Montana Warranty Deed
A warranty deed guarantees clear title and defends the buyer against claims. Montana codifies the grant deed, not a warranty form. Attorney review available.
Introduction
In Montana the general warranty deed is a valid, common instrument that guarantees clear title and defends the buyer against every claim, though the state itself codifies the grant deed, whose word grant implies only limited covenants under Montana Code Annotated Section 70-20-304. 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. In Montana the general warranty deed is a valid and commonly used sale instrument, but Montana does not codify a common-law warranty deed or its warrant-and-defend words. The form Montana codifies is the grant deed, whose single operative word grant carries two implied covenants under Montana Code Annotated Section 70-20-304: that the grantor has not already conveyed the property to someone else, and that the property is free of encumbrances the grantor created. Those covenants are limited to the grantor's own acts, so a Montana grant deed sits between a full general warranty deed and a quitclaim. You record the signed, notarized deed with the county clerk and recorder of the county where the property sits (Section 15-7-305). Montana charges no real estate transfer tax, though a Realty Transfer Certificate must accompany the deed at recording. DocDraft builds your Montana deed from your facts, with attorney review available before you record.
Key Things to Know
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A warranty deed is a deed in which the seller guarantees clear title and defends the buyer against later claims. Montana's codified grant deed offers less, implying covenants only for the grantor's own acts, so it sits between a full warranty deed and a quitclaim.
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Montana does not codify a common-law warranty deed. The statutory Montana instrument is the grant deed, and the word grant carries two implied covenants under Montana Code Annotated Section 70-20-304: the grantor has not already conveyed the estate to another, and the estate is free of encumbrances the grantor created. A general warranty deed with express warrant-and-defend covenants is also valid and commonly used, but its words are drafted, not supplied by statute.
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A Montana grant deed also passes after-acquired title: if the grantor later obtains title they did not have when they signed, it passes automatically to the grantee (Section 70-20-302). A quitclaim deed does not do this.
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You record the signed deed with the county clerk and recorder of the county where the property is located (Section 15-7-305). Montana follows a notice-race priority rule, so recording promptly protects you against a later good-faith buyer (Section 70-21-304).
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The grantor's signature must be acknowledged before a notary before the deed can be recorded (Section 70-21-203). Montana does not require subscribing witnesses for a deed; a subscribing witness is only an alternative way to prove execution when the deed is not acknowledged.
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Montana charges no real estate transfer tax. Instead, a Realty Transfer Certificate must be received by the county clerk and recorder before the deed can be recorded (Section 15-7-305); it reports the sale price for property appraisal and is not a tax.
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Montana is a separate-property state, not a community-property state. Both spouses must join in signing only when a declared homestead has been recorded under Title 70, chapter 32 (Section 70-32-301). A general warranty deed, which warrants against title defects predating the seller, is a valid choice but is not the codified Montana form.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Warranty Deed in Montana, 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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Montana Requirements for Warranty Deed
A warranty deed guarantees clear title and defends the buyer against claims. Montana does not codify a common-law warranty deed; the statutory grant deed carries the two implied covenants of Montana Code Annotated Section 70-20-304 (grantor has not already conveyed the estate; it is free of encumbrances the grantor created), limited to the grantor own acts. A general warranty deed warrants against all claims, including those predating the grantor, and is valid and commonly used in Montana, but its warrant-and-defend words are drafted, not statutory.
Montana codifies a statutory short-form grant deed in which the operative word is grant (Section 70-20-103), and that word triggers the Section 70-20-304 covenants. A grant deed also passes after-acquired title: title the grantor obtains after signing passes automatically to the grantee (Section 70-20-302). A quitclaim deed does neither.
Record the signed, notarized deed with the county clerk and recorder of the county in which the real property is located (Section 15-7-305). Montana follows a notice-race priority rule, so a conveyance recorded first generally prevails over a later one by a good-faith purchaser (Section 70-21-304). Record promptly to protect your interest.
