Massachusetts Warranty Deed
A Massachusetts warranty deed guarantees clear title and defends the buyer against all claims. Recorded at the registry of deeds. Attorney review available.
Introduction
Massachusetts codifies a warranty deed: under M.G.L. c.183 Section 10 a deed in the statutory Warranty Deed form ends in the grantor's promise to warrant and defend the title against the lawful claims and demands of all persons, the guarantee a buyer looks for. That title guarantee is what separates it from a quitclaim deed, which in most states 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. Massachusetts is important to understand here, because Massachusetts is one of the states that does codify a warranty deed. Under M.G.L. c.183 Section 10 a deed following the statutory Warranty Deed form carries four covenants, ending in the promise to warrant and defend the title to the grantee against the lawful claims and demands of all persons, the shorthand words being the warranty covenants defined in c.183 Section 16. The trap is that the everyday Massachusetts conveyance is not this deed but the statutory Quitclaim Deed, which despite its name still carries limited covenants against the grantor's own acts (c.183 Section 11 and Section 17). You record the signed, acknowledged deed with the registry of deeds for the county or district where the property sits (c.183 Section 4). DocDraft builds your Massachusetts deed from your facts, with attorney review available before you record.
Key Things to Know
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A warranty deed guarantees clear title and agrees to warrant and defend the buyer against the lawful claims of all persons, the strongest protection Massachusetts offers. Only a deed of quitclaim and release, unlike the state's limited-covenant Quitclaim Deed, guarantees nothing.
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Massachusetts codifies a Warranty Deed form (M.G.L. c.183 Section 10). A deed in the statutory form carries four covenants: the grantor is lawfully seized in fee simple, the premises are free from all encumbrances, the grantor has good right to sell and convey, and the grantor will warrant and defend the title against the lawful claims and demands of all persons.
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The shorthand words warranty covenants carry that full general warranty (c.183 Section 16). The everyday Massachusetts deed, though, is the statutory Quitclaim Deed, which carries only limited quitclaim covenants against the grantor's own acts, defending against claims by, through, or under the grantor but against none other (c.183 Section 11 and Section 17). A deed of quitclaim and release gives no covenants at all (c.183 Section 2).
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You record the signed deed with the registry of deeds for the county or district in which the land lies (c.183 Section 4). An unrecorded conveyance is not valid against a later buyer without actual notice of it, so recording promptly protects your interest. Registered (Torrens) land is instead filed with the assistant recorder for the district (c.185 Section 57).
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The grantor's signature must be acknowledged before a notary public or justice of the peace before the registry will record the deed (c.183 Section 29 and Section 30). Massachusetts does not require subscribing witnesses for a deed.
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Massachusetts charges a deeds excise on a sale for more than 100 dollars, a codified 2.00 dollars per 500 dollars of consideration that with the 14 percent surtax is an effective 2.28 dollars per 500 dollars statewide and 2.85 dollars per 500 dollars in Barnstable County (c.64D Section 1; DOR Directive 89-14). Every deed presented for recording must recite the full consideration and the grantee's address (c.183 Section 6).
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Massachusetts is not a community-property state, but to terminate the estate of homestead when conveying the home to a non-family member the deed must be signed by the owner and any non-owner spouse or former spouse who lives in the home as a principal residence (c.188 Section 10). A general warranty deed, which warrants against title defects predating the seller, is the strongest but not the most common Massachusetts form.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Warranty Deed in Massachusetts, 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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Massachusetts Requirements for Warranty Deed
A warranty deed guarantees clear title and defends the buyer against claims. Massachusetts codifies a Warranty Deed (M.G.L. c.183 Section 10): the grantor is lawfully seized in fee simple, the premises are free from all encumbrances, the grantor has good right to convey, and the grantor will warrant and defend the title to the grantee against the lawful claims and demands of all persons. The shorthand phrase warranty covenants carries that same general warranty (c.183 Section 16).
Massachusetts codifies both a Warranty Deed (full covenants, c.183 Section 10) and a Quitclaim Deed and has no grant deed. Watch the naming trap: the statutory Quitclaim Deed still carries limited covenants against the grantor own acts, defending only against claims by, through, or under the grantor (c.183 Section 11 and Section 17). A deed of quitclaim and release gives no covenants at all (c.183 Section 2). In practice the Quitclaim Deed is the customary Massachusetts conveyance.
Record the signed, acknowledged deed with the registry of deeds for the county or district in which the land lies (M.G.L. c.183 Section 4). An unrecorded conveyance is not valid against a later purchaser who lacks actual notice of it, so record promptly to protect your interest. Registered (Torrens) land is filed instead with the assistant recorder for the district (c.185 Section 57).
Before recording, the grantor signature must be acknowledged before a notary public or a justice of the peace (M.G.L. c.183 Section 29 and Section 30), and the acknowledgment certificate is recorded at length with the deed. Massachusetts does not require subscribing witnesses for a deed, so a proper acknowledgment is the recording path.
