4 Things Your Virginia Circuit Court Clerk Does for Free That People Pay For

Veterans Day is Nov. 11, and if you’re a Virginia veteran, your circuit court clerk’s office can record your DD-214 for free.

That’s not the only service there that costs nothing, though what’s offered can depend on your county.

Here’s what your Virginia circuit court clerk does for free that people pay for elsewhere.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Services, fees and hours vary by courthouse and are subject to change, so confirm the current details with the Virginia Judicial System.

1. VADeed Alert

Your circuit court clerk’s office may offer VADeed Alert, a free email service that tells you when someone records a document under your name.

Beyond your name, the service lets you watch a business name or a parcel number, and you can register several versions of a name.

The Supreme Court of Virginia’s Office of the Executive Secretary designed the service to help owners catch deed fraud.

A 2025 study from Virginia Tech, George Mason University and Housing Forward Virginia found fraudsters often target vacant land, second homes and properties with no mortgage.

If you own a property like that, you can sign up online.

Signing up costs nothing.

Alerts arrive by email whenever a matching document is recorded in local land records.

Some paid monitoring services could cover similar ground.

2. Land Records Search

Loudoun County’s circuit court clerk lets walk-ins search land records for free on public kiosks inside the clerk’s office.

The kiosks run Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

If you need records only occasionally, your online access to the county’s land records index is unlimited and free.

Remote access works any time.

The documents themselves cost extra, either one at a time or through a $262 yearly subscription.

The county aims that subscription at attorneys, lenders, property agents and title companies.

Before you pay for a document, the free index can help you find the right one.

3. Recording a DD-214

Your circuit court clerk’s office can record a veteran’s DD-214, the military discharge form.

State law bars the clerk from charging for it.

In Henrico County, the clerk records them free of charge for all veterans, and only in person.

Prince William County’s clerk limits the service to residents of the county and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.

Loudoun County’s clerk does the same for county residents.

If you served, recording your discharge puts a copy on file with the clerk.

Henrico’s office sits in the Courthouse Building, Room 240, on East Parham Road.

The catch?

Certified copies cost $2.50 each in Henrico and Prince William.

Looking at a recorded discharge later takes photo ID, and in Prince William a written request, since Virginia law limits access.

That request goes on a form titled Request to Access Military Discharge Record.

The veteran can sign an authorization form to let someone else view the record.

4. Notary Service

Fairfax County’s circuit court clerk runs a free notary service on the second Tuesday of every month.

Sessions run from 9 a.m. to noon at the Gerry Hyland Government Center on Richmond Highway in Alexandria.

The county’s page lists November 10 as its upcoming session.

You don’t need an appointment.

Service is first come, first served.

The clerk won’t notarize wills, deeds, trust documents or anything that needs a witness.

If you need one of those signed and stamped, you’ll have to find a notary somewhere else.

The same sessions take civil filings for existing cases, but only documents that don’t require a fee.

If you want a file-stamped copy, bring the original plus two copies.

Elsewhere, Virginia law lets a notary charge up to $10 for a paper document.

What Still Costs Money

Your circuit court clerk’s office still charges for many of its services.

A copy of a recorded document costs 50 cents a page under the state’s fee schedule.

Recording a deed costs you $18 for 10 pages or fewer.

Plat or map sheets larger than 8.5 by 14 inches cost $17 each.

Certifying a copy adds $2 per certification.

Not everything is free.

At those Fairfax sessions, certified copies of select documents run $2 per document plus 50 cents a page, and personal checks aren’t accepted.

A marriage license application costs $30 in cash, or you can pay by Visa or MasterCard with a 4% fee.

A certified copy of a marriage license costs $2.50 each.

For those certified copies, the clerk’s office takes cash, money orders, cashier’s checks or Visa and MasterCard, and card payments for those copies carry a 4% transaction fee.

Older Court Records

Tazewell County's circuit court clerk keeps wills, marriages and deeds that are complete since 1800.

Birth and death records for 1853 through 1870 fill one volume with a separate index.

Later ones live elsewhere.

The state Vital Records office keeps later birth and death records.