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Virginia public records: who holds what

In Virginia, deeds are recorded by the Clerk of the Circuit Court, birth and death certificates come from the VDH Office of Vital Records and requests for other government records fall under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (VFOIA). Below: who holds every other record, what copies cost and the official link for each office.

Last checked against official sources on .

On this page
  1. Who holds what in Virginia
  2. Public records law in Virginia
  3. How Virginia organizes its records
  4. Other records: background checks, voters, businesses, maps
  5. Counties in Virginia
  6. Warnings from official sources
  7. Official copies vs look-alike sites
  8. Official directories
  9. Sources

Who holds what in Virginia

The office that keeps each record, and the fee the law or the office sets for a copy. Open a record type for the full rules, ordering steps and older records.

RecordWho holds itCopy fee
DeedsClerk of the Circuit Court of each county or independent city (an elected constitutional officer, 8-year term). 120 circuit courts serve Virginia's 133 counties and cities; some clerks serve combined localities.1$0.50 per page (or per image for electronic records)2
Property recordsCommissioner of the Revenue (elected constitutional officer) or, where the locality chooses, a board of assessors / real estate appraiser (assessor's office). Real estate assessed at 100% of fair market value.3—
Court recordsUnified state court system administered by the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia: circuit courts (all felonies; exclusive jurisdiction over almost all civil claims > $50,000; concurrent with general district courts for claims over $4,500 up to $50,000; divorce, wills/estates, real property), general district courts (misdemeanors, traffic, smaller civil), juvenile & domestic relations district courts1Circuit clerk copies $0.50/page, certification $2 (§ 17.1-275); district court clerk copies up to $1 for first two pages and $0.50 each page after2
Marriage recordsLicense issued and recorded by the Clerk of the Circuit Court; record filed with the VDH Office of Vital Records (state copies 1853-present)4$15 per certified copy or search (no refund if not found)5
Divorce recordsCircuit court clerk holds the divorce case file and final decree; VDH Office of Vital Records issues certified divorce certificates (1918-present)4$15 per certified copy or search (no refund if not found)5
Birth certificatesVirginia Department of Health, Office of Vital Records (State Registrar), Richmond; also issued at local health departments and DMV customer service centers6$15 per certified copy or search (no refund if not found)5
Death certificatesVDH Office of Vital Records (also local health departments and DMV)4$15 per certified copy or search (no refund if not found)5
Probate and willsClerk of the Circuit Court (probate is handled by the clerk; disputes by the circuit court)7—

Public records law in Virginia

Virginia Freedom of Information Act (VFOIA) (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3700 et seq.) Read the law8

This law covers records that agencies hold, such as a county office's correspondence or a property file. Recorded deeds, vital records and court files usually have their own rules, set out in each record section.

Who can ask
Citizens of the Commonwealth and representatives of newspapers/magazines circulating in Virginia and radio/TV stations broadcasting in or into Virginia; custodian may ask for name and legal address9
Response time
Promptly, but within 5 working days: provide records or respond in writing (withheld, partly withheld, not found, or more time needed); 'more time' response buys 7 more work days (60 for criminal investigative files). Failure to respond = denial.9
If a request is refused
No administrative appeal; petition for mandamus or injunction (with affidavit) in general district or circuit court; heard within 7 days10
What is exempt
Exclusions are listed in §§ 2.2-3705.1 to 2.2-3705.7 (e.g. personnel records, attorney-client privilege, vendor proprietary software); excluded records 'may be disclosed by the custodian in his discretion'. Exemptions are construed narrowly.11
Official guide
No Attorney General FOIA guide; the statutory Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council (legislative branch) furnishes advisory opinions or guidelines on VFOIA to any person or public body on request (Code §§ 30-178, 30-179).12
Fees: general
Reasonable charges not to exceed actual cost of accessing, duplicating, supplying or searching; no 'extraneous, intermediary, or surplus fees' to recoup general record-keeping or business costs; duplicating fee capped at actual cost of duplication9
More on the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (VFOIA)
Fees: estimate
Requester must be told in writing before the search that charges may apply and may ask for a cost estimate9
Fees: deposit
If charges are likely to exceed $200 the body may require a deposit; response clock is tolled meanwhile9
FOIA officer
Every state and local public body (incl. constitutional officers) must designate and publicly identify a FOIA officer13
Court records outside FOIA
Case records held by court clerks are not requested under FOIA but under §§ 17.1-208 (circuit) and 16.1-69.54:1 (district); 30-day outer limit for circuit clerks14

How to write a public records request

How Virginia organizes its records

  • Independent cities: each county and each city elects its own clerk, treasurer, commissioner of revenue, sheriff and attorney for the Commonwealth, so records for a city are held by the city's officers, not the surrounding county's. Identify whether the property/event is in a city or a county.15
  • 120 circuit courts for 133 localities: some circuit court clerks serve both a county and a city (or several), so the records office may be in another jurisdiction's courthouse.1
  • DMV customer service centers issue certified birth, death, marriage and divorce certificates ($15 + $2 DMV processing fee).16
  • Court case records are outside VFOIA: request them from the clerk under § 17.1-208 (circuit) or § 16.1-69.54:1 (district).14
  • Statewide criminal-record sealing effective July 1, 2026 removes many records from court/VSP public access.17

