republic-os/legislation/us/states/va/2026/sb-495.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Substantial risk orders; eligible petitioners, court jurisdiction, constr. possession of firearms."
description: "Substantial risk orders; eligible petitioners; substantial risk factors and considerations; court jurisdiction; constructive possession of firearms; penalty. Expands the list of persons eligible to file a petition for an emergency substantial risk order. The bill provides various factors that a judge or magistrate shall consider for the purpose of determining whether to issue an emergency substantial risk order or a substantial risk order. The bill expands court jurisdiction over substantial risk orders from circuit courts to juvenile and domestic relations district courts and general district courts and requires petitions against minors to be filed in juvenile and domestic relations district courts. The bill requires a copy of the order to be served on the parent or guardian of the minor at any address where the minor resides or the local board of social services in the case where the minor is the subject of a dependency or court-approved out-of-home placement. The bill also provides the process for which firearms not owned by the subject of a petition are returned to the lawful owner of such firearms. The bill provides that any emergency substantial risk order or substantial risk order issued remains in full force and effect pending any appeal. Lastly, the bill provides that any person that makes a materially false statement or representation to a court during the petitioning process is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. This bill is identical to HB 901."
jurisdiction: "us/states/va"
legislature: "Virginia General Assembly"
session: "2026"
identifier: "SB 495"
citation: "Virginia SB 495 (2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["R. Creigh Deeds"]
version_count: 5
action_count: 33
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2026-01-13"
last_action: "2026-04-13"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/24af50c2-835d-4aca-a88b-557b67f92cb3"
source_url: "https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB495"
source_hash: "06e740e0527cae69cb295c4e7922a2d2aae52fa19c9744fccab6819395d7c236"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-va"]
---

# Virginia SB 495 (2026) — Substantial risk orders; eligible petitioners, court jurisdiction, constr. possession of firearms.

Substantial risk orders; eligible petitioners; substantial risk factors and considerations; court jurisdiction; constructive possession of firearms; penalty. Expands the list of persons eligible to file a petition for an emergency substantial risk order. The bill provides various factors that a judge or magistrate shall consider for the purpose of determining whether to issue an emergency substantial risk order or a substantial risk order. The bill expands court jurisdiction over substantial risk orders from circuit courts to juvenile and domestic relations district courts and general district courts and requires petitions against minors to be filed in juvenile and domestic relations district courts. The bill requires a copy of the order to be served on the parent or guardian of the minor at any address where the minor resides or the local board of social services in the case where the minor is the subject of a dependency or court-approved out-of-home placement. The bill also provides the process for which firearms not owned by the subject of a petition are returned to the lawful owner of such firearms. The bill provides that any emergency substantial risk order or substantial risk order issued remains in full force and effect pending any appeal. Lastly, the bill provides that any person that makes a materially false statement or representation to a court during the petitioning process is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. This bill is identical to HB 901.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1090531.PDF)
2. **Courts of Justice Amendment** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1169320.HTML)
3. **Courts of Justice Substitute** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1132612.PDF)
4. **House Amendments** (committee substitute) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1178745.HTML)
5. **Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1181974.PDF)

## Votes

- Constitutional reading dispensed R — **39–0** (pass) · upper
- H VOTE: — **63–34** (pass) · lower
- Passage R — **21–19** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) — **15–7** (pass) · lower
- Concur House Amendments R — **21–19** (pass) · upper
- Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute — **9–5** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- R. Creigh Deeds — primary (person)
- Scott A. Surovell — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2026-01-13** Prefiled and ordered printed; Offered 01-14-2026 26104571D `filing, introduction`
- **2026-01-13** Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice `referral-committee`
- **2026-01-26** Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB495)
- **2026-02-04** Senate committee offered
- **2026-02-04** Reported from Courts of Justice with substitute (9-Y 5-N) `committee-passage`
- **2026-02-06** Committee substitute printed 26107130D-S1 `substitution`
- **2026-02-06** Rules suspended
- **2026-02-06** Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (39-Y 0-N 0-A)
- **2026-02-06** Passed by for the day (Voice Vote)
- **2026-02-06** Passed by for the day
- **2026-02-09** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2026-02-09** Courts of Justice Substitute agreed to
- **2026-02-09** Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Voice Vote) `substitution`
- **2026-02-10** Read third time and passed Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A) `passage, reading-3`
- **2026-02-11** Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB495)
- **2026-02-13** Placed on Calendar
- **2026-02-13** Read first time `reading-1`
- **2026-02-13** Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice `referral-committee`
- **2026-02-18** Reported from Courts of Justice with amendment(s) (15-Y 7-N) `committee-passage`
- **2026-02-20** Read second time `reading-2`
- **2026-02-23** Read third time `reading-3`
- **2026-02-23** committee amendments agreed to `amendment-passage`
- **2026-02-23** Engrossed by House as amended
- **2026-02-23** Passed House with amendment (63-Y 34-N 0-A) `passage`
- **2026-02-25** House amendments agreed to by Senate (21-Y 19-N 0-A) `amendment-passage`
- **2026-02-27** Enrolled `enrolled`
- **2026-02-27** Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB495ER) `passage`
- **2026-02-27** Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB495)
- **2026-02-27** Signed by Speaker `passage`
- **2026-02-27** Signed by President `passage`
- **2026-03-10** Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 `enrolled, executive-receipt`
- **2026-03-10** Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 `executive-receipt`
- **2026-04-13** Approved by Governor-Chapter 699 (effective 7/1/2026) `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/24af50c2-835d-4aca-a88b-557b67f92cb3`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Virginia legislature records).