Virginia uses the State Corporation Commission for business filings, the Judiciary's Online Case Information for courts, and the Department of Health for vital records. Property and land records sit with circuit courts and local assessors; the State Police run the sex-offender registry.
Virginia's records structure has a feature no other state shares at scale: independent cities. Thirty-eight cities sit outside any county, each with its own circuit court clerk, assessor, and recording office, so a Richmond, Norfolk, or Alexandria search never routes through a surrounding county. Combined with 95 counties, that means 133 separate local record jurisdictions and a first research step that is always 'which locality', not 'which county'.
Business filings go to the State Corporation Commission, not the Secretary of the Commonwealth — the SCC's Clerk's Information System handles corporations, LLCs, registered agents, annual reports, and UCC filings, and searches are free. Virginia charges an annual registration fee rather than requiring a substantive annual report from LLCs, so a current status mostly confirms the fee was paid. Because the SCC also regulates insurance, utilities, and securities, the same body's records can confirm a company's licensing as well as its existence, a shortcut we note on the business records hub.
The Virginia Freedom of Information Act, Va. Code § 2.2-3700, has a five-working-day response deadline and an unusual limitation: the enforceable right of access runs to citizens of the Commonwealth and to media outlets with Virginia circulation or broadcast. Agencies routinely fill out-of-state requests anyway, but they are not compelled to. The FOIA Advisory Council issues free written and informal opinions to requesters and agencies alike, which is the practical first stop in a dispute.
Land records live with the circuit court clerk in each locality rather than a separate recorder, and many clerks provide deed images through a paid secure remote access subscription while offering free index searching. Virginia is a disclosure state — recordation tax is computed on consideration or value — and local assessors publish parcel and valuation data, generally on an annual or biennial reassessment cycle set by locality size. Court records run through the Judiciary's Online Case Information System, which is statewide in the sense that every circuit and general district court is included, but you select a court before searching rather than querying all of them at once, as explained on the court records hub.
Last Updated: September 2026 · Reviewed quarterly by the Searchadex editorial team.
Assessment data free; deeds via Circuit Court land records (some fees).
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Because Virginia cities are independent of counties. Richmond, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Alexandria, and 34 others maintain their own circuit court clerk, assessor, and recording index. Search the city itself; there is no parent county holding a duplicate file.
For an enforceable request, effectively yes — the statute grants the right to Virginia citizens and to media with Virginia circulation. Agencies may voluntarily respond to anyone, and anything already published online is available to everyone, but a non-resident has no legal recourse if a request is refused.
No. The Judiciary's Online Case Information System covers circuit and general district courts statewide, but you pick a court before searching. For someone who may have lived in several localities, run the search once per court, including the independent cities adjacent to any county you check.
With the circuit court clerk of the county or independent city where the land sits — Virginia has no separate recorder of deeds. Index searching is usually free online; document images often require the clerk's secure remote access subscription or an in-person visit.
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