Other records: background checks, voters, businesses, maps

Criminal history checks

State repository
Virginia State Police, Central Criminal Records Exchange (CCRE)17
Who may order
Anyone may use form SP-167 with the subject's signature notarized in Section 1 (a third-party recipient also signs Section 2, notarized); SP-230 is for Virginia employers/prospective employers and entities empowered under Va. Code § 19.2-389 (it cannot be used to search your own record)18
Fee
$15 criminal history name search; $20 combined criminal history + sex offender registry; $15 sex offender search (SP-266); non-profit volunteer rates $16 / $819
What it covers
SP-167 name search returns Virginia convictions only; attach fingerprint card for charges/dismissals/pending19
Processing time
About 15 business days after receipt; no expedited service18
More about criminal history checks
Fingerprint fees
Fingerprint state + FBI search for authorized entities: $13.75 VSP + $13.25 FBI = $27.0018
Online form
Form generated online at catspublic.vsp.virginia.gov/…, then printed, notarized and mailed18
Restriction
Juvenile record information not disseminated except as § 19.2-389.1 allows; dissemination governed by § 19.2-38918

Sex offender registry

Official registry
vspsor.com20
Agency
Virginia State Police, Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry (Code of Virginia Title 9.1, Chapter 9)21
Public data
Name, aliases, date/locality and description of conviction, age, current address, photograph, current work address, and any institution of higher education where currently enrolled22
Misuse
Using registry information to intimidate or harass is a Class 1 misdemeanor21

Inmate and jail lookups

State prisons
VADOC Inmate & Supervisee Locator (state prisoners, probationers/parolees, DOC inmates in local jails): vadoc.virginia.gov/…23

Voter records

Public or restricted
Restricted: voter lists are sold only to candidates, parties, PACs, incumbents, voter-registration nonprofits and certain officials; not to the general public; no Internet republication24
Public statement
Department of Elections: only certain parties, candidates and non-profits may request lists25
No republication
Recipients may not publish list data online24
County offices
Local general registrar (voter registration office) in each county/city; lookup: vote.elections.virginia.gov/…26
Check your registration
Citizen Portal (check own registration, update registration): vote.elections.virginia.gov/…27

Business names (DBA)

Secretary of State role
The State Corporation Commission (SCC) Clerk's Office handles assumed-name certificates and central UCC filings (business entity filings are also processed in the SCC Clerk's Office per § 12.1-21.2 C: 'business entity or Uniform Commercial Code filings processed in its Clerk's Office')28
Trade name DBA
Assumed/fictitious name certificates are filed with the SCC Clerk (filings before January 1, 2020 were made in the office of the clerk of the circuit court)29
Trade name fee
$10 SCC filing fee30

Liens and UCC filings

UCC filing
State Corporation Commission Clerk's Office (central filing); fixture filings, timber and as-extracted collateral at the circuit court clerk where mortgages are recorded31
UCC filing fee
$20 per filing/record32
UCC search fee
Circuit court clerk (non-SCC filing office) UCC information request/search certificate: $20. SCC information-request fees are 'governed by § 12.1-21.1'32
Federal tax liens
Federal liens on real property: circuit court clerk; on personal property of corporations/partnerships with principal office in VA: SCC; otherwise circuit court clerk of residence33
Judgment liens
Judgments docketed by the circuit court clerk ($5 to docket a judgment from another Virginia court; $20 foreign judgment)2

GIS and parcel maps

State GIS portal
Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN), Virginia Department of Emergency Management: Virginia GIS Clearinghouse vgin.vdem.virginia.gov/pages/clearinghouse; statewide parcels layer aggregated quarterly from localities34
Viewer
Virginia GIS Viewer (VGIN)34
GIS fees by localities
Under VFOIA localities may charge actual cost for GIS output except to the landowner; pro-rata per-acre for topographic maps over 50 acres9

Historical and genealogy records

State archives
Library of Virginia (State Archives), 800 East Broad Street, Richmond: official custodian of transferred public records, incl. circuit court records35
Births
LVA has 1853-1896 birth/death registers and pre-1936 marriage records on microfilm (free to view); certified copies only from VDH36
Gap
Most localities did not record births and deaths 1897-191137
No searches
LVA cannot copy or search vital-record microfilm for researchers37
Chancery
Chancery Records Index (CRI) of pre-1913 chancery causes from 100+ localities, many with images: lva.virginia.gov/collections/chancery38
More about historical and genealogy records
Vital index
VDH online index: births/deaths 1912+, divorces 1918+, marriages 1936+ (open records)36
West virginia
Records of events in present-day West Virginia are at the WV Archives36

Counties in Virginia

15 counties with a full guide

Each guide lists the office for every record type, the official online searches, copy fees, phones and hours.

