (9-Y 0-N) (House)
- 2026-01-26: Assigned HCJ sub: Civil (House)
- 2026-01-08: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House)
- 2026-01-08: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26102670D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217727.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217726.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210600.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210599.PDF)
- Engrossed, 2026-02-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1131999.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1131998.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-02-04: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127298.HTML)
- Amendment, 2026-01-28: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100219.HTML), [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100222.HTML)
- Introduced, 2026-01-08: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083153.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083152.PDF)

## Related bills

- HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties. (signed)
- HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with rental agreement. (signed)
- HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for certain individuals. (signed)
- HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, termination by landlord. (signed)
- HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil penalty. (signed)

## Sources
- [Chaptered (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217727.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1217726.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210600.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1210599.PDF)
- [Engrossed (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1131999.HTML)
- [Engrossed (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1131998.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1127298.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100219.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1100222.HTML)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083153.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083152.PDF)

## Related
- [HB5: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB5-2026)
- [SB199: Employment; paid sick leave, civil penalties.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-SB199-2026)
- [HB95: Va. Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; landlord remedies, noncompliance with…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB95-2026)
- [HB1393: Electric utilities; pilot program for energy assistance and weatherization for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB1393-2026)
- [HB834: Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act; fire or casualty damage, terminat…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB834-2026)
- [HB675: Protection of employees; coercion or threat based on immigration status, civil…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB675-2026)
- [Virginia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia/bills)
- [Virginia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/virginia)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB224-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).