Virginia Form DC-630: Motion to Amend or Review Order

DC-630 asks a Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court to change an order it already entered. It is short, it is cheap, and using it in the wrong situation will cost you a hearing date.

When DC-630 is the right form

Use it to modify an existing J&DR order on support, or on visitation where the prior order set specific terms. The court that entered the order keeps authority to revisit it.

When it is not

Custody. Several Virginia J&DR courts require a new petition on DC-511 for any custody matter, original or modification, and will not accept DC-630 for it. Virginia Beach has published guidance to that effect. Check your locality before filing; this varies.

Visitation where the prior order was vague. If a previous order granted “reasonable” or “liberal” visitation without specific terms, there is nothing concrete to amend — you need a new petition setting out the schedule you want.

Enforcement. If the other parent is simply not complying with an order that is clear, you are not asking to change it. You are asking the court to enforce it, which is a motion to show cause on DC-635.

That distinction is the one people get wrong most often. Amend changes the order. Show cause enforces it. Filing the wrong one delays you by a full docket cycle.

The standard you have to meet

For custody or visitation modification, Virginia requires a two-part showing: a material change in circumstances since the last order, and that the change you are asking for serves the child’s best interests. Both. A material change alone is not enough.

What has qualified: a parent relocating, a change in work schedule, a child’s changing needs as they age, remarriage, a significant change in either parent’s circumstances.

For support modification, the question is whether there has been a material change affecting the guideline calculation — typically a change in either parent’s income, childcare costs, or health insurance, or a change in the custody schedule that moves you across the 90-day threshold.

Support changes are not retroactive before filing

This is the single most expensive thing people do not know. If you lost your job in January and file in July, the court can generally only modify support back to the date you filed — not back to January. Six months of support accrued at the old rate and you still owe it. File the motion the week the change happens, even if you are not ready to litigate.

What to file

• DC-630, identifying the existing order by case number and date
• A statement of what changed and what you want the order to say instead
• Updated child support worksheets if support is at issue