Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: In Virginia, virginia requires the court or clerk to require a personal representative to furnish security (bond with surety) by default, unless a specific statutory exception applies.
Virginia executor bond: what the statute says
Each line is a short extract quoted from the statute cited; the section has the exceptions.
- When a bond is required. Va. Code § 64.2-505: “The court or clerk shall require a personal representative to furnish security.”
- Waiver. Va. Code § 64.2-505: “The will waives security of an executor nominated therein.”
- Amount. Va. Code § 64.2-504: “Except as provided in subsection B, every bond of an executor or administrator shall be, at least, in an amount equal to (i) the full value of the personal estate of the decedent to be administered…” “…or (ii) if the will authorizes the executor or administrator to sell real estate, or receive the rents and profits thereof, the full value of the personal estate and such real estate, or the rents and profits thereof, as the case may be.”
- Surety and cost. Va. Code § 64.2-1411: “Any circuit court or circuit court clerk, having jurisdiction to appoint personal representatives, guardians, conservators, and committees, may, in his discretion, allow such fiduciary to qualify by giving bond without surety…” “(ii) in the case of any other such fiduciary, when there are no assets or the asset or amount coming into such fiduciary’s possession does not exceed $35,000.”
For the rest of the process and its fees, see Virginia probate cost.
Does Virginia require an executor to post a bond?
Virginia requires the court or clerk to require a personal representative to furnish security (bond with surety) by default, unless a specific statutory exception applies.
“The court or clerk shall require a personal representative to furnish security. However, the court or clerk shall not require a personal representative to furnish security if:”
Source: Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-505
Can the will waive it in Virginia?
Yes. Security is not required if the will waives security of the executor nominated in it, per Va. Code § 64.2-505(A)(2).
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Can the heirs or beneficiaries waive it in Virginia?
No. This section does not let heirs or beneficiaries waive security by consent. Security is not required if all distributees or all beneficiaries are themselves personal representatives, or where the personal representative is the only distributee or only beneficiary by virtue of instruments of disclaimer; any legatee, devisee, distributee or person with a pecuniary interest may still move the court to require security.
If a bond is required, how much?
When a bond is required, Virginia sets it at no less than the full value of the personal estate to be administered (or, if the will authorizes the sale of real estate or receipt of its rents and profits, the full value of the personal estate and that real estate or those rents and profits), per its own bond-amount statute.
“every bond of an executor or administrator shall be, at least, in an amount equal to (i) the full value of the personal estate of the decedent to be administered”
Source: Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-504
What makes Virginia different
Virginia builds in a deliberate check-and-balance: even after a will waives security or all distributees are also personal representatives, § 64.2-505(B) lets any interested person petition to force security back on; and if the court requires security, it may also award the movant reasonable attorney fees and costs, to be paid out of the estate, a fee-shifting feature not seen in other states reviewed.
| Bond-requirement source | Va. Code Ann. § 64.2-505 |
| Virginia courts (general reference) | Virginia judicial branch |
| Confidence | High |
Every statute quoted on this page was read directly from the state’s own legislature/code site this session, or, where that site blocked automated access, from a reputable legal-citation mirror quoting the same official text with its official citation (disclosed below). General information, not legal advice; a probate court has final discretion over bond in every state; confirm your own case with the court or a local attorney before relying on the default described here.
Related: how long creditors have to file a claim against an estate in Virginia.