Land Records Division

In order for a document to be recorded, it must be one that is authorized by law to be recorded in the Deed Book and it must meet certain statutory provisions. Documents that do not meet the following requirements will not be recorded and will be returned:  

• Cover sheets are not required.
• Must meet all of the Recordation Standards regarding font size, margins, paper type, etc. 
• Writings presented for recordation shall be original documents, signed and properly acknowledged. Only black or blue ink for signatures is acceptable.
• Any individual that will be indexed as a grantor or grantee must have their last name only either underscored or the last name must be the only part of the name written entirely in capital letters. This includes trustees on certificates of satisfaction and trustees on deeds of trust as they are indexed parties.  
  • Correct examples: John DOE / JOHN DOE / John Doe 
  • Incorrect examples: JOHN DOE / John Doe / JOHN DOE / John Doe
• All party names must be typed. Handwritten names are not acceptable.
• Parcel ID numbers/tax map numbers are required on the first page of deeds and deeds of trust and must be in proper format for indexing. This requirement does not apply for timeshare documents. See Parcel ID Info section below for more information. 
• Deeds must have consideration and actual value shown on the first page, unless exemption codes are provided on first page. 
• If exempt, the code section(s) under which any exemption from recordation taxes and/or clerk’s fee is claimed must be stated on first page of document. If cover sheet is provided, exemptions codes can be located on cover sheet or actual first page of document.   

• Recordation fees and taxes will vary, use the Fee Calculator to determine fees. If document has an oversized plat attached (larger than legal size 8.5" x 14"), please contact our office for fees as the Fee Calculator is not correct for our locality. Deeds and deeds of trust only for property located in the City of Harrisonburg will be $3 less than the fee calculator shows.  
• There is a $2.50 fee per paper document filed in the office. This fee does not apply to e-recordings. 
• Checks can be made payable to Clerk of Court. We accept cash, checks, money orders and credit cards in office. Credit cards are subject to a 4% surcharge. 
• Recordings can be mailed in with payment to the address shown in the Contact Us section on the right. Please include a self-addressed stamped envelope for return of documents. Documents are mailed back within 24 hours of recordation or rejection. Our office will not call to notify of rejections for documents received by mail. 
• If a check or money order is $0.01-$25.00 over, the overage is automatically put into excess and will not be refunded. If check or money order is over $25.00, document(s) will be returned for a new check/money order. If the check is from an individual or company that has a house account, overages will automatically be credited as an account payment. 

 E-Recording Partners

In order to e-record in our office, you will need to register as a trusted submitter with either company that we are partnered with. Click on either logo to visit their site.

Parcel ID numbers can be obtained by searching the City of Harrisonburg Real Estate Property Information or Rockingham County GIS. 

• For the City of Harrisonburg, it is referred to as Acct #, e.g. 34 W 6, we will not accept the PID or Bill Account number. 

• For the County of Rockingham, it is referred to as the Parcel or Map Number, e.g. 107-(A)- L196A1, we will not accept the account number. Needs to be in proper format as shown, 107A196A1 would not be acceptable.