Rule 5A:1 - Scope, Citation, Applicability, Filing and General Provisions(a)Scope of Rules. - Part Five A governs all proceedings in the Court of Appeals of Virginia ("this Court").(b)Citation. - These Rules may be cited generally as the "Rules of the Court of Appeals of Virginia" and specifically as "Rule 5A:___."(c)Filings; Copies; Signatures; Service. - (1) Filings. Except as otherwise provided, all documents to be filed in this Court must be filed electronically, in Portable Document Format (PDF), with the clerk of this Court and electronically served on opposing counsel. Pro se litigants may file by non-electronic means. Others may file by non-electronic means only by leave of Court. Electronic pleadings must be filed through the Virginia Appellate Courts Electronic System (VACES) in the manner prescribed by the Guidelines and User's Manual. All electronic filings are governed by Rule 1:17.(2) Copies. No paper copies are to be filed for any electronically filed documents. For paper filings, only the original document is required.(3) Signatures. All documents filed pursuant to Part Five A of these Rules must be signed by counsel for the filing party, or personally signed if the party is proceeding pro se. Documents may be signed digitally using an electronic signature.(4) Service. Unless service or notice is otherwise specified in a given Rule, any document or object filed with this Court must have included within it or appended to it a certificate of service or acceptance of service showing that a copy has been transmitted to all counsel and showing the date and manner of transmittal. If a page or word limit applies, the certificate must also state the number of pages or words. Headings, footnotes, and quotations are included in the page and word limit; the cover page, table of contents, table of authorities, signature blocks, and certificate are not included in the page or word limit.(d)Definitions.(1) "clerk of the trial court" means clerk of the trial court from which an appeal is taken to this Court, and includes a deputy clerk and the clerk of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission when the context requires;(2) "clerk of this Court" includes a deputy clerk;(3) "counsel" has the definition given in Rule 1:5 for Counsel of Record and in this Part Five A includes a party not represented by counsel and any attorney appointed as a guardian ad litem;(4) "counsel for appellant" means one of the attorneys representing each appellant represented by an attorney, and each appellant not represented by an attorney;(5) "counsel for appellee" means one of the attorneys representing each appellee represented by an attorney, and each appellee not represented by an attorney includes a guardian ad litem, unless the guardian ad litem is the appellant;(6) "opposing counsel" means, depending on the context, "counsel for the appellant" or "counsel for the appellee"(7) "judge" means judge of the trial court, unless the context otherwise requires, or if that judge is not available, any judge authorized to act under Rule 5A:9;(8) "judgment" includes an order or decree from which an appeal is taken;(9) "File with the clerk" or "files with the clerk" or "filed with the clerk" means deliver to the clerk specified a document, a copy of which has been electronically transmitted, mailed, or delivered to opposing counsel, and appended to which is either acceptance of service or a certificate indicating the date and manner of such transmission. "File in the office of the clerk" or "files in the office of the clerk" or "filed in the office of the clerk" means, on the other hand, deliver a document to the clerk specified;(10) "trial court" means the circuit court from which an appeal is taken to this Court;(11) the "date of entry" of any final judgment or other appealable order or decree is the date the judgment, order, or decree is signed by the judge.(e)Notice of Change of Address and Other Contact Information. - If an attorney or a party pro se has a change in mailing address, telephone number, facsimile number, or e-mail address any time after the filing of the notice of appeal, that individual must immediately notify the clerk of this Court and all other counsel of record in writing. The notice must reference the style and record number of all cases pending before this Court.(f)Citing Unpublished Judicial Dispositions. - The citation of judicial opinions, orders, judgments, or other written dispositions that are not officially reported, whether designated as "unpublished," "not for publication," "non precedential," or the like, is permitted as informative, but will not be received as binding authority. If the cited disposition is not available in a publicly accessible electronic database, a copy of that disposition must be filed with the brief or other paper in which it is cited.Amended by order dated June 25, 2004, effective 9/1/2004; amended by order dated April 30, 2010, effective 7/1/2010; amended by order dated September 3, 2020, effective 9/3/2020; amended by order dated November 23, 2020, effective 3/1/2021; amended by order dated April 1, 2021, effective 6/1/2021; amended by order dated November 1, 2021, effective 1/1/2022; amended by order dated June 21, 2024, effective 8/20/2024.