Updated May 31, 2022
A Virginia deed form is used to convey property after an agreement and payment terms have been established. The Grantor(s) and Grantee(s) will usually exchange the funds at a meeting known as a ‘closing’ and afterwards the deed is filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court. There is a filing fee administered by the Clerk (differs by location). After it has been processed the land comes under the ownership of the new owner.
Laws – Title 55.1 Property and Conveyances
Recording (VA Code Ann. § 55.1-407(A)) – All deeds must be filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court.
Capital Letters (VA Code Ann. § 17.1-223) – The grantor and grantee must be stated in the first clause/sentence of the document with their names being in capital letters.
Signing (VA Code Ann. § 55.1-600) – Deeds must either be signed in the presence of a notary public or with two (2) witnesses present at the time the Grantor(s) execute the document.
Deed Types
General Warranty – When a property is being transferred and the owner owns the land in fee simple absolute with no title defects.
Quit Claim – Owner of the property is simply selling their interest in the property. Does not guarantee that the owner is a partial or sole owner of the real estate. No title guarantees.
Special Warranty – This is a mix between the Quit Claim and General Warranty, it offers some guarantee that is defined by the parties.
Virginia Property Search
Step 1 – In order to conduct a search for a property and it’s information you will need to go to This Webpage and click on the County/City the real estate is located.
Step 2 – For this example, we will use the County of Fairfax. Although, after clicking on your selected County/City, click on the link that reads ‘Go to Online Data‘.
Step 3 – In most counties/cities, you can perform a search by the Owner’s Name, Property Address, Book/Page Numbers, or in other Advance Options. In the Fairfax County, for example, they only offer to perform a lookup via Property Address or the Tax Map Lot Reference Number.
Step 4 – After finding the selected property, you will be re-directed to a webpage that looks something like this where you can use to write the Legal Description for your deed.
