# Virginia — State limits on medical debt interest, garnishment and lawsuits

For Virginia, statute is § 59.1-612; interest rate cap is no such interest or late fees shall exceed three percent of the amount of such medical debt per annum; delay before interest may start is until 90 days following the due date applicable to the final invoice; limit on selling the debt or garnishing wages is B. No medical creditor or medical debt collector shall use any of the following extraordinary collection actions to collect medical debts: 1. Causing an individual's arrest; 2. Causing an individual to be subject to a writ of body attachment; 3. Foreclosing on an individual's real property; 4. Placing a lien on an individual's personal property; or 5. Garnishing the wages of any individual qualifying for financial assistance under the financial assistance policy applicable to the underlying medical debt; notes is E. No medical creditor or medical debt collector shall take any extraordinary collection action until 120 days following the due date applicable to the final invoice for a health care service, verified against its source on 2026-08-31.

- **State:** Virginia _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Statute:** § 59.1-612 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Interest rate cap:** no such interest or late fees shall exceed three percent of the amount of such medical debt per annum _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Delay before interest may start:** until 90 days following the due date applicable to the final invoice _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Limit on selling the debt or garnishing wages:** B. No medical creditor or medical debt collector shall use any of the following extraordinary collection actions to collect medical debts: 1. Causing an individual's arrest; 2. Causing an individual to be subject to a writ of body attachment; 3. Foreclosing on an individual's real property; 4. Placing a lien on an individual's personal property; or 5. Garnishing the wages of any individual qualifying for financial assistance under the financial assistance policy applicable to the underlying medical debt. _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_
- **Notes:** E. No medical creditor or medical debt collector shall take any extraordinary collection action until 120 days following the due date applicable to the final invoice for a health care service. _(verified: appears in its own passage below)_

## What the source says

> § 59.1-612. Billing and collection rules; limits on creditors. A. No large health care facility or medical debt buyer shall charge a patient any interest or late fees on medical debt until 90 days following the due date applicable to the final invoice, and no such interest or late fees shall exceed three percent of the amount of such medical debt per annum.

## Where each value comes from

This source states these in separate places, so each value is shown with the passage that states it.

### Interest rate cap

> A. No large health care facility or medical debt buyer shall charge a patient any interest or late fees on medical debt until 90 days following the due date applicable to the final invoice, and no such interest or late fees shall exceed three percent of the amount of such medical debt per annum.

### Delay before interest may start

> A. No large health care facility or medical debt buyer shall charge a patient any interest or late fees on medical debt until 90 days following the due date applicable to the final invoice, and no such interest or late fees shall exceed three percent of the amount of such medical debt per annum.

### Limit on selling the debt or garnishing wages

> B. No medical creditor or medical debt collector shall use any of the following extraordinary collection actions to collect medical debts: 1. Causing an individual's arrest; 2. Causing an individual to be subject to a writ of body attachment; 3. Foreclosing on an individual's real property; 4. Placing a lien on an individual's personal property; or 5. Garnishing the wages of any individual qualifying for financial assistance under the financial assistance policy applicable to the underlying medical debt.

### Notes

> E. No medical creditor or medical debt collector shall take any extraordinary collection action until 120 days following the due date applicable to the final invoice for a health care service.

## Source

- https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodefull/title59.1/chapter59/

Last verified: 2026-08-31. Review by: 2026-12-29.
Part of [State limits on medical debt interest, garnishment and lawsuits](https://referencesource.org/medical-debt-collection-restrictions-by-state/).