Title 17.1. Courts of Record
Chapter 2. Clerks, Clerks' Offices and Records
§ 17.1-297. Access to records by the Department of Corrections; subscriber agreement; requirements.
A. Any clerk of a circuit court who provides secure remote access to nonconfidential court records maintained by the clerk shall allow the Department of Corrections (the Department) to enter into a single subscriber agreement authorizing the Department to have secure remote access to nonconfidential court records, including court orders, sentencing guidelines, and sentencing revocation reports maintained by the clerk or the clerk's designated application service providers, provided that such subscriber agreement identifies all staff members of the Department who require such secure remote access and that otherwise satisfies all other requirements of this article or other relevant provisions of law.
B. The subscriber agreement shall identify any staff member of the Department who requires secure remote access to nonconfidential records to (i) carry out the powers and duties conferred upon the Department by Article 2 (§ 53.1-141 et seq.) of Chapter 4 of Title 53.1 or any other provision of law or (ii) prepare a discretionary sentencing guidelines worksheet in accordance with subsection C of § 19.2-298.01. If such secure remote access to any nonconfidential court records is not available, the clerk shall provide access to a hard copy of such nonconfidential court records either in person or via mail or an electronic copy of such nonconfidential court records via electronic mail.
For the purposes of this section, no clerk of a circuit court shall require that the Department enter into individual subscriber agreements for each staff member who requires secure remote access to nonconfidential court records.
2026, c. 942.