Massachusetts imposes a deeds excise on a sale for more than 100 dollars, a codified 2.00 dollars for each 500 dollars of consideration (M.G.L. c.64D Section 1) that with the 14 percent surtax is an effective 2.28 dollars per 500 dollars statewide and 2.85 dollars per 500 dollars in Barnstable County (DOR Directive 89-14). Every deed presented for recording must recite the full consideration and the grantee address on its face (c.183 Section 6). Bona fide gifts and deeds without consideration are exempt.
Identify the grantor and grantee with their addresses, recite the full consideration, and include the complete legal description of the property (not just the street address), typically by referring to the prior deed book and page or the certificate of title for registered land. 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.
Massachusetts is not a community-property state, but the estate of homestead affects a conveyance of the family home. To terminate the homestead when deeding the home to a non-family member, the deed must be signed by the owner and any non-owner spouse or former spouse who resides in the home as a principal residence (M.G.L. c.188 Section 10); alternatively both may sign a separate recorded homestead release. Confirm the homestead status before signing.
Choose the deed to match the protection intended. A Massachusetts Warranty Deed uses warranty covenants (c.183 Section 16) to warrant title against all persons, including defects predating the grantor, and is the strongest choice. The statutory Quitclaim Deed uses limited quitclaim covenants (c.183 Section 17) reaching only the grantor own acts and is the customary local form. A deed of quitclaim and release (c.183 Section 2) gives no covenants. The reason for the transfer usually points to the right one.
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Check my Warranty DeedFrequently Asked Questions
A warranty deed guarantees the seller holds clear title and will warrant and defend the buyer against the lawful claims of all persons (M.G.L. c.183 Section 10 and Section 16). Massachusetts is unusual because its statutory Quitclaim Deed is not a no-warranty instrument: under c.183 Section 11 and Section 17 it still carries limited covenants that the premises are free of encumbrances made by the grantor and that the grantor will defend against claims by, through, or under the grantor, but against none other. The truly covenant-free conveyance in Massachusetts is a deed of quitclaim and release (c.183 Section 2).
A Massachusetts warranty deed carries the four covenants of M.G.L. c.183 Section 10: that the grantor is lawfully seized in fee simple of the premises, that they are free from all encumbrances, that the grantor has good right to sell and convey, and that the grantor will warrant and defend the title to the grantee against the lawful claims and demands of all persons. That last covenant reaches every claim, including title defects that arose before the seller owned the property, which is what makes a general warranty deed the strongest form of protection in Massachusetts.
Massachusetts codifies both a Warranty Deed (M.G.L. c.183 Section 10) and a Quitclaim Deed (c.183 Section 11), and it has no grant deed. In practice the customary Massachusetts conveyance is the statutory Quitclaim Deed, which carries limited covenants against the grantor's own acts (c.183 Section 17), not the full warranty. The Warranty Deed is chosen when the buyer wants the seller to warrant and defend title against all persons, including defects predating the seller. Both are valid statutory forms; the choice depends on how much title protection the parties want.
You record the signed, acknowledged deed with the registry of deeds for the county or district in which the property is located (M.G.L. c.183 Section 4). The grantor's signature must be acknowledged before a notary public or justice of the peace first (c.183 Section 29 and Section 30), and the deed must recite the full consideration and the grantee's address (c.183 Section 6). An unrecorded deed is not valid against a later purchaser without actual notice, so record promptly. Registered (Torrens) land is filed with the assistant recorder for the district instead (c.185 Section 57).
Massachusetts does not require an attorney to prepare a deed, and an individual may prepare and record their own warranty or quitclaim deed. Because a deed transfers title and a mistake in the legal description, the covenants, or the homestead handling can be expensive to fix, many people have the deed reviewed before recording. Note that Massachusetts treats the drafting of a deed for another person as the practice of law, so a preparer generally acts for themselves. DocDraft prepares your Massachusetts deed from your facts, with attorney review available as an option before you record.
It must be acknowledged, which in practice means notarized. Before a Massachusetts deed can be recorded, the grantor's signature has to be acknowledged before a notary public or a justice of the peace (M.G.L. c.183 Section 29 and Section 30). Massachusetts does not require subscribing witnesses for a deed, so a proper acknowledgment certificate is what allows the registry of deeds to record it. The acknowledgment certificate is recorded at length together with the deed.
Usually yes when the property is sold for more than 100 dollars. Massachusetts imposes a deeds excise with a codified base of 2.00 dollars for each 500 dollars of consideration (M.G.L. c.64D Section 1); with the 14 percent surtax the effective rate is 2.28 dollars per 500 dollars statewide and 2.85 dollars per 500 dollars in Barnstable County (DOR Directive 89-14). The deed must recite the full consideration on its face (c.183 Section 6). Bona fide gifts and deeds without consideration are exempt, as are instruments securing a debt and deeds involving the commonwealth or the United States.
General warranty covenants (M.G.L. c.183 Section 16) make the grantor warrant and defend title against the lawful claims and demands of all persons, including defects predating the grantor's ownership, and are what a Massachusetts Warranty Deed carries. Limited or quitclaim covenants (c.183 Section 17) make the grantor warrant and defend only against claims by, through, or under the grantor, but against none other; these are what the customary Massachusetts Quitclaim Deed carries. A deed of quitclaim and release (c.183 Section 2) gives no covenants at all.