# Virginia HB303: Divorce; adultery, filing, parties living separate and apart, report.

Virginia HB303, Divorce; adultery, filing, parties living separate and apart, report., is a 2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr. (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-04-13 (Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0918)) (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB303-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Virginia HB303
- State: Virginia
- Session: 2026 Regular Session
- Title: Divorce; adultery, filing, parties living separate and apart, report.
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-01-09
- Last action: 2026-04-13, Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0918)
- Sponsor: Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr. (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 9 (229 yes, 90 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

Divorce; adultery; filing; parties living separate and apart; work group; report. Specifies that a divorce may be decreed on the grounds of adultery, provided that such adultery occurred prior to the final separation of the parties. The bill further allows for a divorce from bed and board to be decreed on the application of either party upon the parties living separate and apart; under current law, a divorce from bed and board may only be decreed for cruelty, reasonable apprehension of bodily hurt, willful desertion, or abandonment. The bill specifies that no waiting period is required for the filing for such a divorce, but the decree of such a divorce may only be decreed pursuant to certain requirements otherwise specified in the law. The bill further directs the Virginia Family Law Coalition, in conjunction with the Virginia State Bar Family Law Section, to convene a work group to consider whether to eliminate fault-based grounds for divorce in the Commonwealth and to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Governor and to the Chairs of the House and Senate Committees for Courts of Justice no later than December 1, 2026.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Separated spouses can seek partial divorce: benefit, low. Either spouse can file for a Virginia bed-and-board divorce, a partial divorce, without a waiting period. The spouses must live separate and apart. At least one spouse must intend to stay apart permanently.
- Spouses face limits on adultery claims: cost, low. In Virginia, a spouse can use adultery as a reason for divorce only if it happened before the couple’s last separation. Adultery after that separation does not qualify as this ground for divorce.
- Divorce decrees must include personal identifiers: cost, low. Virginia courts must include an identifying number for each spouse in every divorce decree. The number must be a Social Security number or a Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles control number issued under § 46.2-342. This rule does not create a separate reporting duty for spouses.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Richard C. "Rip" Sullivan, Jr. (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-11 | House | Senate amendments agreed to by House | pass | 64 | 34 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Passed Senate with amendments | pass | 24 | 16 |   |
| 2026-03-10 | Senate | Courts of Justice Amendments agreed to | pass | 0 | 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 with amendments | pass | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| 2026-02-10 | House | Read third time and passed House | pass | 67 | 31 |   |
| 2026-02-04 | House | Reported from Courts of Justice | pass | 16 | 6 |   |
| 2026-01-28 | House | Subcommittee recommends reporting | pass | 6 | 2 |   |

## Actions (28)

- 2026-04-13: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0918) (Governor)
- 2026-04-13: Approved by Governor-Chapter 918 (effective 7/1/2026) (Governor)
- 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 (HB303ER) (House)
- 2026-03-30: Enrolled (House)
- 2026-03-30: Signed by President (Senate)
- 2026-03-11: Senate amendments agreed to by House (64-Y 34-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-03-10: Passed Senate with amendments (24-Y 16-N 0-A) (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Courts of Justice Amendments agreed to (Senate)
- 2026-03-10: Engrossed by Senate as amended (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: Senate committee offered (Senate)
- 2026-03-05: Reported from Courts of Justice with amendments (12-Y 1-N 1-A) (Senate)
- 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 (67-Y 31-N 0-A) (House)
- 2026-02-09: Read second time and engrossed (House)
- 2026-02-06: Read first time (House)
- 2026-02-04: Reported from Courts of Justice (16-Y 6-N) (House)
- 2026-01-28: Subcommittee recommends reporting (6-Y 2-N) (House)
- 2026-01-26: Assigned HCJ sub: Civil (House)
- 2026-01-09: Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice (House)
- 2026-01-09: Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26101259D (House)

## Bill text

- Chaptered, 2026-04-13: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1224607.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1224606.PDF)
- Enrolled, 2026-03-30: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1212180.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1212179.PDF)
- Amendment, 2026-03-10: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1204077.HTML)
- Amendment, 2026-03-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199546.HTML)
- Amendment, 2026-03-05: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1197399.HTML)
- Introduced, 2026-01-09: [HTML](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083765.HTML), [PDF](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083764.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/1224607.HTML)
- [Chaptered (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1224606.PDF)
- [Enrolled (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1212180.HTML)
- [Enrolled (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1212179.PDF)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1204077.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1199546.HTML)
- [Amendment (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1197399.HTML)
- [Introduced (HTML)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083765.HTML)
- [Introduced (PDF)](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1083764.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)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VA-HB303-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).