People change who is on a Richmond-area deed for ordinary reasons: a marriage, a divorce, a parent who wants a child on the property, a co-buyer who is leaving. The paperwork looks small, usually one or two pages recorded at the circuit court. The consequences are not small, because a deed answers one question (who owns the home) and your mortgage answers a different one (who owes the money). This guide walks through the deed types Virginia’s Code actually describes, what a transfer can do to your loan, how recording works in Richmond, Chesterfield and Henrico, and where a lawyer needs to take over.
What Virginia’s Code says about warranty deeds, and where quitclaim and gift deeds fit
The Code of Virginia defines the warranty language that can appear in a deed in Title 55.1, Chapter 3, Article 4. Reading that article, three sections matter here. A grantor who covenants to “warrant generally” the property is treated as promising to defend it against the claims of all persons (section 55.1-354). A grantor who covenants to “warrant specially” promises to defend only against claims by the grantor and people claiming through or under the grantor (section 55.1-355). And section 55.1-356 says that wording such as “with general warranty,” “with special warranty” or “with English covenants of title” works as shorthand for those covenants, with English covenants adding the covenants in the sections that follow it.
In plain terms, a general warranty deed carries the broadest promise about the title, a special warranty deed promises only that the grantor did nothing to damage it, and the more limited the promise, the more a recipient relies on a title search and an owner’s policy instead. We cover how those policies work in our guide to what an owner’s title insurance policy actually covers, and how to trace the ownership history in pulling a deed, plat and chain of title.
The two forms people reach for when only a name is changing are the quitclaim deed and the deed of gift. We did not find either one defined in the warranty article above. Virginia’s recordation tax exemption statute, section 58.1-811, names both (“deed of gift” and “quitclaim deed”) as deeds that can be recorded without recordation tax when no consideration has passed between the parties. As commonly used, a quitclaim deed passes whatever interest the signer has without the warranties above, and a gift deed is one where nothing is paid. Which form fits a given situation, and what it does to your existing title insurance, is a drafting question for the attorney who prepares the deed. Ask that attorney directly how the choice of form affects the policy you already hold.
What a transfer can do to your mortgage
Many residential mortgages contain a due-on-sale clause, which lets the lender demand the full balance if the property is transferred. Federal law backs the clause up. Under 12 U.S.C. 1701j-3 (the Garn-St Germain provision), a lender may enter into and enforce a due-on-sale clause, subject to limits. For residential property with fewer than five dwelling units, the statute lists transfers a lender may not use to call the loan, including a transfer where the spouse or children of the borrower become an owner, a transfer resulting from a divorce decree, legal separation agreement or incidental property settlement by which the borrower’s spouse becomes an owner, a transfer into a living trust in which the borrower remains a beneficiary and which does not transfer occupancy rights, and a transfer to a relative resulting from the borrower’s death.
Read that list for what it leaves out. A sibling, a friend, an unmarried partner or a co-buyer who becomes an owner is not named in the exceptions we read. That does not mean a lender will call the loan, and it does not mean it cannot. It means the protection in the statute may not be there for you, and the contract language in your deed of trust and whatever your servicer says become the questions to settle first. Call your servicer and read your own loan documents before anything is recorded, then have your attorney confirm.
The deed and the loan are separate documents
Recording a deed changes the public record of ownership. It does not rewrite your promise to repay. In general, the people who signed the note stay responsible for the loan until the lender agrees to release them, no matter who is on the deed afterward. That is why “I took her off the deed” and “she is off the loan” are not the same sentence, and why a departing co-owner often stays tied to the debt after leaving the title. To take a name off the loan, the usual route is a new loan in the remaining owner’s name, which means qualifying on that income alone; see recasting versus refinancing for how a refinance differs from other ways to change a payment, and the preferred lenders we work with if you want to see numbers. Our mortgage calculator gives a rough payment picture before you call anyone. Your servicer may also have its own process for releasing a borrower, so ask what it offers.
Get the Richmond closing-timeline checklist
Whether a name change ends in a refinance, a sale or just a recorded deed, the order of steps matters: loan questions first, then the attorney, then recording. We keep a Richmond closing-timeline checklist that lays out who does what and when. Ask us for the Richmond closing-timeline checklist.
Recordation tax, grantor tax and the exemptions we could confirm
Two different taxes can apply when a deed is recorded in Virginia: the recordation tax and the grantor tax. Our guide to Virginia grantor tax and recordation fees at a Richmond closing walks through both. For a name change, the useful finding is in section 58.1-811. Reading it, the exemptions that matter for co-owners include a deed of gift or quitclaim deed where no consideration has passed, a transfer made under a divorce decree or separation instrument, a partition deed among joint tenants, tenants in common or coparceners, and a deed to the trustee of a revocable trust where the grantor is the sole beneficiary and no consideration is paid.
