Transaction coordinator in Virginia: licensing rules, deadlines and settlement

What does a transaction coordinator do on a Virginia deal?

Virginia has two contracts a coordinator is likely to meet. Virginia REALTORS publishes its residential contract of purchase as Form 600, with the current edition dated 07-2026, and a separate Form 601 appraisal addendum. Form 600 sits behind a member login, and we could not read it. In Northern Virginia, the Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS publishes its own Residential Sales Contract (Virginia), copyright 2026, which NVAR describes as a suggested form for REALTORS and others it authorizes.

The deadline detail on this page comes from the NVAR form, because that is the one we could verify. On a Form 600 file, take the dates from the signed contract. Either way the coordinator's work is the same: build the timeline from the Date of Ratification, get the deposit to the Escrow Agent, keep the lender and the settlement agent moving, and keep the broker's file complete.

Does a transaction coordinator need a license in Virginia?

Virginia answers this question in a regulation. On April 1, 2026, the Real Estate Board put its lists of licensed and unlicensed activities into a new regulation, 18VAC135-20-335. The Virginia Register notice, published as a final regulation on February 23, 2026, says the change moved those provisions into a section of their own. There is still no rule written for transaction coordinators as such, but the lists cover most of what a TC does.

Activities the regulation reserves for licensees include:

• answering questions on listings, title, financing, closing, contracts and legal documents
• discussing, explaining, interpreting or negotiating a contract with anyone outside the firm
• negotiating or agreeing to any commission, commission split or referral fee.

Activities an unlicensed individual or entity may perform include:

• following up on loan commitments after contracts have been ratified
• scheduling appointments
• recording and depositing escrow funds
• preparing contract forms for approval of the licensee and supervising broker
• assembling closing documents.

The first list is where an unlicensed coordinator needs care. It covers answering questions on financing and closing, not only explaining the contract, so those questions belong with the licensed agent.

Which deadlines does a Northern Virginia contract set?

Paragraph 27 of the NVAR form counts days as calendar days unless the contract says otherwise. For a response to a Delivery, the first Day is the one after Delivery, and the period ends at 9:00 p.m. on the last Day. A Business Day excludes weekends, legal holidays and days when state or federal government offices are closed.

The deposit row needs care because it counts Business Days while most other periods count calendar days. A Business Day also excludes any day a state or federal government office is closed, which can catch a coordinator out during a shutdown or an unscheduled closure. Our deadline calculator keeps the two kinds of day apart.

Who handles settlement in Virginia?

The buyer chooses. Under the Real Estate Settlement Agents Act, Va. Code § 55.1-1006 gives the purchaser or borrower the right to select the settlement agent, and the seller may not require a particular one as a condition of the sale. The NVAR contract repeats that right and adds that no settlement agent may give legal advice unless they practise law in Virginia and a party has retained them.

Virginia does not require an attorney to close. Section 55.1-1003 lets a settlement agent be a licensed attorney, a title insurance company or agent, a licensed real estate broker, a financial institution, or a subsidiary or affiliate of one. The statute defines settlement services to include setting the closing appointment and following up with the parties so the transaction progresses to closing, which overlaps with a TC's day. The same definition in § 55.1-1000 lists placing orders for title insurance, ordering loan checks and payoffs, ordering surveys and inspections, and preparing settlement statements or closing disclosures. On a Virginia file, then, the settlement agent does much of the ordering. The coordinator's job is to make sure the agent has what it needs from the brokerage side, on time, and to tell the agent when a contract date moves.

Under ¶3 of the NVAR form, the deposit goes to whichever Escrow Agent the parties tick: the Settlement Agent, the buyer's brokerage, or another named holder.

Who pays recordation and grantor taxes in Virginia?

Virginia charges two state taxes on a deed. The state recordation tax under § 58.1-801 is 25 cents per $100 of the consideration or the property's actual value, whichever is greater. The grantor tax under § 58.1-802 is 50 cents per $500, and the statute says the grantor pays it, though the parties may arrange for the grantee to pay some or all of it. Cities and counties may add a local recordation tax of up to a third of the state tax.

The NVAR form adds a regional layer. Under ¶21 the seller pays the deed preparation, the grantor's tax, the Regional Congestion Relief Fee and the Regional WMATA Capital Fee. Those two fees apply in Alexandria City and in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties, including the cities within them. The buyer pays for the title exam, the survey and the recording charges for the deed and any purchase money trusts.

How is the Virginia housing market moving?

Virginia REALTORS reported 8,410 closed sales across the Commonwealth in September 2026, down 4.2%, or 373 sales, from a year earlier. The statewide median price was $420,000, the same as September 2025. Inventory grew sharply, to 30,001 active listings at the end of September, 5,074 more than a year before.

Virginia REALTORS also breaks its monthly report into eight regional markets. A coordinator who works one region closely should read that section rather than rely on the statewide median.

How does Northern Virginia differ from the rest of the state?

Northern Virginia has its own association contract and its own fees. Files there may run on the NVAR form with its 9:00 p.m. cutoff, and sellers in the five listed jurisdictions pay the two regional fees on top of the grantor's tax. We fold Northern Virginia into this page because those differences fit in a few paragraphs. The settlement and tax statutes above apply statewide.

What does a transaction coordinator cost in Virginia?

We found no Virginia TC company that publishes its prices. The 21 price cards we reviewed in October 2026 ran from $300 to $550 for one side, and most charged nothing on a deal that did not close. Use our fee per file tool to weigh those against your own costs.

How do you choose a transaction coordinator in Virginia?

Hand a candidate the two lists in 18VAC135-20-335 and ask how they keep to the unlicensed side. Ask which contract they work from most and how they handle the NVAR 9:00 p.m. rule. Then ask how they work with a settlement agent the buyer chose, since the seller's side cannot pick one. Our TC checklist template helps you compare answers.

Freelance TC, TC company or DeedSpring: which fits a Virginia agent?

The table sets the usual options side by side. A good freelance TC is worth every dollar on a messy file. What most agents are really paying for, though, is someone who never misses a date and always chases the lender. Software does that on every file at once.

To see what the gap means across a year of files, put your numbers into the TC fee per file calculator.

Compare plans on the DeedSpring pricing page.