What a Virginia deed doesHow land passes on paper, what each warranty promises, and why recording decides who wins
One conveyance, followed in order: a promise that is not yet a deed, the paper that becomes one, the words that set its warranty, the first page the clerk checks, and the recording that protects the grantee against whoever comes next.
A spoken promise of land, and why it earns no right to a deed
Picture a landowner who promises to give a field to someone, says so more than once, and watches that person clear it, fence it and move onto it. Nothing is ever put in writing. Virginia law settles that situation before any Virginia deed is drafted: the unwritten promise gave that person no right to a conveyance of the field.
No estate of inheritance or freehold in lands shall be conveyed unless by deed or will
Va. Code 55.1-101
The same section closes the door that possession and hard work seem to open. A gift or a promise of a gift of land that is not in writing gives the person promised no right to a conveyance, even when possession and improvement of the land follow it. A claim resting on long occupation under a different rule is a separate subject, taken up in adverse possession basics.
That leaves two ways to convey a freehold estate in land: a will, or a deed. The rest of this page follows the deed, from the first draft to the book it is recorded in.
The statutory form describes the land and carries what belongs to it
The Code of Virginia contains a deed form. Va. Code 55.1-300 says every deed may be made in that form or to the same effect, so a deed does not have to copy it word for word.
(here describe the property or interest therein to be conveyed, including the name of the city or county in which the property is located, and insert covenants or any other provisions)
Va. Code 55.1-300, the deed form
The description is where the tract gets fixed on paper, whether by a metes and bounds description or by reference to a recorded plat, and the covenants go into the same space. What the description leaves unsaid still travels with it: under Va. Code 55.1-303, a deed conveying land is construed to include all buildings, privileges and appurtenances belonging to the land unless the deed makes an exception.
A few words in the granting clause set how far the grantor stands behind the title
The warranty in a Virginia deed can come from a handful of words in its granting part. Va. Code 55.1-356 turns those words into covenants, and the neighboring sections say what each covenant means.
| Words in the deed | What the Code reads into them |
|---|---|
| with general warranty | A covenant that the grantor and his heirs and personal representatives will forever warrant and defend the property against the claims and demands of all persons (Va. Code 55.1-354) |
| with special warranty | The same promise to warrant and defend, but only against the claims of the grantor and all persons claiming by, through or under him (Va. Code 55.1-355) |
| with English covenants of title | A set of covenants listed in four later sections of the Code, plus the covenant that the grantor is seized in fee simple (Va. Code 55.1-356) |
| The said grantor releases to the said grantee all his claims upon the said lands | Construed as a quitclaim of all right, title and interest, both at law and in equity (Va. Code 55.1-363) |
One set of delinquent-tax sale terms the Carroll County Treasurer posted in 2026 names a special warranty deed, a dated example taken up in the glossary entry on the special warranty deed.
A quitclaim is still a conveyance the clerk records: the Code lists quitclaim deeds among the instruments that go into the deed book. How the choice between a quitclaim and a full warranty plays out on a real sale is compared in quitclaim deed versus general warranty deed, and that choice belongs to the parties and their attorneys.
An acknowledged signature and a first page the clerk can index
After the signing comes the acknowledgment, which is what opens the recording door. Except where the Code provides otherwise, Va. Code 55.1-600 has the circuit court or its clerk record a writing as to a person who signed it with an original signature once that person has acknowledged it, or once it is proved as the statute provides.
The clerk also reads the first page. Unless a cover sheet is submitted with the writing, Va. Code 17.1-223 gives the clerk authority to reject a writing for recordation that misses listed requirements. Among them:
- the surname of each individual party underscored or written entirely in capital letters in the first clause that names the parties;
- every page of the writing numbered consecutively;
- each party under whose name the writing is to be indexed listed in that first clause and identified as grantor, grantee or both;
- for the taxable writings the section names, the amount of the consideration and the actual value of the property conveyed stated on the first page.
The grantor's tax statute adds a first-page rule of its own. A deed subject to that tax is not admitted to record unless the consideration is stated on the first page and the clerk certifies that the tax has been paid.
In localities with a unique parcel identification system, Va. Code 17.1-252 has the clerk require the tax map reference number or parcel identification number on the first page of the deed or on its cover sheet, and lets the clerk index the deed by that number as well.
Fees and taxes paid, then a day and a time written on the deed
A writing is recorded upon payment of the clerk's fees and the tax, if any. The clerk's fee is set by statute according to page count, and the taxes turn on the consideration or the value of the property conveyed.