The words “no consideration” carry weight. If one owner pays another for a share (a buyout, for example), consideration has passed, and the no-consideration exemption would not describe that deed. We read the exemptions in the recordation tax statute; we did not confirm that every one of them also applies to the grantor tax, so ask the attorney or the clerk whether a specific deed owes it. Recording fees are separate again. On the City of Richmond’s deeds page, the clerk says fees and taxes vary by document type and that recording fees for instruments in the Deed Book rise by $3.00 beginning July 1, 2026.
Where the deed gets recorded in Richmond, Chesterfield and Henrico
Deeds are recorded by the circuit court clerk for the locality where the property sits. For homes in the City of Richmond (neighborhoods such as The Fan; see the city hub), that is the Richmond Circuit Court Clerk in the John Marshall Courts Building at 400 North 9th Street. The Richmond page says documents must be originals that are signed and notarized, and that recording hours run 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, with later documents recorded the next business day. For Chesterfield County homes, including Midlothian, the Chesterfield Circuit Court Clerk is at 9500 Courthouse Road with recording hours of 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. For Henrico County homes, including Short Pump, the Henrico Circuit Court Clerk is at 4309 E. Parham Road, with recording hours of 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Hanover, Goochland and Powhatan have their own clerks, which we did not open for this guide.
The Richmond clerk’s page also states that clerk’s office staff cannot give legal advice or perform title searches. The clerk records what is presented if it is authorized to be recorded and meets the statutory requirements. The clerk does not tell you whether the deed does what you want, which is another reason to have an attorney draft it.
What your title insurer and your lender will want to know
We could not source a single rule for how every title insurer or lender treats a name change, so treat this as a list of questions rather than answers. Ask the attorney whether the transfer affects the coverage of your current owner’s policy. Ask your lender whether it requires notice, consent or an updated title policy on the loan. And if you plan to sell soon after the change, remember that the buyer’s title company will examine the recorded deed as part of the chain of title. A recent transfer between family members or ex-partners, recorded without the right form or signatures, is exactly the kind of thing that slows a closing. If an owner cannot be present to sign, a power of attorney at a Virginia closing has its own requirements.
Where this shows up: marriage, divorce and estate planning
Adding a spouse is the most common version, and how you take title (including tenancy by the entirety) matters as much as whether you add anyone. If two buyers are coming in together, co-buying with family or a friend covers the structure. A divorce settlement often moves a house from two names to one, and the deed, the loan and the sale decision all have to line up; see selling a Richmond home in a divorce. On the estate side, owners sometimes move a home into a living trust (selling a home held in a trust) or plan for a parent’s care (a parent’s home and a move into care), and a deed may be part of that plan. When an owner has died, the path runs through probate instead, covered in selling an inherited home. None of these is a do-it-yourself form job. Each has tax and benefit effects an attorney or tax professional should review.
If you are weighing a sale instead of a transfer, our seller page explains how we work, and you can search current Richmond-area homes for sale if you are the owner who is buying out of a shared arrangement and looking for a place of your own.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. For your situation, talk to a Virginia real estate attorney.
Get the Richmond closing-timeline checklist
Before you record a deed, call a servicer or list a home, see the order of steps in one place. Ask us for the Richmond closing-timeline checklist and we will send it to you.
Questions about changing a name on a Richmond-area deed
Does the clerk check that my deed is legally correct?
No. The Richmond clerk’s deeds page says the office records documents that are authorized by law to be recorded and that meet statutory requirements, and that its staff cannot give legal advice or perform title searches. Whether the deed does what you intend is a question for the attorney who drafted it.
Can I record a deed electronically instead of bringing it in?
In the City of Richmond, yes. The clerk’s page lists two electronic recording vendors, CSC eRecording and Simplifile, and each requires you to set up an account with the vendor. Paper documents must be originals that are signed and notarized.
What has to be on the first page of a deed in Richmond?
The Richmond clerk requires the tax map reference number or parcel identification number on the first page, in the upper left corner. The city’s standard tax ID number is 11 digits. The clerk will not knowingly accept an instrument that includes a grantor’s Social Security number.
How much will recording cost?
It depends on the document type. The Richmond clerk points to the Supreme Court of Virginia Deed Calculation Tool and notes that recording fees for instruments in the Deed Book increase by $3.00 beginning July 1, 2026. Taxes are separate from fees and depend on the facts, including whether any consideration passed.
Is there a way to watch for fraudulent deeds against my property?
The Richmond clerk encourages owners to sign up for VADeed Alert, a free notification service that sends email when certain documents matching your name or tax map or parcel ID are recorded in the land records. The clerk describes it as available to all City of Richmond property owners.
If my child becomes an owner, can the lender call my loan?
The federal statute lists a transfer where the spouse or children of the borrower become an owner among the transfers that cannot be used to enforce a due-on-sale clause, for residential property with fewer than five dwelling units. Check the exact facts, such as how the transfer is structured and whether your loan is covered, with an attorney and your servicer before recording.
What if the owner who needs to sign cannot come to the closing or the clerk?
An owner can sometimes sign through an agent under a power of attorney, but the document has to meet Virginia requirements and the receiving parties, including the lender and title company, have to accept it. Our power of attorney guide covers what to prepare.
