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Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
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Office: City of Lexington Fire & Rescue, Emergency Management Division – confirm current phone via lexingtonva.gov.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. City Hall is currently relocated during renovations – check lexingtonva.gov/government/city-projects/city-hall for current location.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-64 and US-11 serve Lexington, in the Shenandoah Valley of west-central Virginia.
Notes: Lexington is genuinely home to two nationally prominent institutions of higher education located directly adjacent to one another: Virginia Military Institute (VMI), the nation’s oldest state-supported military college, and Washington and Lee University, a private university tracing its roots to 1749.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: City of Lexington Planning and Development, Building Permits & Inspections – confirm current phone via lexingtonva.gov.
Services: A building permit is required prior to constructing, enlarging, altering, or demolishing any structure, including electrical, plumbing, or mechanical equipment; ordinary repairs to existing structures are exempt.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
State VSO: Virginia Department of Veterans Services – dvs.virginia.gov (statewide office locator).
Key Assets: Lexington is genuinely one of the most historically dense small cities in Virginia. The Stonewall Jackson House, built in 1800 at 8 East Washington Street, was Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s only home, where he lived from 1858-1861 while a professor at VMI – it later served as Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital from 1907-1954 before being restored as a museum in 1979. Lee Chapel and Museum at Washington and Lee University, completed in 1868 while Robert E. Lee served as the college’s president, houses his office and family crypt, where Lee and several family members, including his son Robert E. Lee Jr., are interred. Virginia Military Institute, the nation’s oldest state-supported military college, sits adjacent to the university
Notes: Lexington’s concentration of Civil War-era historic sites, including Stonewall Jackson’s only home and Robert E. Lee’s burial place at Washington and Lee University, represents genuinely significant and sensitive American history, treated here with appropriate care.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: City of Lexington GIS – accessible via lexingtonva.gov
Services: Operates the animal shelter serving Rockbridge County, Lexington, and Buena Vista; handles sheltering of unwanted, abandoned, stray, and impounded animals, and enforces local ordinances on animal treatment across all three jurisdictions; strives to operate close to no-kill status, though animals that are diseased, severely injured, or otherwise unadoptable are humanely euthanized; a focus on barn cat adoptions alongside standard dog/cat services; a regional Rockbridge Spay and Neuter Clinic operates separately, (540) 900-7375.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: City of Lexington – confirm current contact via lexingtonva.gov.
Notes: Maury River and Shenandoah Valley watershed management are significant local environmental priorities.
NOTES
Lexington’s concentration of Civil War-era historic sites – including Stonewall Jackson’s only home and Robert E. Lee’s burial place at Washington and Lee University – represents genuinely significant and sensitive American history, treated here with appropriate care. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of mid-August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Lexington City County
Heritage | Lexington is home to both Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute, whose combination of prestigious academic and military heritage gives this small independent city extraordinary educational significance, with General Robert E. Lee and Confederate General Stonewall Jackson both buried within the city, tying it deeply to Civil War history Outdoors | The Maury River offers fishing and paddling, while the surrounding Blue Ridge and Allegheny mountains provide extensive hiking access, and the scenic Goshen Pass drive nearby remains one of the most beautiful mountain passes in Virginia Notable | Washington and Lee University and VMI give Lexington profound academic and military historical weight, and the city’s Civil War connections through Lee and Jackson’s graves draw significant history tourism Library | Rockbridge Regional Library serves the city’s academically and historically significant communities in the Shenandoah Valley
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Address: 20 South Randolph St, Lexington, VA 24450
Phone: (540) 463-2232
Services: Deed recording, land records, wills, marriage licenses (shared with Rockbridge County)
CIRCUIT COURT
Address: 20 South Randolph St, Lexington, VA 24450
Phone: (540) 463-2232
Website: vacourts.gov/courts/circuit/lexington
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CIRCUIT COURT CLERK
20 South Randolph St, Lexington, VA 24450
(540) 463-2232
Genealogy
City-level record sources
Rockbridge Circuit Court Clerk’s Office, Lexington (serving both jurisdictions – see Probate section above). Because Lexington and Rockbridge County share one clerk’s office, family history researchers looking for either jurisdiction’s probate records should search the same combined index.
