James City Warranty Deed Form

This form prepares a Virginia general warranty deed for one individual grantor: a single owner of record conveying Virginia real property to one or more grantees, signing alone, with one acknowledgment certificate. The deed carries Virginia's strongest title covenant and collects, on its first page, the items Virginia recording law expects to find there.

A warranty that answers for the whole chain of title

Virginia deeds take their character from covenant words rather than captions. Under Code of Virginia Section 55.1-354, a covenant that the grantor will warrant generally the property hereby conveyed operates as a warranty of the property against the claims and demands of all persons, and Section 55.1-356 gives the words with general warranty in the granting clause the same effect. This deed carries both formulations: the granting clause conveys with general warranty in the compact statutory pattern of Section 55.1-300, and a separate sentence states the Section 55.1-354 covenant in the statute's own words. A special warranty deed, by contrast, answers only for claims arising by, through, or under the grantor; the general warranty reaches the whole chain of title, subject to the exceptions the deed states.

One grantor, one signature, one certificate

The form recites a single individual grantor holding record title alone, married or unmarried. One signature line closes the deed with the Section 55.1-300 attestation phrase, witness the following signature, and one acknowledgment certificate follows, printed in the Section 55.1-621 statutory short form for an individual and carrying the venue, commission expiration, and notary registration number lines Virginia notarial law places on a certificate. Co-owners conveying together, spouses holding as tenants by the entirety (whose conveyance takes a deed signed by both spouses as grantors under Section 55.1-136), and entity or fiduciary grantors present configurations this form does not recite.

The first page carries Virginia's recording data

Section 17.1-223 of the Code of Virginia builds a checklist into the first page of a Virginia deed, and the top of this form collects it: the preparer statement for a residential deed of up to four dwelling units (prepared by the owner, or by a Virginia attorney with a State Bar number), the return address, the title insurance underwriter statement, the tax map or parcel identification number required in localities with unique parcel systems, the consideration and the actual value of the property conveyed, and the line for any recordation tax exemption claimed. Consideration on the first page matters twice over: the clerk may reject a deed missing the required first-page information absent a cover sheet, and a deed subject to the grantor tax is not admitted to record until its first page states the consideration.

Recording with the circuit court clerk

The completed deed is recorded with the clerk of the circuit court of the county or city where the property is located. Recording is what protects the grantee against later purchasers and lien creditors under Virginia's recording act, Section 55.1-407. The document meets the statewide format standards for recorded instruments, with a top margin of at least 1.25 inches on every page, compliant side and bottom margins, and body text above the 9 point minimum, and it reserves space for the clerk's recording information. The guide walks through the state recordation tax, the grantor tax, the regional fees that apply in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads localities, and the county cover sheet practices that vary from clerk to clerk.

The download contains the warranty deed as a fillable PDF, a completed example showing every entry for a realistic Loudoun County transaction, and a plain language guide that explains each section, the signing and notarization steps, and the recording process; the materials are informational and are not legal advice.