New Mexico Warranty Deed
A New Mexico warranty deed guarantees clear title and defends the buyer against claims. Filed with the county clerk, no state transfer tax. Review available.
Introduction
New Mexico codifies a true statutory warranty deed: under Section 47-1-29 the statutory form conveys a fee simple with the warranty covenants of Section 47-1-37, including the grantor's promise to warrant and defend the title against the lawful claims and demands of all persons. 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. New Mexico is straightforward here, because New Mexico codifies a true statutory warranty deed. Under Section 47-1-29 of the New Mexico Statutes, a deed following the statutory warranty deed form conveys a fee simple with the warranty covenants defined in Section 47-1-37: that the grantor is lawfully seized in fee simple, that the property is free from encumbrances, that the grantor has good right to convey, and that the grantor will warrant and defend the title against the lawful claims and demands of all persons. The statutory form at Section 47-1-44 uses the operative words grant with warranty covenants. You record the signed, notarized deed with the county clerk of the county where the property sits (Section 14-9-1). DocDraft builds your New Mexico deed from your facts, with attorney review available before you record.
Key Things to Know
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A New Mexico warranty deed carries the statutory covenants of Section 47-1-37, the grantor's promise to warrant and defend title against the lawful claims of all persons, the strongest protection. A quitclaim deed (Section 47-1-30) conveys without any warranty.
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New Mexico codifies a statutory warranty deed. A deed following the statutory warranty deed form conveys a fee simple with warranty covenants (New Mexico Statutes Section 47-1-29), and the form at Section 47-1-44 uses the operative words grant with warranty covenants.
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New Mexico's warranty covenants (Section 47-1-37) promise that the grantor is lawfully seized in fee simple, that the property is free from encumbrances, that the grantor has good right to convey, and that the grantor will warrant and defend the title against the lawful claims and demands of all persons. A quitclaim deed conveys without warranty (Section 47-1-30).
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You record the signed deed with the county clerk of the county where the property is located (Section 14-9-1), not a recorder or register of deeds. New Mexico follows a notice recording rule, so recording promptly protects you against a later good-faith purchaser without knowledge of your deed (Section 14-9-3).
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The grantor must subscribe the deed (Section 47-1-5), and the signature must be acknowledged before a notary before the county clerk can record it (Section 14-8-4). New Mexico does not require subscribing witnesses for a deed.
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New Mexico has no state real estate transfer tax and no documentary stamp tax on deeds. Recording is a flat per-document fee set by each county clerk, so confirm the current fee with the county where you record.
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New Mexico is a community property state. Both spouses must join in signing to convey community real property, and a conveyance by one spouse alone is void (Section 40-3-13). A special or limited warranty deed narrows the covenants to claims arising during the seller's own ownership.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Warranty Deed in New Mexico, 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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New Mexico Requirements for Warranty Deed
A warranty deed guarantees clear title and defends the buyer against claims. New Mexico codifies a statutory warranty deed (New Mexico Statutes Section 47-1-29). Its warranty covenants (Section 47-1-37) promise that the grantor is lawfully seized in fee simple, that the property is free from all encumbrances, that the grantor has good right to convey, and that the grantor will warrant and defend the title against the lawful claims and demands of all persons. A quitclaim conveys without warranty (Section 47-1-30).
New Mexico supplies a statutory short-form warranty deed at Section 47-1-44 whose operative words are grant with warranty covenants. Those words import the full warrant-and-defend covenants of Section 47-1-37. Unlike California, New Mexico does not use a grant deed. Use grant with special warranty covenants to limit the warranty to claims arising during the grantor's own ownership.
Record the signed, notarized deed with the county clerk of the county or counties in which the real estate is situated (New Mexico Statutes Section 14-9-1). New Mexico is a notice-recording state, so an unrecorded deed does not affect the rights of a later good-faith purchaser without knowledge of it (Section 14-9-3). Record promptly to protect your interest.
