The Fredericksburg Free Press is now offering legal notices on our website and at a significant cost savings to users. Many legal notices are limited by printed space in a newspaper. Being an online-only publisher, we don’t have those kinds of limitations. Unlike print newspapers, the Fredericksburg Free Press can run legal notices of any length as many times as necessary for one flat fee.
Public notices, also known as legal ads, are announcements of public hearings by local governments, applications for alcohol licenses, adoption notices, foreclosures and more that must be legally published in a “paper of record” as certified by the circuit court each jurisdiction. Until recently, in every state, that meant a printed newspaper was the only place these legal notices could appear.
In 2024, a new ruling made Virginia the first state in the country to allow an entirely digital news organization to become an official paper of record. In 2025, the Fredericksburg Free Press took the legal steps to become the only official digital paper of record for the City of Fredericksburg, and Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties.
Users familiar with publishing public notices will recognize the process. The Fredericksburg Free Press has partnered with Column, a user-friendly, provides digital affidavits, upfront pricing and simple processing — and it’s the primary platform many in our region are already familiar with. Moving forward, Column will handle the full process of submitting legal ads. Users can design ads, generate proofs and pricing estimates, submit orders, and pay invoices, all from within a single system.
On the home page, look for “Public Notices” in the lefthand site menu. Once registered, you can start placing notices. Click the “Place notice” button in the top-right corner of the Column dashboard. Then enter publication dates, upload the content, and complete payment. The system will notify you when we confirm the receipt of the notice, if we need to make any edits, and/or when an invoice and affidavit are ready.
If you need support or have any questions, email kathy.knotts@fredericksburgfreepress.com. Additionally, the Column support team can be reached at help@column.us if you have any questions. Find Column’s user guide at help.column.us.