On every deed admitted to record, except a deed exempt from taxation by law, Virginia levies a state recordation tax of 25 cents on every $100 or fraction of the consideration or the actual value of the property conveyed, whichever is greater. Value here means the most recent property tax assessment at the time of conveyance. The grantor's tax is a separate charge that the grantor pays unless grantor and grantee arrange for the grantee to pay all or part, and how the grantor tax in Virginia is figured has its own page. Because the total combines several charges, the clerk's office is the one to state it.
Unless the Code provides otherwise, an acknowledged deed goes into the deed book, the book the Code names for deeds, deeds of trust, deeds of release, certificates of satisfaction, quitclaim deeds and contracts in reference to real estate. Plats and maps may go into a separate plat book at the clerk's discretion.
Upon admitting the deed to record, the clerk endorses the day and time of day of recordation on it. The general index lists each instrument under every party identified as grantor or grantee, which is the index a title search works through.
Until it is recorded, the deed is void as to a later buyer without notice
The recording statute does not say an unrecorded deed is void. It says the deed is void as to two groups of people outside the deal, until it is recorded.
shall be void as to all purchasers for valuable consideration without notice not parties thereto and lien creditors, until and except from the time it is recorded in the county or city in which the property subject to such contract, deed, or bill of sale is located.
Va. Code 55.1-407
In practice, a grantee who leaves a deed unrecorded is exposed to two kinds of outsider: a later purchaser who pays value without notice of the earlier deed, and a creditor who obtains a lien against the grantor. The statute's protection against both runs from the time of recording. How an unrecorded deed plays out on a particular set of facts is a question for an attorney.
The same section shuts two shortcuts. A deed in quitclaim or release form does not by itself stop the grantee from being a purchaser for value without notice. And the mere possession of real estate is not, by itself, notice to purchasers for value of the possessor's interest. What a title search reads in the land records, and what a policy adds on top of that search, is set out in title insurance, explained.
Where the deed is recorded matters as much as whether. Recording in one county or city does not protect real estate located in another; the deed has to be recorded where that land lies. The Carroll County office, and the charter rule that sends a City of Galax deed to the Carroll or Grayson clerk, are covered in where to record a deed in Carroll County.
A loan secured by the land goes into the same deed book but does a different job. The deeds of trust guide follows that instrument on its own terms.
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Good questions, straight answers.
Does a deed recorded in the wrong county protect the land?
No. Under Va. Code 55.1-408, recording a writing in one county or city does not protect real estate located in another; as to purchasers and lien creditors it stays void for that other land until it is recorded in the county or city where that land lies. For a parcel in the City of Galax, the charter sends deeds to the Carroll County or Grayson County clerk, depending on where the land was recorded before Galax became a city; which one applies to a given parcel is a question to confirm with the clerk.
Does someone living on the land put a buyer on notice of their claim?
Not by that fact alone. Va. Code 55.1-407 says the mere possession of real estate is not, of itself, notice to purchasers for value of any interest or estate the person in possession holds in it. What else a buyer knew or could have learned, and what that means for a particular claim, is an attorney's question on the facts.
At what moment does a deed count as recorded?
At the day and time of recordation, which the clerk endorses on the deed upon admitting it to record under Va. Code 17.1-223. The recording statute protects a deed against later purchasers for value without notice and lien creditors from the time it is recorded. The fees and any tax are paid first, and the clerk's office states the amount.
Where this page's facts come from
Every rule, office and figure above traces to one of these. Rules change; check the office before you act on one.
- Va. Code 55.1-101: land conveyed only by deed or will; unwritten gifts of land Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 55.1-300: form of deeds Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 55.1-303: buildings and appurtenances included Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 55.1-354: covenant of general warranty Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 55.1-355: covenant of special warranty Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 55.1-356: meaning of warranty words and English covenants of title Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 55.1-363: release words construed as a quitclaim Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 55.1-407: unrecorded deeds, quitclaim form and possession Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 55.1-408: recording where the real estate is located Virginia General Assembly
- Charter for the City of Galax, sections 11.01 and 21.10 Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 55.1-600: recording upon acknowledgment Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 17.1-223: first-page requirements and endorsement of recording time Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 17.1-227: instruments recorded in the deed book Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 17.1-236: plat books Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 17.1-249: general indexes to deed books Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 17.1-252: tax map reference or parcel identification number on the first page Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 17.1-275: clerk's fees for recording Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 58.1-801: state recordation tax on deeds Virginia General Assembly
- Va. Code 58.1-802: grantor's tax Virginia General Assembly
- 2026 delinquent tax auction terms Carroll County Treasurer