Virginia Warranty Deed
A Virginia warranty deed guarantees clear title and defends the buyer against claims. Record with the clerk of the circuit court. Attorney review available.
Introduction
In Virginia the words with general warranty turn a deed into a warranty deed, codifying the seller's guarantee to forever warrant and defend the property against the claims and demands of all persons (Virginia Code Sections 55.1-356 and 55.1-354). That title guarantee is what separates it from a quitclaim deed, which promises nothing and passes only whatever interest the seller happens to have. A general warranty deed protects against every title defect, including ones that arose before the seller owned the property; a special or limited warranty deed covers only problems created during the seller's own ownership. Virginia matters here because Virginia is a true warranty-deed state that codifies exactly what a warranty deed promises. Under Virginia Code Section 55.1-356, adding the words with general warranty to a deed creates the covenant that the grantor will warrant generally the property, and Section 55.1-354 gives that covenant the effect of a promise to forever warrant and defend the property against the claims and demands of all persons. Special warranty words instead limit that defense to claims arising by, through, or under the grantor (Section 55.1-355). Unlike California, the word grant alone carries no covenants in Virginia; the warranty comes only from these express words. You record the signed, notarized deed with the clerk of the circuit court of the county or city where the land is located (Section 55.1-600). DocDraft builds your Virginia deed from your facts, with attorney review available before you record.
Key Things to Know
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A warranty deed gives a Virginia buyer the strongest title protection: the seller guarantees clear title and promises to forever warrant and defend it against the claims and demands of all persons. A quitclaim deed carries no such covenant.
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Virginia is a warranty-deed state, not a grant-deed state. The words with general warranty create a covenant that the grantor will warrant generally the property (Virginia Code Section 55.1-356), which Section 55.1-354 makes a promise to forever warrant and defend the property against the claims and demands of all persons. Unlike California, the word grant alone implies no covenants in Virginia.
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A special or limited warranty deed uses the words with special warranty and limits the defense to claims arising by, through, or under the grantor (Virginia Code Section 55.1-355), so it does not cover title defects predating the grantor's ownership. A quitclaim deed carries no covenants at all.
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You record the signed deed with the clerk of the circuit court of the county or city where the land is located (Virginia Code Section 55.1-600; Section 17.1-227). Virginia follows a race-notice priority rule: an unrecorded deed is void as to a later good-faith purchaser for value without notice (Section 55.1-407), so record promptly.
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The grantor's signature must be acknowledged before a notary or the circuit court clerk before the deed can be recorded (Virginia Code Section 55.1-600; Section 55.1-612). Virginia does not require subscribing witnesses for a deed; proof by two witnesses is only an alternative to acknowledgment, not an added requirement.
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Virginia charges a state recordation tax of 25 cents on every 100 dollars of the greater of the consideration or actual value (Virginia Code Section 58.1-801) and a grantor tax of 50 cents for each 500 dollars when that amount exceeds 100 dollars (Section 58.1-802); the consideration and actual value must be stated on the first page (Section 17.1-223), and a city or county may add up to one-third of the state tax (Section 58.1-814).
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Virginia abolished dower and curtesy effective January 1, 1991, so a non-owner spouse generally need not join to convey the titled spouse's separately owned real property for post-1990 interests (Virginia Code Section 64.2-301). Virginia is a separate-property, not a community-property, state.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Warranty Deed in Virginia, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Warranty Deed guide walks through them.
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Once your Warranty Deed is ready, you can check whether it needs to be notarized in Virginia in about a minute, and notarize it online through DocDraft if it does.
Virginia Requirements for Warranty Deed
A warranty deed guarantees clear title and defends the buyer against claims. Virginia codifies the guarantee through express words: the words with general warranty create a covenant that the grantor will warrant generally the property (Virginia Code Section 55.1-356), and Section 55.1-354 gives it the effect of a promise to forever warrant and defend the property against the claims and demands of all persons. Unlike California, the word grant alone implies no covenants in Virginia.
Virginia is a warranty-deed state, not a grant-deed state. A general warranty deed uses the words with general warranty and warrants title against the claims and demands of all persons, including defects predating the grantor (Virginia Code Section 55.1-354). A special or limited warranty deed uses the words with special warranty and covers only claims arising by, through, or under the grantor (Section 55.1-355). A quitclaim gives no covenants.
Record the signed, notarized deed with the clerk of the circuit court of the county or city where the land is located (Virginia Code Section 55.1-600; Section 17.1-227). Virginia follows a race-notice priority rule: an unrecorded deed is void as to a later good-faith purchaser for value without notice and to lien creditors (Section 55.1-407). Record promptly to protect your interest.
Before recording, the grantor's signature must be acknowledged before a notary or the circuit court clerk (Virginia Code Section 55.1-600; Section 55.1-612). Virginia does not require subscribing witnesses for a deed; proof by two witnesses is only an alternative to acknowledgment, not an added requirement, so a proper notarial acknowledgment is the recording path.