All 133 counties

Names in bold open our guide. Names with an arrow go to the county's own website, where the US Census Bureau lists one and it opened when we checked.39

Warnings from official sources

  • Virginia Attorney General (2014) warned of 'Deed Processing Notice' letters selling deed copies for $83; deed copies are available from some local court clerks for as little as $0.50 per page, plus $2 if certified.40
  • VADeed Alert is a free official deed-fraud email alert from the courts (OES), available where the clerk opts in.41
  • VitalChek is VDH's contracted vendor for expedited orders and charges extra; standard VDH fee is $15.42

Official copies vs look-alike sites

A certified copy comes only from the office that holds the record; reports and "research copies" sold by commercial sites are not issued by any Virginia office. How to tell an official record source from a paid look-alike.

Official directories

Lists that name the office in every county.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 43 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

  1. The Circuit Court (Circuit Courts Informational Pamphlet)Supreme Court of Virginia, Office of the Executive Secretary
  2. Code of Virginia § 17.1-275. Fees collected by clerks of circuit courts; generallyVirginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System)
  3. Code of Virginia § 58.1-3271. Appointment of board of assessors and real estate appraiserVirginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System)
  4. Vital Records Frequently Asked QuestionsVirginia Department of Health, Office of Vital Records
  5. Online Application for a Vital RecordVirginia Department of Health, Office of Vital Records
  6. Vital Record Walk-In LocationsVirginia Department of Health, Office of Vital Records
  7. Code of Virginia § 64.2-444. Clerks may probate willsVirginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System)
  8. Code of Virginia § 2.2-3700. Short title; policy (Virginia Freedom of Information Act)Virginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System)
  9. Code of Virginia § 2.2-3704. Public records to be open to inspection; procedure for requesting records and responding to request; chargesVirginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System)
  10. Code of Virginia § 2.2-3713. Proceedings for enforcement of chapterVirginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System)
  11. Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.1. Exclusions to application of chapter; exclusions of general application to public bodiesVirginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System)
  12. Code of Virginia § 30-179. Powers and duties of the CouncilVirginia General Assembly (LIS)
  13. Code of Virginia § 2.2-3704.2. Public bodies to designate FOIA officerVirginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System)
  14. Requesting Public Records from Clerks of CourtSupreme Court of Virginia, Office of the Executive Secretary
  15. Constitution of Virginia, Article VII, Section 4. County and city officersVirginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System)
  16. Code of Virginia § 32.1-273. Fees for certified copies, searches of files, etc.Virginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System)
  17. Petition-Based Record SealingVirginia State Police
  18. Virginia Criminal History Record CheckVirginia State Police
  19. Instructions for Completion of Criminal History Background Search forms (SP-167)Virginia State Police
  20. Virginia State Police home pageVirginia State Police
  21. Sex Offender and Crimes Against Minors Registry (home)Virginia State Police
  22. Code of Virginia § 9.1-913. Public dissemination by means of the InternetVirginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System)
  23. Inmate & Supervisee LocatorVirginia Department of Corrections
  24. Code of Virginia § 24.2-405. Lists of registered votersVirginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System)
  25. Election and Voter FAQVirginia Department of Elections
  26. Contact UsVirginia Department of Elections
  27. Virginia Department of Elections home pageVirginia Department of Elections
  28. Code of Virginia § 59.1-69. Certificate required of person transacting business under assumed nameVirginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System)
  29. Code of Virginia § 59.1-74. Recordation of certificate and registration of namesVirginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System)
  30. Code of Virginia § 59.1-70. Filing a certificate with State Corporation Commission; feeVirginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System)
  31. Code of Virginia § 8.9A-501. Filing officeVirginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System)
  32. Code of Virginia § 8.9A-525. FeesVirginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System)
  33. Code of Virginia § 55.1-653. Where notices and certificates affecting liens to be filedVirginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System)
  34. Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN)Virginia Department of Emergency Management
  35. Code of Virginia § 17.1-208. Records, etc., open to inspection; copies; exceptionVirginia General Assembly (Legislative Information System)
  36. GenealogyVirginia Department of Health, Office of Vital Records
  37. Birth, Marriage, and Death Records (1853–Present) research guideLibrary of Virginia (lva-virginia.libguides.com, linked from lva.virginia.gov 'Research Guides & Indexes')
  38. Chancery Records IndexLibrary of Virginia
  39. Government Units List 2026US Census Bureau
  40. Attorney General Herring Warns Homeowners To Be Cautious Of Letters That Urge Them To Buy Copies Of Their Home DeedOffice of the Attorney General of Virginia
  41. VADeed Alert Promotional Toolkit (Brunswick Circuit Court)Supreme Court of Virginia / Brunswick Circuit Court Clerk (vacourts.gov)
  42. Express Delivery through the VitalChek NetworkVirginia Department of Health, Office of Vital Records
  43. Circuit Courts DirectorySupreme Court of Virginia, Office of the Executive Secretary