Before recording, the grantor signature must be acknowledged before a notary (Section 70-21-203). Montana does not require subscribing witnesses to execute a deed; a subscribing witness is only an alternative way to prove execution when the deed is not acknowledged, so a proper notarial acknowledgment is the recording path.
Montana imposes no real estate transfer tax on a warranty or grant deed. Instead, a Realty Transfer Certificate must be received by the county clerk and recorder before the deed is accepted for recording (Section 15-7-305). The certificate reports the sale price for Department of Revenue property appraisal and is an informational filing, not a tax. Some transfers may be exempt from the certificate; confirm the current list with the county.
Identify the grantor and grantee, state the consideration, and include the full legal description of the property (not just the street address or geocode). 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.
Montana is a separate-property state, not a community-property state. Both spouses must execute and acknowledge the deed only where a declared homestead covering the property has been recorded under Title 70, chapter 32 (Section 70-32-301). If no homestead declaration is recorded, a spouse holding sole title may generally convey alone. Confirm homestead status before signing to avoid a defective transfer.
Choose the deed to match the protection intended. A general warranty deed warrants title against all claims, including those predating the grantor, and is valid and commonly used in Montana though not the codified form. The grant deed gives the Section 70-20-304 covenants for the grantor own acts and is the standard Montana statutory instrument. A quitclaim gives no covenants. The reason for the transfer usually points to the right one.
Does your Warranty Deed need to be notarized in Montana?
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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. Montana's codified deed is the grant deed, which sits in between: under Montana Code Annotated Section 70-20-304 the word grant implies that the grantor has not already conveyed the property and that it is free of encumbrances the grantor created, but those covenants cover only the grantor's own acts.
A true general warranty deed guarantees clear title against all claims, including defects that arose before the seller owned the property, and promises to defend the buyer. Montana does not codify that form, though it is commonly used with drafted covenants. A Montana grant deed instead carries the two implied covenants of Section 70-20-304, that the grantor has not already conveyed the estate and that it is free of encumbrances the grantor made, and it passes after-acquired title under Section 70-20-302. Those covenants are limited to the grantor's own conduct.
Montana codifies a statutory grant deed. Section 70-20-103 sets out a short form in which the operative word is grant, and that word triggers the implied covenants of Section 70-20-304. A general warranty deed is valid and commonly used in Montana practice, but it is not the codified statutory form, so its warrant-and-defend covenants are drafted rather than supplied by statute.
You record the signed, notarized deed with the county clerk and recorder of the county where the property is located (Section 15-7-305). The grantor's signature must be acknowledged before a notary first (Section 70-21-203). Montana follows a notice-race priority rule, so a deed recorded first generally defeats a later one by a good-faith buyer, which is why you should record promptly (Section 70-21-304).
Montana does not require an attorney to prepare or record a deed; an individual may prepare their own grant or warranty 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 Montana deed from your facts, with attorney review available as an option before you record.
It must be notarized. Before a Montana deed can be recorded, the grantor's signature has to be acknowledged before a notary (Section 70-21-203). Montana does not require subscribing witnesses for a deed; a subscribing witness is only an alternative way to prove execution when the deed is not acknowledged, so a proper notarial acknowledgment is what allows the county clerk and recorder to record it.
No. Montana imposes no real estate transfer tax on a warranty or grant deed. Instead, a Realty Transfer Certificate must be received by the county clerk and recorder before the deed can be recorded (Section 15-7-305). The certificate reports the sale price so the Department of Revenue can appraise the property; it is an informational filing, not a tax. Some transfers may be exempt from the certificate requirement, so confirm the current list with the county.
A general warranty deed warrants title against all claims, including defects that predate the seller's ownership. A special or limited warranty deed warrants only against defects the seller created. Montana does not codify either as a named statutory form; its statutory grant deed (Section 70-20-103) functions like a limited warranty because the word grant implies covenants for the grantor's own acts only under Section 70-20-304. A quitclaim deed gives no title covenants at all.