What Henrico County Court Dockets Mean
The word docket has at least three meanings, and mixing them up sends people to the wrong place. A daily docket is the court's list of hearings for one date and courtroom. A case docket is the chronological event history for a single case. A docket category is a recurring local schedule, such as the Traffic Safety Docket or the Garnishment Docket.
The Virginia case systems hold case-specific hearing data. The court profile pages publish the recurring schedule categories.
If you actually need a case record rather than a schedule, start with the Henrico County court records page and search by name or case number.
Circuit Court Terms and Motion Dockets
The Henrico Circuit Court runs on a term schedule. Criminal terms begin the second Monday in January, March, May, July, September, and November. Grand juries meet on the first day of term at 9:00 a.m. Civil motions are set each Friday at 9:30 a.m. and must be set by telephone. Court convenes at 9:00 a.m., and jury trials begin at 10:00 a.m.
One local change is worth noting. Effective May 1, 2016, the Henrico Circuit Court no longer holds civil docket calls.
Commissioners in Chancery are used in unusual causes, accountings, creditor suits, mechanic's lien suits, partition suits, and some divorce cases. Trial instructions must be submitted two days before trial. For a felony, divorce, or major civil case, the Circuit Court is the right docket to track.
The three meanings of docket matter most in Circuit Court. A single felony or divorce file can carry a long case docket of motions, orders, and hearings that stretches across several terms. Reading that history in order shows how the case moved and where it stands now.
Henrico General District Court Docket Schedule
The General District Court publishes a detailed weekly docket. These categories help you know when a case type is heard, though a specific party's date should still be confirmed in the case system. The schedule below comes from the court's published docket structure.
| Docket | Day | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Advisements | Monday-Friday | 8:30 a.m. |
| Attorney status cases | Monday-Friday | 9:00 a.m. |
| Criminal / Traffic docket | Tuesday-Thursday | 9:30, 10:30, 11:30 a.m. |
| Traffic Safety Docket | 1st, 2nd, 4th Monday | 11:00 a.m. |
| DUID | 3rd Monday | 11:00 a.m. |
| Protective orders | Monday-Thursday; Friday | 1:30 p.m.; 11:00 a.m. |
| Small claims | Every other Friday | 11:00 a.m. |
| Garnishment docket | Monday and Friday | 8:00 a.m. |
Civil return and motion dockets run Monday and Friday mornings, and ASAP and traffic school returns are set on Monday and Friday respectively.
Recurring Henrico Docket Categories
The General District Court groups similar cases into named dockets, which keeps the courtroom moving and tells parties when to show up. Advisement dockets handle early case status. Attorney status cases get their own morning slot. The Traffic Safety Docket meets on set Mondays, while the DUID docket meets the third Monday. ASAP returns track people in the Alcohol Safety Action Program, and traffic school returns confirm a completed driving course.
Civil cases have their own rhythm. Civil return and motion dockets open the week, contested civil matters are heard on weekday afternoons, and small claims run every other Friday. Garnishment dockets sit at the start of Monday and Friday. County cases are set Friday morning.
These categories are schedules, not case lookups. To confirm where a specific case falls, search it by name or case number through the Henrico County court records systems.
J&DR Court Docket Schedule
The Juvenile and Domestic Relations court keeps a separate docket structure for family and juvenile matters. Arraignments for adult and juvenile criminal matters run Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to noon. Criminal trials are heard Monday at several slots and Friday mornings. Support dockets meet Tuesday and Thursday, and custody and visitation calls fall on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
Juvenile traffic is heard Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning.
Because juvenile records are confidential under Virginia law, the public sees the schedule structure but not the case details. The Henrico County Circuit Court page explains how the three trial courts fit together.
Searching Henrico County Dockets by Hearing Date
The Virginia case systems include a hearing-date search for certain courts. It is useful for confirming a docket, but it is not a substitute for a case-specific search. Dockets change. A continuance can move a date, a case can settle before the hearing, or a courtroom can change at the last minute.
Always verify a court date with the clerk or your attorney.
- Open the matching Virginia case system for the court level you need.
- Choose the hearing-date search option and select Henrico.
- Enter a valid hearing date and any optional filters the system offers.
- Review the docket list, then confirm your specific case by name or case number.
Henrico Docket Entry Glossary
Docket entries use shorthand. A few common terms clear up most confusion.
- Arraignment
- Hearing where charges are presented and a plea or status is addressed.
- Continuance
- A postponement of a hearing or trial to a later date.
- Capias
- A court order for arrest, often after a failure to appear.
- Disposition
- The current or final outcome of a charge or case.
- Return date
- The date a civil matter, such as a warrant in debt, first comes before the court.
Federal Court Dockets for Henrico Cases
Some matters tied to Henrico are heard in federal court, not the county courts. Henrico sits in the Eastern District of Virginia, and the nearest federal courthouse for many cases is in Richmond. Federal dockets are separate from Circuit, General District, and J&DR records, and they live in the federal case systems.
The federal district court handles civil rights, federal criminal, and federal civil cases.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia posts its locations, dockets, and filing information online.
Bankruptcy cases follow a separate federal court and docket.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia handles federal bankruptcy filings for the region.
Appeals from the Eastern District go up to a federal appeals court.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit hears appeals from the Eastern District of Virginia.
Federal case access runs through one main system.
PACER is the official federal case access portal; CM/ECF filing is separate and requires authorized credentials.
PACER charges per page, with fee-waiver rules that can change, so check its current fee page before pulling many documents.
Missed Court Dates and Continuances
Missing a docket has consequences that depend on the case type. In a criminal or traffic case, the court may issue a capias or bench warrant, which can also create license problems. In a civil case, the court may enter a default judgment or dismiss the matter. If you have a subpoena or summons, follow the latest court order rather than an online listing.
Note: Online docket data can lag the paper file, so confirm any hearing date with the clerk or your attorney before you rely on it.
What if I miss a Henrico court date? The result depends on the case. A missed criminal or traffic date can trigger a capias or bench warrant and a possible license hold. A missed civil date can mean a default judgment against you or a dismissal of your claim. Contact the clerk or your attorney right away to ask about reinstating the case or quashing a capias.
For warrant questions after a missed date, see the Henrico County warrant records page.