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VA House Bill 2396/Senate Bill 1270

Legislation

State: Virginia
Signed: March 21, 2025

Effective: July 01, 2025
Chapter: 271/282

Summary

House Bill 2396 and Senate Bill 1270 create a technical advisory group to evaluate the prevalence of deed fraud.

Affects

Enacts a technical study group.

Changes
  1. Charges the advisory group to study deed fraud, including notary fraud, seller impersonation, owner impersonation, and fraudulent lien filing, and to develop recommendations for the prevention of deed fraud.
  2. Directs the technical advisory group to identify any vulnerabilities or deficiencies that exist throughout the real estate transaction process and recommend policy changes to address such vulnerabilities.
  3. Directs the technical advisory group to consider: (a) requiring identity verification processes by Notaries, (b) strengthening safeguards to prevent fraudulent Notaries, (c) enhancing security for public access to land records, (d) providing consumer and professional education and awareness training, (e) granting local governments and circuit clerks authority with respect to suspected fraudulent documents, (f) establishing free property alert notification systems within local land record offices, and (g) establishing an alert notification system to inform Notaries when documents containing a Notary's name or registration number are submitted for recording.
  4. Names the representatives of groups, as specified. that will constitute the technical advisory group.
  5. Sets a deadline of November 1, 2025, for submission of legislative recommendations to the Chair of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology.
Analysis

House Bill 2396/Senate Bill 1270 started out as bills aimed at enacting specific measures to prevent seller impersonation deed fraud that were part a legislative proposal authored several trade association, including the American Association of Retired Persons, American Land Title Association, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Realtors, National Notary Association, and Property Records Industry Association. Several of the proposals in the original version of the bill were policies directly affecting and protecting Notaries. Instead of enacting these thoughtful and credible proposals, the bills were turned into study bills to evaluate these specific proposals.

Read House Bill 2396.

Read Senate Bill 1270.

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