Virginia Quitclaim Deed
A Virginia quitclaim deed (or quit claim deed) transfers your interest with no warranty. Record it with the clerk of the circuit court and pay the recordation and grantor taxes.
Introduction
Virginia records real estate deeds through the clerk of the circuit court of the county or city where the land sits, not a county recorder or register of deeds, and it stacks up to three separate taxes on a recorded deed rather than a single transfer tax: a state recordation tax, a grantor tax, and an optional local recordation tax (Va. Code Section 55.1-600; Sections 58.1-801, 58.1-802, 58.1-814). Within that system, a quitclaim deed is a document that transfers whatever ownership interest you have in a piece of real estate to someone else, with no promise that your title is good or even that you own anything at all. That is the key difference from a warranty deed, which does promise clear title and lets the grantee sue if the title turns out to be flawed. A quitclaim simply passes along whatever interest you hold, so people use it for lower-risk transfers between people who already trust each other: adding or removing a spouse after a marriage or divorce, moving a home into a living trust, or clearing up a possible claim on a title. In Virginia the person giving up the interest is the grantor and the person receiving it is the grantee. Virginia gives a quitclaim its effect through release words: under Va. Code Section 55.1-363 a deed stating that the grantor releases all claims to the land is construed to remise, release, and forever quitclaim all right, title, and interest, with no warranty attached. You sign the deed and acknowledge it before a notary under Va. Code Section 55.1-600, then record it with the clerk of the circuit court. A quitclaim deed passing no consideration is exempt from the recordation tax if it says so on its face (Va. Code Section 58.1-811(D)). Attorney review is available as an option before you sign.
Key Things to Know
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A quitclaim deed transfers only the interest you actually have. It passes whatever ownership you hold in the property to the grantee and makes no promise that the title is clear, or even that you own anything. A warranty deed, by contrast, guarantees the title, which is why a quitclaim (often typed quit claim deed) is used mainly between people who already trust each other.
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Record it with the clerk of the circuit court. Under Va. Code Section 55.1-600 a Virginia deed is recorded by the clerk of the circuit court of the county or city where the property is located, not a county recorder or register of deeds. Recording protects the grantee against a later buyer under the state's race-notice priority rule, because Va. Code Section 55.1-407 makes an unrecorded deed void as to a later purchaser for value without notice.
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Sign before a notary; no witnesses are needed. To be recorded, a Virginia deed must carry the grantor's original signature and be acknowledged before a notary or the clerk (Va. Code Section 55.1-600; Section 55.1-612). Virginia does not require subscribing witnesses: Section 55.1-600 offers proof by two witnesses only as an alternative to acknowledgment, not as an added requirement, so the standard path is a single grantor signature acknowledged before a notary.
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Plan for the layered recordation and grantor taxes. On recording, the clerk collects a state recordation tax of 25 cents per $100 of the consideration or actual value, whichever is greater (Va. Code Section 58.1-801), plus a grantor tax of 50 cents per $500 when that amount exceeds $100 (Section 58.1-802). A city or county may add a local recordation tax of up to one-third of the state tax (Section 58.1-814). The consideration and actual value must be stated on the first page (Section 17.1-223).
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There is no fill-in Virginia quitclaim form. Va. Code Section 55.1-300 supplies a permissive statutory deed shell, meaning a deed may follow that form or be to the same effect. The quitclaim effect comes from adding the release words that Va. Code Section 55.1-363 construes as a quitclaim, not from a separate state form. A quitclaim deed with no consideration is exempt from recordation tax if it says so on its face (Section 58.1-811(D)).
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No spousal joinder is required. Virginia is a separate-property state, and dower and curtesy were abolished effective January 1, 1991 (Va. Code Section 64.2-301), so a non-owner spouse does not have to sign to make a post-1990 transfer valid. Common quitclaim uses include divorce transfers, adding or removing a spouse, and moving a home into a trust.
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You can often record electronically, but the clerk can reject a deed that breaks the content rules. Where the clerk of the circuit court has set up an eRecording system, Virginia's Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act lets you record an electronic deed on the same footing as a paper one (Va. Code Section 55.1-661; Section 55.1-662). Either way, the clerk may reject the deed unless the surname of each party is underscored or written in capital letters in the first clause, each page is numbered consecutively, the consideration and value appear on the first page, and the law behind any recordation-tax exemption is stated on the face of the deed (Va. Code Section 17.1-223).
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Quitclaim Deed in Virginia, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Quitclaim Deed guide walks through them.
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Virginia Requirements for Quitclaim Deed
To record a Virginia quitclaim deed, the grantor must sign it with an original signature and acknowledge it before a notary or the clerk of the circuit court (Va. Code Section 55.1-600; Section 55.1-612). The acknowledgment is the notary confirming the grantor's identity and signature, and it is what makes the deed recordable.