Virginia levies a state recordation tax of 25 cents on every 100 dollars of the greater of the consideration or actual value (Virginia Code Section 58.1-801) and a grantor tax of 50 cents for each 500 dollars when that amount exceeds 100 dollars (Section 58.1-802). A city or county may add a local recordation tax equal to one-third of the state tax (Section 58.1-814). A gift or quitclaim deed without consideration, spousal transfers, and divorce transfers can be exempt with the proper recital (Sections 58.1-811 and 58.1-810).
Identify the grantor and grantee, and include the full legal description of the property (not just the street address or parcel number). Virginia requires the surname of each individual party in capital letters or underscored in the first clause, each party identified as grantor or grantee, and the consideration and actual value stated on the first page (Virginia Code Section 17.1-223). Errors in the legal description or vesting are a common and costly source of later title problems, so confirm both against the current deed.
In Virginia the title covenant comes only from the express warranty words in the deed, not from the word grant. The words with general warranty invoke the full Section 55.1-354 covenant to warrant and defend against all persons; with special warranty invokes the narrower Section 55.1-355 covenant; with English covenants of title adds the covenants of Sections 55.1-359 through 55.1-362. Choose and state the words deliberately, because they define the protection.
Choose the deed to match the protection intended. A general warranty deed warrants title against all claims and is the standard Virginia sale instrument; a special warranty deed covers only the grantor's own ownership; a quitclaim gives no covenants. Virginia abolished dower and curtesy effective January 1, 1991, so a non-owner spouse generally need not join to convey the titled spouse's separately owned real property for post-1990 interests (Virginia Code Section 64.2-301).
Does your Warranty Deed need to be notarized in Virginia?
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Check my Warranty DeedFrequently Asked Questions
A warranty deed guarantees the seller holds clear title and will defend the buyer against claims to the property. A quitclaim deed makes no promises at all; it passes only whatever interest the seller actually has, and Virginia construes release words into that quitclaim effect under Virginia Code Section 55.1-363. The difference is the covenant: a general warranty deed adds the words with general warranty, which create a promise to warrant and defend the property against the claims and demands of all persons (Section 55.1-354), while a quitclaim adds none.
A general warranty deed guarantees clear title against all claims and backs it with a duty to defend. Under Virginia Code Section 55.1-356 the words with general warranty create a covenant that the grantor will warrant generally the property, and Section 55.1-354 gives that covenant the effect that the grantor, and the grantor's heirs and personal representatives, will forever warrant and defend the property unto the grantee against the claims and demands of all persons, including defects that arose before the grantor owned the land.
Virginia uses a warranty deed. Unlike California, Virginia has no grant deed that implies covenants from the word grant; here the word grant is only granting language and carries no covenants of title on its own. Virginia's statutory short-form deed (Virginia Code Section 55.1-300) leaves a slot to insert covenants, and adding the words with general warranty is what makes it a general warranty deed with the covenant of Section 55.1-354. A general warranty deed is the standard Virginia sale instrument.
You record the signed, notarized deed with the clerk of the circuit court of the county or city where the land is located (Virginia Code Section 55.1-600; Section 17.1-227). The grantor's signature must be acknowledged before a notary or the clerk first (Section 55.1-612), the consideration and actual value must appear on the first page, and the recordation and grantor taxes must be paid (Section 58.1-802). Virginia follows a race-notice rule, so an unrecorded deed is void as to a later good-faith purchaser (Section 55.1-407); record promptly.
Virginia does not require an attorney to prepare a deed, though a licensed attorney or settlement agent customarily handles the closing in Virginia real estate transactions. Because a deed transfers title and a mistake in the legal description, the covenants, or the recording formalities can be expensive to fix, many people have the deed reviewed before recording. DocDraft prepares your Virginia deed from your facts, with attorney review available as an option before you record.
It must be notarized. Before a Virginia deed can be recorded, the grantor's signature has to be acknowledged before a notary or the circuit court clerk (Virginia Code Section 55.1-600; Section 55.1-612). Virginia does not require subscribing witnesses for a deed; the statute lets a deed be proved by two witnesses only as an alternative to acknowledgment, not as an added requirement, so a proper notarial acknowledgment is what allows the clerk to record it.
Usually yes when the property is sold. Virginia levies a state recordation tax of 25 cents on every 100 dollars of the greater of the consideration or actual value (Virginia Code Section 58.1-801) and a grantor tax of 50 cents for each 500 dollars when that amount exceeds 100 dollars (Section 58.1-802). A city or county may add a local recordation tax equal to one-third of the state tax (Section 58.1-814). A gift or quitclaim deed with no consideration, deeds between spouses, and divorce transfers can be exempt with the proper recital (Sections 58.1-811 and 58.1-810).
A general warranty deed uses the words with general warranty and warrants title against the claims and demands of all persons, covering even defects that arose before the grantor owned the land (Virginia Code Section 55.1-354). A special or limited warranty deed uses the words with special warranty and warrants only against claims arising by, through, or under the grantor (Section 55.1-355), so it does not cover older defects. A quitclaim gives no covenants at all. The reason for the transfer usually points to the right one.