Filling out a warranty deed means identifying the current owner and the new owner, copying the property’s legal description exactly as it appears in the county records, stating what’s being paid, and signing in front of a notary so the deed can be recorded. Learning how to fill out a warranty deed correctly matters because a small error, like a transposed lot number, can cloud the title and take months to fix. The steps below walk through the form section by section and cover what happens after signing.
Pick the Right Deed Before You Start
A warranty deed comes in two forms, and they carry different promises. A general warranty deed makes the grantor stand behind the title all the way back through every prior owner. If a lien from 30 years ago surfaces, the grantor is still responsible. A special warranty deed limits that promise to the period the grantor personally owned the property. Anything predating their ownership becomes the buyer’s problem. Special warranty deeds are common in commercial deals and bank-owned sales; in a standard residential purchase, a general warranty deed is the expected form.
A quitclaim deed is a different instrument and offers no title protection at all. It transfers whatever interest the grantor has, without any promise that the grantor owns anything. Quitclaim deeds turn up between family members, in divorces, and where both sides already know the title history. For an arm’s-length purchase, use a warranty deed.
Information to Gather Before You Fill Anything In
Errors on a recorded deed can require a corrective deed or court action to fix, so pull everything together before you write anything on the form.
- Full legal names and mailing addresses for every grantor and grantee. Use each grantor’s name exactly as it appears on the current deed. For a grantee who recently changed names, use the current legal name matching their identification.
- The legal description of the property, which is not the street address. Find it on the current deed or in county property records. It includes lot and block numbers, subdivision name, and any metes-and-bounds language. Copy it exactly.
- The consideration, meaning the purchase price or other value exchanged. For gifts, this is often written as “ten dollars and other good and valuable consideration.”
- Vesting information if there are multiple grantees. Joint tenancy carries a right of survivorship, so the surviving owner automatically inherits the deceased owner’s share. Tenancy in common lets each owner pass their share to their own heirs.
- The parcel identification number or assessor’s parcel number, which many jurisdictions require on the deed itself.
Blank forms are available from the county recorder’s office and from online legal document providers. Some counties publish their own approved forms. Using a form designed for the specific jurisdiction avoids formatting problems that can cause rejection at the recording window.
Filling Out Each Section of the Form
Most warranty deed forms follow a predictable layout. Work through it in order.
Grantor Section
Enter each grantor’s full legal name and mailing address. If a married couple owns the property, both spouses typically need to be listed as grantors even if only one appears on the title, depending on local law regarding marital property rights.
Grantee Section
Enter each grantee’s full legal name and mailing address. If more than one grantee is taking title, specify the form of ownership, such as joint tenants with right of survivorship or tenants in common.
Legal Description
Transfer the legal description onto the form word for word from the existing deed or county records. This is where the most serious errors happen. A single wrong digit in a lot number, or a missing reference to an easement, can create a cloud on the title. If the legal description is long, some practitioners attach it as an exhibit and reference it in the body of the deed.
Consideration
Enter the consideration amount in the designated field. This is the purchase price for a sale, or the nominal-plus-other-value phrasing for a gift.
Granting Clause and Warranty Covenants
Most pre-printed forms already include standard granting language and warranty covenants. Read those sections rather than skipping past them. The granting clause expresses the grantor’s intent to transfer ownership. The warranty covenants should include promises that the grantor holds clear title, that the property is free from undisclosed liens, and that the grantor will defend the title against future claims. Some jurisdictions require additional language or disclosures on the deed itself, so check the local recorder’s requirements before finalizing.
Signing and Notarizing
A warranty deed isn’t valid until the grantor signs it. Every grantor listed on the deed must sign, and every signature must be notarized. Do not sign the deed before you’re in front of the notary; the notary needs to witness the act of signing and verify each signer’s identity through government-issued photo identification.
Some jurisdictions also require witnesses on top of notarization, most often two, and in some places the notary can serve as one of them. Check the rules for the county where the property is located, not where the signing takes place. The property’s jurisdiction controls the deed requirements. The grantee generally doesn’t need to sign, though some forms include an acceptance line.
Notary fees for a single signature are modest, typically from a few dollars up to around $25 depending on the jurisdiction. Mobile notaries who travel to your location charge more, often $50 to $150 for the visit on top of the per-signature fee.
Recording the Deed
Recording is the step that makes the transfer a matter of public record. File the signed, notarized deed at the county recorder’s office, county clerk, or register of deeds in the county where the property sits.
Recording fees vary by county and can involve a flat fee, per-page charges, or both. Expect somewhere between $25 and $150 for a standard deed, though some high-cost jurisdictions charge more. Many counties also require additional documents at recording, such as a transfer tax declaration, a preliminary change of ownership report, or a tax affidavit. Call the recorder’s office or check their website before you go, so you don’t get turned away for a missing form.
Separate from recording fees, many states impose a real estate transfer tax on the conveyance. Rates range from as low as 0.01% to over 1.5% of the sale price, and roughly a dozen states charge no transfer tax at all. On an expensive property this is a meaningful cost, so factor it into the closing budget.
Once the deed is recorded, the original is usually mailed back to the grantee. Keep it in a safe place. The recorded copy in the county’s records is the one that matters legally.
Why Recording Promptly Matters
A signed warranty deed transfers ownership between grantor and grantee the moment it’s delivered, even without recording. But the rest of the world doesn’t know about it until the deed hits public records, and that gap is dangerous.
Most states follow a race-notice recording system. If a seller fraudulently sells the same property to a second buyer who pays fair value, has no knowledge of your deed, and records before you do, that second buyer wins. Your unrecorded deed gives you a claim against the seller personally, but not against the property. The same logic reaches the seller’s creditors: if a judgment lien attaches to property still showing under the seller’s name in public records, you may face a legal fight to prove ownership. Record the deed as soon as possible after signing.
What to Check Before You Transfer
A warranty deed does not pay off or remove an existing mortgage. The loan stays in place, and the original borrower remains personally liable unless the lender agrees otherwise. Most residential mortgages include a due-on-sale clause that lets the lender demand full repayment when ownership changes hands. Ignoring it can lead to the lender calling the loan and, if unpaid, starting foreclosure.
Federal law carves out specific exceptions where the lender cannot enforce a due-on-sale clause on residential property with fewer than five units. These include transfers to a spouse or children of the borrower, transfers resulting from a divorce decree, transfers to a relative after the borrower’s death, and transfers into a living trust where the borrower remains a beneficiary.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 U.S. Code 1701j-3 – Preemption of Due-on-Sale Prohibitions Outside those categories, contact the lender before recording the deed. Some lenders will consent to the transfer or allow an assumption of the loan, but that requires a separate application.
Two other consequences are worth flagging before you sign. Transferring property for less than fair market value is a gift for tax purposes. In 2026, each person can give up to $19,000 per recipient per year without triggering a gift tax return, and most real property exceeds that, so the donor generally needs to file Form 709 by April 15 of the following year.2Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 709 Filing doesn’t necessarily mean owing tax; the excess counts against the lifetime exemption. And on a sale, the closing agent generally reports the transaction to the IRS on Form 1099-S.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1099-S
Finally, the warranty in a warranty deed is only as good as the grantor. Enforcing it means suing the grantor, proving they knew or should have known about the defect, and hoping they have assets to pay a judgment. Title insurance backs the same promises with a policy from an insurance company and includes a title search that catches many problems before closing. For a one-time premium, it’s the practical backstop that makes the deed’s guarantees enforceable if something goes wrong later.