Alaska Warranty Deed
Alaska warranty deed: conveys and warrants clear title and defends the buyer, recorded with Alaska's State Recorder's Office. Attorney review available.
Introduction
Alaska codifies its warranty deed by statute: under Alaska Statutes Section 34.15.030 the two operative words conveys and warrants give the buyer the seller's full guarantee to defend the title against all persons, along with covenants of an indefeasible fee simple and freedom from encumbrances. That title guarantee is what separates it from a quitclaim deed, which promises nothing and only passes whatever interest the seller happens to have. A general warranty deed protects against every title defect, including ones that arose before the seller owned the property; a special or limited warranty deed covers only problems created during the seller's own ownership. Alaska is straightforward here, because Alaska codifies a statutory warranty deed. Under Alaska Statutes Section 34.15.030, the operative words conveys and warrants carry three covenants: that the grantor is lawfully seized of an indefeasible fee simple estate with the power to convey, that the premises are free from encumbrances, and that the grantor warrants quiet possession and will defend the title against all persons claiming it. That third covenant is the full general warranty. You record the signed, notarized deed with the State Recorder's Office of the Department of Natural Resources in the recording district where the property sits; Alaska uses a statewide system of 34 recording districts served by two offices, not county recorders (Alaska Statutes Section 40.17.030). DocDraft builds your Alaska deed from your facts, with attorney review available before you record.
Key Things to Know
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A warranty deed gives the buyer the strongest title protection. In Alaska the statutory words conveys and warrants (Alaska Statutes Section 34.15.030) pack that promise into two words: the seller guarantees clear title and will defend it against every claimant.
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Alaska codifies a statutory warranty deed. Under Alaska Statutes Section 34.15.030, the words conveys and warrants carry three covenants: the grantor is lawfully seized of an indefeasible fee simple and has power to convey, the premises are free from encumbrances, and the grantor will defend the title against all persons claiming it.
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You record the signed deed with the State Recorder's Office of the Department of Natural Resources in the recording district where the property is located (Alaska Statutes Section 40.17.030). Alaska runs a statewide system of 34 recording districts served by two offices, not county recorders, and follows a race-notice priority rule, so recording promptly protects you against a later buyer (Alaska Statutes Section 40.17.080(b)).
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The grantor's signature must be acknowledged before a notary or other authorized officer before the deed can be recorded (Alaska Statutes Section 34.15.150(a)). Alaska does not require subscribing witnesses for a deed, so a proper notarial acknowledgment is the recording path.
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Alaska imposes no statewide real estate transfer tax, documentary stamp tax, or deed excise tax. Recording a deed requires only the recording fee set by regulation, though the deed should still recite the consideration paid.
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A general warranty deed warrants title against all claims, including defects predating the grantor. A special or limited warranty covers only claims arising during the grantor's own ownership and is created by adding express limiting language; Alaska does not codify a separate special-warranty short form.
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Alaska is a default separate-property state, with community property available only if spouses opt in under the Alaska Community Property Act (Alaska Statutes Chapter 34.77). No general non-owner-spouse joinder is required to convey; the homestead statute (Alaska Statutes Section 09.38.010) is a creditor exemption, not a joinder-to-convey rule.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Warranty Deed in Alaska, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Warranty Deed guide walks through them.
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Alaska Requirements for Warranty Deed
A warranty deed guarantees clear title and defends the buyer against claims. Alaska codifies a statutory warranty deed: under Alaska Statutes Section 34.15.030 the words conveys and warrants carry three covenants (the grantor is lawfully seized of an indefeasible fee simple with power to convey; the premises are free from encumbrances; the grantor warrants quiet possession and will defend the title against all persons). A general warranty reaches defects predating the grantor.
Alaska codifies a statutory short-form warranty deed in which the operative words are conveys and warrants (Alaska Statutes Section 34.15.030(a)), and those words trigger the three covenants of Section 34.15.030(b). This contrasts with the statutory quitclaim deed (Section 34.15.040), which conveys only the grantor's existing interest, if any, and gives no covenants of title. Alaska does not build its everyday conveyance around a grant deed.
Record the signed, notarized deed with the State Recorder's Office of the Department of Natural Resources in the recording district where the real property is located (Alaska Statutes Section 40.17.030). Alaska uses a statewide system of 34 recording districts served by two offices, not county recorders. Alaska follows a race-notice priority rule, so a conveyance recorded first generally prevails over a later one by a good-faith purchaser (Alaska Statutes Section 40.17.080(b)). Record promptly.
