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VALORANT error

VAL 61: you've been banned from VALORANT

VALORANT

Riot's name for this error

You have been banned from playing VALORANT

What it means

Your account has a ban on playing VALORANT. It isn't a technical fault.

What to try first

Check the email on your Riot account for the ban notice and its length. If you think it's wrong, open a ticket.

Riot's table carries a warning. Riot has flagged its VALORANT code list as out of date, because a bug is making some VALORANT errors show up wrong. If the steps here don't match what you're seeing, Riot suggests a support ticket.

Is it you or Riot? If a lot of players got the same code at once, it's likely the servers. Check Riot's service status page for VALORANT before you start reinstalling things.

A ban, not a bug

Riot's table is plain about VAL 61: you've been banned from playing VALORANT, and if you see it, submit a ticket. No troubleshooting step will lift it, so skip the reinstalls.

Riot's penalties FAQ, written about going AFK and queue dodging, says a VALORANT game ban runs from 7 days up to permanent and is kept for repeat offenders who ignored earlier penalties. Riot weighs your whole record, so two players can get different penalties for the same match. The notice Riot emails you has the date your ban ends.

VAL 61 or VAN 152?

They're different penalties. VAL 61 is on your VALORANT account. VAN 152 is a hardware ban on the computer, which Riot's table says typically lasts four months and which blocks any account on that PC. If the code you saw starts with VAN, read the VAN 152 page instead.

Riot's fix, in Riot's order

  1. Check your email for a penalty notice

    Riot sends suspension and ban notices to the email address on your Riot account. Search that inbox (and spam) for a recent message from Riot before you start troubleshooting anything on the PC.

  2. Ask Riot about the ban in a ticket

    A ban can't be troubleshot from your PC. Open a ticket with Riot Player Support from your own account if you think it's a mistake or want details.

Other wordings of the same error

  • VAL 61
  • VAL61
  • VALORANT error code 61
  • Error Code: VAL 61

Source: Riot Games Player Support, Error Codes and Solutions in VALORANT, updated June 2, 2026. Riot's steps are paraphrased here, not copied; checked October 8, 2026.