Virginia HB 448: Land records; certain financing statements, recording and indexing fees.

Bill Text

2026 SESSION

INTRODUCED

26103483D

HOUSE BILL NO. 448

Offered January 14, 2026

Prefiled January 12, 2026

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 8.9A-502, 17.1-275, and 58.1-811, as it is currently effective and as it may become effective, of the Code of Virginia, relating to land records; certain financing statements; recording and indexing fees.

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Patron—Simon

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Referred to Committee on General Laws

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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 8.9A-502, 17.1-275, and 58.1-811, as it is currently effective and as it may become effective, of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 8.9A-502. Contents of financing statement; record of mortgage as financing statement; time of filing financing statement.

(a) Sufficiency of financing statement. Subject to subsection (b), a financing statement is sufficient only if it:

(1) provides the name of the debtor;

(2) provides the name of the secured party or a representative of the secured party; and

(3) indicates the collateral covered by the financing statement.

(b) Real-property-related financing statements. Except as otherwise provided in § 8.9A-501 (b), to be sufficient, a financing statement that covers as-extracted collateral or timber to be cut, or which is filed as a fixture filing and covers goods that are or are to become fixtures, must satisfy subsection (a) and also:

(1) indicate that it covers this type of collateral;

(2) indicate that it is to be filed for record in the real property records;

(3) provide a description of the real property to which the collateral is related sufficient to give constructive notice of a mortgage under the law of this state if the description were contained in a record of the mortgage of the real property; and

(4) if the debtor does not have an interest of record in the real property, provide the name of a record owner.

(c) Record of mortgage as financing statement. A record of a mortgage is effective, from the date of recording, as a financing statement filed as a fixture filing or as a financing statement covering as-extracted collateral or timber to be cut only if:

(1) the record indicates the goods or accounts that it covers;

(2) the goods are or are to become fixtures related to the real property described in the record or the collateral is related to the real property described in the record and is as-extracted collateral or timber to be cut;

(3) the record satisfies the requirements for a financing statement in this section, but:

(A) the record need not indicate that it is to be filed in the real property records; and

(B) the record sufficiently provides the name of a debtor who is an individual if it provides the individual name of the debtor or the surname and first personal name of the debtor, even if the debtor is an individual to whom § 8.9A-503(a)(4) applies; and

(4) the record is duly recorded.

(d) Filing before security agreement or attachment. A financing statement may be filed before a security agreement is made or a security interest otherwise attaches.

(e) Recording and indexing a multipurpose deed of trust or mortgage incorporating a financing statement. Where a multipurpose deed of trust or mortgage that incorporates a financing statement as a part of the deed of trust or mortgage and is identified on the first page as a multipurpose deed of trust or a multipurpose mortgage in accordance with the provisions of subdivision A 2a of § 17.1-275 is recorded, no clerk of a circuit court shall keep the original document as he would with a financing statement only. Fees for recording and indexing such record of a multipurpose deed of trust or mortgage of a financing statement shall be assessed pursuant to subdivision A 2a of § 17.1-275.

§ 17.1-275. Fees collected by clerks of circuit courts; generally.

A. A clerk of a circuit court shall, for services performed by virtue of his office, charge the following fees:

1. [Repealed.]

2. For recording and indexing in the proper book any writing and all matters therewith, or for recording and indexing anything not otherwise provided for, $18 for an instrument or document consisting of 10 or fewer pages or sheets; $32 for an instrument or document consisting of 11 to 30 pages or sheets; and $52 for an instrument or document consisting of 31 or more pages or sheets. Whenever any writing to be recorded includes plat or map sheets no larger than eight and one-half inches by 14 inches, such plat or map sheets shall be counted as ordinary pages for the purpose of computing the recording fee due pursuant to this section. A fee of $17 per page or sheet shall be charged with respect to plat or map sheets larger than eight and one-half inches by 14 inches. Only a single fee as authorized by this subdivision shall be charged for recording a certificate of satisfaction that releases the original deed of trust and any corrected or revised deeds of trust. Three dollars and fifty cents of the fee collected for r