Title 41.1, Title 41.1. Land Office

The Librarian of Virginia shall be in charge of and keep and preserve all records of the Land Office.

When the suit is ready for hearing, the court may make an order of survey, to be executed by such person as the court may appoint, requiring a complete survey and plat of the land in question to be made and returned, showing its connection with conterminous tracts, and any other …

Upon the return of such survey and plat, testimony may be taken as in other suits in equity, but no notice of the taking of such testimony need be given to any defendant who has not appeared and answered the bill.

If, upon such survey and plat, and upon the other facts in the cause, the court shall be clearly satisfied of the ownership of the tract or parcel of land shown by such survey and plat, and that there is no controversy about such ownership, it shall certify the same of record, an…

The Commonwealth, or any other party desiring to repeal, in whole or in part, any grant of land because it was obtained by fraud, or issued contrary to law, or to the prejudice of such party's equitable right, may file a bill in equity for that purpose in the circuit court of the…

The proceedings thereupon shall be as in other suits in equity, and on the final hearing the court shall make such decree as law and equity may require.

Any decree for such repeal, in whole or in part, shall be certified to the Librarian of Virginia, and shall thereupon be recorded by the Librarian of Virginia in the manner prescribed in § 55.1-2423.

Any citizen, resident of this Commonwealth, who has reason to believe that there are waste and unappropriated lands in this Commonwealth (not being excluded under § 41.1-3 from grant), shall have the right to file a proceeding in the name of the county or city seeking the sale an…

Upon the docketing of the motion, the court shall set a time and place to hear the merits of the proceeding. Such hearing shall be held not less than thirty nor more than sixty days from the date upon which the same was filed.

Thereafter the proceedings shall conform, mutatis mutandis, to the provisions of Article 4 (§ 58.1-3965 et seq.) of Chapter 39 of Title 58.1 but on the motion of any party the sale of such land shall be public. From the proceeds of sale, after the expenses of suit and other costs…

The governing body of the county or city in which any waste or unappropriated land lies may, without deposit of costs, initiate proceedings under this chapter to have such lands sold under the provisions hereof.

In all suits, either at law or in equity, in which title to any land is derived or sought to be derived from Lord Fairfax, through Denny Martin Fairfax, it shall not be necessary in order to make out a chain of title, to prove the act of Parliament authorizing Denny Martin, the d…

All right, title and interest of the Commonwealth, except as shown by an instrument recorded in the clerk's office of the court of the city or county in which deeds are admitted to record in which land is sold under the provisions hereof shall be extinguished by such sale.

No grant shall be valid or effectual in law to pass any estate or interest in (i) any lands unappropriated or belonging to the Commonwealth, which embrace the old magazine at Westham, or any stone quarry now worked by the Commonwealth, or any lands which are within a mile of such…

The circuit courts of the counties and cities in which waste and unappropriated lands are alleged to lie are vested with authority to sell and dispose thereof in proceedings brought under §§ 41.1-16 through 41.1-20; however, no sale or disposition shall be made of lands mentioned…

Any grants for land heretofore issued by the Librarian of Virginia pursuant to § 41.1-3 are hereby ratified and confirmed and title is confirmed in the grantees thereof.

Where the records in the Land Office disclose the fact that the land warrants used as the foundation for a grant of any of the public lands of the Commonwealth, subject to grant, were fully paid for and that the right to such grant was finally and fully completed in the manner pr…

No grant of any land which shall have been settled continuously for five years previously, upon which taxes shall have been paid at any time within such five years by the person having settled the same, or any person claiming under him, shall be valid; and any title which the Com…

If any record or paper constituting a link in the chain of title to any tract or parcel of land in this Commonwealth, has been or shall be lost or destroyed, and no authenticated copy thereof can be found, it shall be lawful for the person or persons, claiming the ownership of su…