                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DOCUMENTS TO BE RECORDED IN DEED BOOKS; SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS (§ 17.1-227)

All deeds, deeds of trust, deeds of release, certificates of satisfaction or
certificates of partial satisfaction, quitclaim deeds, homestead deeds, grants,
transfers and mortgages of real estate, releases of such mortgages, powers of
attorney to convey real estate, leases of real estate, notices of lis pendens
and all contracts in reference to real estate, which have been acknowledged as
required by law, and certified copies of final judgments or decrees of partition
affecting the title or possession of real estate, any part of which is situated
in the county or city in which it is sought to be recorded, and all other
writings relating to or affecting real estate which are authorized to be
recorded, shall, unless otherwise provided, be recorded in a book to be known as
the deed book. All deeds, deeds of trust, deeds of release, quitclaim deeds,
grants, transfers, and mortgages of real estate or any addendum or memorandum
relating to any of these instruments submitted for recordation in the deed books
of the appropriate office of the clerk of court shall be prepared according to
the requirements for deeds and deeds of trust as set forth in §§ 55.1-300 and
55.1-316, as applicable. The clerk may refuse to accept any instrument submitted
for recordation that includes a social security number. However, the attorney or
party who prepares or submits the instrument has responsibility for ensuring
that the social security number is removed from the instrument prior to the
instrument being submitted for recordation. The clerk shall be immune from suits
arising from the recordation of any document, or the content of any document
recorded, in the land records pursuant to this or any other applicable provision
of this Code unless the clerk was grossly negligent or engaged in willful
misconduct. Each instrument shall be indexed under all such names in accordance
with the provisions of § 17.1-249.

HISTORY: Code 1919, § 3393, § 17-60; 1920, p. 313; 1932, p. 333; 1975, c. 469;
1976, c. 561; 1977, c. 282; 1990, c. 374; 1994, c. 64; 1997, c. 579; 1998, c.
872; 2003, cc. 862, 914, 918; 2004, c. 352; 2014, c. 338.