Washington and Lee University’s Leyburn Library Special Collections and the Virginia Military Institute Archives, both physically in Lexington, are notable regional resources.
Local societies
No dedicated Lexington genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Rockbridge Circuit Court (serves both Rockbridge County and the City of Lexington) 20 South Randolph Street, Suite 101, Lexington, VA 24450 (540) 463-2232
Lexington is one of Virginia’s 38 independent cities, in the Shenandoah Valley, home to Washington and Lee University and the Virginia Military Institute, physically the county seat of surrounding Rockbridge County even though it is a legally separate jurisdiction. Virginia has NO separate probate court – probate (“qualification”) is handled entirely by the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office. Lexington and Rockbridge County share one Circuit Court and Clerk.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Virginia calls the probate process “qualification” rather than “appointment,” and it happens administratively at the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office, not before a judge, unless a dispute arises. This framework applies identically in independent cities as in counties.
Small Estate Affidavit (Va. Code § 64.2-601, the “Virginia Small Estate Act”) – available when the decedent’s entire personal probate estate (excluding real estate) does not exceed $75,000, at least 60 days have passed since death, and no personal representative has been appointed or has a pending application in any jurisdiction. If a will exists, it must first be admitted to probate (recorded with the Clerk) even though no executor is appointed. As of July 1, 2026, the affidavit must be filed on the statewide form (CC-1685).
Single Small Asset Release (Va. Code § 64.2-602) – any person or institution holding a single asset of $35,000 or less may release it directly to a successor once 60 days have passed since death and no personal representative has qualified, without any affidavit required at all.
Real Estate Affidavit (Form CC-1612) – if the decedent owned only real estate, this can be recorded directly in land records without full probate. Real estate generally cannot be transferred through the small estate affidavit process.
Full Qualification / Administration – the standard path for larger or more complex estates. The personal representative appears before the Clerk, takes an oath, files the will and death certificate, and typically posts a surety bond. The estate is then supervised by a Commissioner of Accounts throughout administration.
Step 2: filing for administration
The person seeking to qualify as executor or administrator brings the original will (if any) and a certified death certificate to the Rockbridge Circuit Court Clerk’s Office (which handles both Lexington and Rockbridge matters).
The Clerk reviews the will’s validity and admits it to probate.
The personal representative takes an oath and qualifies, posting a bond if required; the Clerk issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The Commissioner of Accounts oversees the estate going forward.
The personal representative notifies creditors, pays valid debts, and manages estate assets.
Remaining assets are distributed to beneficiaries or heirs, and the estate is closed once final accounting is approved.
What it costs
Virginia imposes a PROBATE TAX on most wills admitted to probate and grants of administration: $1 state tax + $0.33 local tax for every $1,000 of estate value. No tax is imposed on estates valued at $15,000 or less.
Filing fees for qualification vary by estate size; confirm current fees directly.
Virginia does NOT impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax – repealed for deaths on or after July 1, 2007. Only the federal estate tax may apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
Lexington Police Department, 106 East Washington St, Lexington, VA 24450
(540) 462-3705
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
VOTER REGISTRAR
300 East Washington St, Lexington, VA 24450
(540) 462-3707
ELECTIONS
Lexington Electoral Board, 300 East Washington St, Lexington, VA 24450
(540) 462-3707
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Health District
Central Shenandoah Health District, 121 East Nelson St, Lexington, VA 24450
(540) 463-7136
Department of Social Services
106 East Washington St, Lexington, VA 24450
(540) 463-7381
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Central Shenandoah Health District (Virginia Department of Health) – confirm current phone via lexingtonva.gov.
Hospital: Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital – 1 Health Circle, Lexington, VA, a voluntary nonprofit hospital providing emergency services.
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Editorial Trust
5 official sources cited
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
Population: 7,300
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Lexington City County facilities via Amazon.
