| Election Name: | Virginia House of Delegates election, 1981 |
| Country: | Virginia |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1979 Virginia House of Delegates election |
| Previous Year: | 1979 |
| Election Date: | November 3, 1981 |
| Next Election: | 1982 Virginia House of Delegates election |
| Next Year: | 1982 |
| Seats For Election: | All 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates |
| Majority Seats: | 51 |
| Turnout: | 64.8%[1] |
| Leader1: | A. L. Philpott |
| Leader Since1: | January 9, 1980 |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Leaders Seat1: | 12th |
| Last Election1: | 74 |
| Seats1: | 66 |
| Seat Change1: | 8 |
| Speaker | |
| Before Election: | A. L. Philpott |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| After Election: | A. L. Philpott |
| After Party: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Leader2: | Jerry Geisler |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Leader Since2: | September 11, 1974 |
| Leaders Seat2: | 5th |
| Last Election2: | 25 |
| Seats2: | 33 |
| Seat Change2: | 8 |
| Map Size: | 300px |
The Virginia House of Delegates election of 1981 was held on Tuesday, November 3. Primary elections were held on September 8, 1981.
The districts were established by the Assembly Act of August 11, 1981 (Acts of Assembly, 1981 Special Session, Chapter 5). They were challenged in Federal District Court, which found the map unconstitutional in Cosner v. Dalton. The Court allowed the 1981 elections to proceed under the August 11, 1981 Act, but for a one-year term only. A new general election would thus be held in November 1982, under a new map.
The 50 multi-member districts, electing 100 delegates in total, were as follows (52, without a 31st or 40th district):
| District | Delegates | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 4 | ||
| 4 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 5 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 3 | ||
| 3 |