Virginia does not require subscribing witnesses to a deed. Va. Code Section 55.1-600 lists proof by two witnesses only as an alternative to acknowledgment for admitting the deed to record, not as an added requirement, so the standard path is one grantor signature acknowledged before a notary.
Record the signed, acknowledged deed with the clerk of the circuit court of the county or city where the property is located (Va. Code Section 55.1-600). Recording matters because Va. Code Section 55.1-407 makes an unrecorded deed void as to a later purchaser for value without notice, so recording protects the grantee's priority.
Virginia requires the amount of the consideration and the actual value of the property conveyed to be stated on the first page of the deed (Va. Code Section 58.1-802; Section 17.1-223). The clerk may reject the writing if the surname of each party is not underscored or capitalized and identified as grantor or grantee in the first clause.
On recording, Virginia levies a state recordation tax of 25 cents per $100 of the consideration or the actual value, whichever is greater (Va. Code Section 58.1-801), plus a grantor tax of 50 cents per $500 when that amount exceeds $100 (Section 58.1-802). A city or county may add a local recordation tax of up to one-third of the state tax (Section 58.1-814).
A quitclaim deed, deed of gift, or corrective deed between the parties needs no recordation tax when no consideration passes, but the deed must state that it is a quitclaim deed without consideration (Va. Code Section 58.1-811(D)). A deed transferring property under a divorce decree or separation instrument is exempt under Section 58.1-811(A)(14). Any exemption claimed must be cited on the face of the deed (Section 17.1-223).
Virginia has no fill-in quitclaim form. Va. Code Section 55.1-300 gives a permissive statutory deed shell, meaning a deed may follow that form or be to the same effect. The quitclaim effect comes from adding the release words that Va. Code Section 55.1-363 construes to remise, release, and forever quitclaim all right, title, and interest, with no warranty of title.
Virginia is a separate-property state, not a community-property state. Dower and curtesy were abolished effective January 1, 1991 (Va. Code Section 64.2-301), so a non-owner spouse does not have to sign to make a post-1990 transfer valid. Dower or curtesy interests that vested before January 1, 1991 are preserved and remain governed by prior law.
Frequently Asked Questions
A quitclaim deed is a deed that transfers whatever interest you have in Virginia real estate to someone else, without any warranty that the title is good. It is often typed as a quit claim deed. Virginia gives it effect through release words: under Va. Code Section 55.1-363 a deed releasing all claims to the land passes all right, title, and interest the grantor holds, if any, with no promise about the title.
The difference is the promise about title. A Virginia general warranty deed uses express warranty words so the grantor guarantees clear title and the grantee can sue if that turns out to be false. A quitclaim deed omits those words and instead uses the release language of Va. Code Section 55.1-363, which passes only whatever interest the grantor actually has and carries no warranty. Use a quitclaim between parties who trust each other, not for an arm's length purchase.
Yes. To record a quitclaim deed in Virginia you sign it with an original signature and acknowledge it before a notary (or the clerk of the circuit court), as Va. Code Section 55.1-600 and Section 55.1-612 require. The acknowledgment is the notary confirming your identity and signature. Without it the clerk will not admit the deed to record.
You record it with the clerk of the circuit court of the county or city where the property is located (Va. Code Section 55.1-600). Recording gives public notice and protects the grantee against a later buyer, because Va. Code Section 55.1-407 makes an unrecorded deed void as to a later purchaser for value without notice. The consideration and actual value must appear on the first page.
You pay the clerk's recording fee plus the recordation taxes. The state recordation tax is 25 cents per $100 of consideration or actual value, whichever is greater (Va. Code Section 58.1-801), and the grantor tax is 50 cents per $500 above $100 (Section 58.1-802); a locality may add up to one-third of the state tax (Section 58.1-814). A quitclaim deed with no consideration is exempt if the deed says so, under Va. Code Section 58.1-811(D).
Often, yes. Where the clerk of the circuit court has set up an eRecording system, Virginia's Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act treats a properly submitted electronic deed the same as a paper one for recording (Va. Code Section 55.1-661; Section 55.1-662). Availability depends on the local circuit court clerk, so check whether your county or city clerk accepts electronic submissions before you rely on it.
Yes, and it is common. One spouse can quitclaim their interest to the other to carry out a divorce settlement. Virginia is a separate-property state and abolished dower and curtesy in 1991 (Va. Code Section 64.2-301), so no extra spousal signature is needed for a post-1990 transfer. A deed transferring property under a divorce decree or a written separation instrument is exempt from recordation tax under Va. Code Section 58.1-811(A)(14) if that exemption is stated on the deed.
Yes. The clerk of the circuit court may reject a deed for recording unless the surname of each party is underscored or written entirely in capital letters in the first clause that names the parties, each page is numbered consecutively, the consideration and actual value are stated on the first page, and the law under which any recordation-tax exemption is claimed is stated on the face of the deed (Va. Code Section 17.1-223). Each party must also be identified as grantor, grantee, or both.