A circuit court of any county or city, or clerk of such court, shall also record any writing as is described in § 55.1-600 as to any person whose name is signed thereto who at the time of such acknowledgment was in active service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or as to the consort of such person, upon the certificate of any commissioned officer of the army, navy, marine corps, air force, coast guard, any state national guard that is federally recognized, or other branch of the service of which such person is a member, that such writing had been acknowledged before him by such person. Such certificate shall be written upon or attached to such writing and shall be substantially to the following effect:

In the army (or navy, etc.) of the United States.

I, ________, a commissioned officer of the army (or navy, marine corps, air force, coast guard, or other branch of service) of the United States with the rank of lieutenant (or ensign or other appropriate rank) whose home address is ________, do certify that E.F. (or E.F. and G.H., and so forth), whose name (or names) is (or are) signed to the writing above (or hereto attached), bearing date on the ______ day of ____, and who, or whose consort, is a private (corporal, seaman, captain, or other grade or rank) in the army (or navy, etc.) of the United States, and whose home address is ________, has (or have) acknowledged the same before me.

Given under my hand this ______ day of ______.

Such acknowledgment may be taken at any place where the officer taking the acknowledgment and the person whose name is signed to the writing may be. Such commissioned officer may take the acknowledgment of any person in any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States or the consort of such person.

Every acknowledgment executed prior to July 1, 1995, in substantial compliance with the provisions of this section is hereby validated, ratified, and confirmed, notwithstanding any error or omission with respect to any address, grade, or rank.

1942, p. 426; Michie Code 1942, § 5205a; 1944, p. 25; 1948, p. 393; Code 1950, § 55-115; 1964, c. 129; 1972, c. 458; 1995, c. 48; 2019, c. 712.