The grantor must subscribe the deed (Section 47-1-5), and the signature must be acknowledged before a notary before the county clerk can record it (Section 14-8-4). New Mexico does not require subscribing witnesses for a deed, so a proper notarial acknowledgment is the recording path.
New Mexico imposes no state real estate transfer tax and no documentary stamp tax on deeds. Recording a warranty deed costs only a flat per-document fee set by the county clerk, not a tax based on the sale price. Fees vary by county, so confirm the current recording fee with the county clerk where the property is located before filing.
Identify the grantor and grantee with their addresses, recite that the deed is for consideration paid, and include the full legal description of the real estate (not just the street address or parcel number). 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.
New Mexico is a community property state. Both spouses must join in any conveyance of community real property, and a conveyance attempted by one spouse alone is void, except that one spouse may convey directly to the other (Section 40-3-13). One spouse may convey their own separate property alone. Confirm how title is held before signing to avoid a defective transfer.
Choose the deed to match the protection intended. A general warranty deed carries the full Section 47-1-37 covenants and warrants title against all lawful claims, including those predating the grantor. A special or limited warranty deed warrants only against claims arising during the grantor's own ownership. A quitclaim gives no covenants (Section 47-1-30). The reason for the transfer usually points to the right instrument.
Does your Warranty Deed need to be notarized in New Mexico?
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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 claims to the property. A quitclaim deed makes no promises at all; it passes only whatever interest the seller actually has, without warranty (New Mexico Statutes Section 47-1-30). New Mexico codifies both. A statutory warranty deed carries the warranty covenants of Section 47-1-37, which warrant title against the lawful claims and demands of all persons, so it gives the buyer far stronger protection than a quitclaim.
A New Mexico general warranty deed carries the statutory warranty covenants of Section 47-1-37: that the grantor is lawfully seized in fee simple, that the property is free from all former and other grants, taxes, assessments and encumbrances, that the grantor has good right to sell and convey, and that the grantor will warrant and defend the title against the lawful claims and demands of all persons. That covers defects that arose even before the seller owned the property. A special or limited warranty deed instead covers only claims arising during the seller's own ownership.
New Mexico uses a warranty deed, not a grant deed. New Mexico codifies a statutory warranty deed at Section 47-1-29 and supplies the form at Section 47-1-44, using the operative words grant with warranty covenants, which import the warrant-and-defend covenants of Section 47-1-37. This differs from California, which uses a grant deed and does not codify a warranty deed. New Mexico also codifies a quitclaim deed (Section 47-1-30) for transfers made without warranty.
You record the signed, notarized deed with the county clerk of the county where the property is located (New Mexico Statutes Section 14-9-1). The grantor's signature must be acknowledged before a notary first (Section 14-8-4). New Mexico follows a notice recording rule, so an unrecorded deed does not protect you against a later good-faith purchaser without knowledge of it, which is why you should record promptly (Section 14-9-3).
New Mexico 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 New Mexico deed from your facts, with attorney review available as an option before you record.
It must be notarized. The grantor has to subscribe the deed (Section 47-1-5), and before a New Mexico deed can be recorded the signature must be acknowledged before a notary (Section 14-8-4). New Mexico does not require subscribing witnesses for a deed, so a proper notarial acknowledgment is what allows the county clerk to record it.
No. New Mexico imposes no state real estate transfer tax and no documentary stamp tax on deeds. When you record a warranty deed you pay only a flat per-document recording fee set by the county clerk, not a tax based on the sale price. Confirm the current recording fee with the county clerk where the property sits, since fees vary by county.
For community property, yes. New Mexico is a community property state, and Section 40-3-13 requires both spouses to join in any conveyance of community real property; a conveyance attempted by one spouse alone is void, except that one spouse may convey directly to the other. If the property is one spouse's separate property, that spouse can convey it alone. Confirm how title is held before you sign to avoid a defective transfer.