Before recording, the grantor's signature must be acknowledged before a notary or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments (Alaska Statutes Section 34.15.150(a)). Alaska does not require subscribing witnesses for a deed, so a proper notarial acknowledgment is the recording path. The deed must also carry the recording-district name and the return address to be eligible for recording (Alaska Statutes Section 40.17.030).
Alaska imposes no statewide real estate transfer tax, documentary stamp tax, or deed excise tax, so there is no transfer-tax amount to compute or show on the face of the deed. Recording a deed requires only the recording fee set by regulation. Still recite the consideration paid, and confirm with the recording district whether the local municipality charges any separate fee.
Identify the grantor and grantee, state the consideration, name the recording district, and include the full legal description of the property (not just the street address). Errors in the legal description or in how the grantee takes title are a common and costly source of later title problems, so confirm both against the current vesting deed before signing.
Alaska is a default separate-property state; community property applies only if spouses opt in under the Alaska Community Property Act (Alaska Statutes Chapter 34.77). No general non-owner-spouse joinder was located as a requirement to convey, and the homestead statute (Alaska Statutes Section 09.38.010) is a creditor exemption cap, not a joinder-to-convey rule. Confirm how title is held before signing; if spouses have a community-property agreement, both should join.
Choose the deed to match the protection intended. A general warranty deed, created by the conveys-and-warrants language of Alaska Statutes Section 34.15.030, warrants title against all claims, including those predating the grantor. A special or limited warranty covers only claims arising during the grantor's own ownership and is made by adding express limiting language, since Alaska codifies no separate special-warranty form. A quitclaim (Section 34.15.040) gives no covenants.
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Check my Warranty DeedFrequently Asked Questions
A warranty deed guarantees the seller holds clear title and will defend the buyer against claims to the property. A quitclaim deed makes no promises at all; it passes only whatever interest the seller actually has, if any. Alaska codifies both: the statutory warranty deed uses the words conveys and warrants and carries the three covenants of Alaska Statutes Section 34.15.030, while the statutory quitclaim under Section 34.15.040 conveys only the grantor's existing interest with no covenants of title.
Under Alaska Statutes Section 34.15.030(b), a deed using the words conveys and warrants carries three covenants: that the grantor is lawfully seized of an indefeasible estate in fee simple with the right and power to convey, that the premises are free from encumbrances, and that the grantor warrants quiet and peaceable possession and will defend the title against all persons claiming the premises. Those covenants bind the grantor and the grantor's heirs, and a general warranty reaches defects that arose before the grantor owned the land.
Alaska uses a warranty deed, not a grant deed. Alaska Statutes Section 34.15.030 sets out a statutory short-form warranty deed whose operative words are conveys and warrants, and that form is the standard full-protection instrument for a sale. Alaska also codifies a quitclaim deed (Section 34.15.040) for transfers without warranties. Unlike some states, Alaska does not build its everyday conveyance around a grant deed.
You record the signed, notarized deed with the State Recorder's Office of the Department of Natural Resources in the recording district where the property is located (Alaska Statutes Section 40.17.030). Alaska uses a statewide system of 34 recording districts served by two offices, not county recorders. Alaska follows a race-notice priority rule, so a deed recorded first generally defeats a later one by a good-faith purchaser, which is why you should record promptly (Alaska Statutes Section 40.17.080(b)).
Alaska does not require an attorney to prepare or record a deed; an individual may prepare their own warranty or quitclaim deed and record it. Because a deed transfers title and a mistake in the legal description, the covenants, or the vesting can be expensive to fix, many people have the deed reviewed before recording. DocDraft prepares your Alaska deed from your facts, with attorney review available as an option before you record.
It must be notarized. Before an Alaska deed can be recorded, the grantor's signature has to be acknowledged before a notary or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments (Alaska Statutes Section 34.15.150(a)). Alaska does not require subscribing witnesses for a deed, so a proper notarial acknowledgment is what allows the State Recorder's Office to record it.
No. Alaska imposes no statewide real estate transfer tax, documentary stamp tax, or deed excise tax, so unlike many states there is no tax to compute or show on the face of the deed. Recording a deed requires only the recording fee set by regulation. Confirm with the recording district whether the local municipality charges any separate fee, and still recite the consideration paid in the deed.
A general warranty deed warrants title against all claims, including title defects that arose before the grantor owned the property, and is the deed created by the statutory conveys-and-warrants language of Alaska Statutes Section 34.15.030. A special or limited warranty deed covers only claims arising during the grantor's own ownership; in Alaska it is created by adding express language that limits the warranty, because Alaska does not codify a separate special-warranty short form.