Pennsylvania Warranty Deed
A Pennsylvania warranty deed guarantees clear title and defends the buyer against claims. Record with the county Recorder of Deeds. Attorney review available.
Introduction
Pennsylvania is one of the states that writes the meaning of a warranty deed directly into its statutes. Under Title 21 of the Pennsylvania statutes, a deed reciting that the grantor 'will warrant generally the property hereby conveyed' is construed as a covenant to forever warrant and defend the title, and every part of it, against the lawful claims and demands of all persons whomsoever (21 P.S. Section 5). Swap in 'will warrant specially' and the same statute narrows that promise to claims arising through the grantor alone (21 P.S. Section 6). Those operative words, not a form label, decide how much title protection the buyer receives. That codified guarantee is what sets a warranty deed apart from a quitclaim, which recites 'release and quit claim' and passes only whatever interest the seller happens to hold, with no covenant of title. Because Title 21 is an older, unconsolidated statute, confirm the current wording before you rely on it. Once signed, the deed is acknowledged before a notary and recorded with the Recorder of Deeds of the county where the land lies, and Pennsylvania collects a realty transfer tax on the sale. DocDraft assembles your Pennsylvania deed from your facts, with attorney review available before you record.
Key Things to Know
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Pennsylvania puts the meaning of a warranty deed into its statutes. Under Title 21, a covenant that the grantor 'will warrant generally the property hereby conveyed' is read as a promise to forever warrant and defend the title against the lawful claims and demands of all persons whomsoever, including defects that predate the grantor (21 P.S. Section 5). Title 21 is an older statute, so confirm the current wording.
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Change the operative words to 'will warrant specially' and, under the same statute, the deed becomes a special or limited warranty deed (21 P.S. Section 6): the grantor stands behind title only against claims by the grantor and anyone claiming through the grantor, not against defects that arose before the grantor took title.
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A warranty deed gives the buyer the strongest title protection Pennsylvania offers, because the grantor guarantees clear title and agrees to defend it. It is the opposite of a quitclaim deed, which recites 'release and quit claim,' carries no title covenants, and passes only whatever interest the grantor actually holds.
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Record the signed, acknowledged deed with the Recorder of Deeds of the county where the property sits. Pennsylvania applies a race-notice priority rule, so a later good-faith buyer who records first can defeat an earlier unrecorded deed (21 P.S. Section 351); record promptly.
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The Recorder of Deeds will not record the deed until the grantor's signature is acknowledged before a notary. Subscribing witnesses are not required in Pennsylvania; the older statute allows proof by two witnesses only as a fallback when the grantor does not personally acknowledge, so notarization is the ordinary path (21 P.S. Section 42).
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Selling the property triggers a state realty transfer tax of 1 percent of the value of the realty conveyed (61 Pa. Code Section 91.111), and the municipality and school district add their own realty transfer tax on top, commonly another 1 percent. File a Statement of Value (Form REV-183) with the deed when the full value is not stated, the transfer is a gift, or an exemption is claimed (61 Pa. Code Section 91.112).
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Pennsylvania is not a community-property state and has abolished dower and curtesy (20 Pa.C.S. Section 2105), so a non-owner spouse usually need not join a deed of the other spouse's own property. But property the spouses hold as tenants by the entireties can be conveyed only if both spouses sign.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Warranty Deed in Pennsylvania, 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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Pennsylvania Requirements for Warranty Deed
A warranty deed guarantees clear title and defends the buyer against claims, and is the opposite of a quitclaim deed, which gives no promises. Pennsylvania gives the warranty words codified effect: its deed statute (Title 21) treats a covenant that the grantor will warrant generally the property conveyed as a promise to forever warrant and defend title against the lawful claims of all persons whomsoever. Title 21 is an older statute, so confirm the current wording.
Pennsylvania does not mandate one fill-in-the-blank deed form; the covenant words control the protection. Under 21 P.S. Section 5, will warrant generally the property hereby conveyed operates as a covenant to forever warrant and defend the property, and every part of it, against the lawful claims and demands of all persons whomsoever, including defects predating the grantor. Confirm the current statutory wording before relying on it.
Record the signed, acknowledged deed with the Recorder of Deeds of the county in which the real property is situated. Pennsylvania follows a race-notice priority rule, so a conveyance recorded first by a good-faith purchaser without notice generally prevails over an earlier unrecorded one (21 P.S. Section 351). Record promptly to protect your interest, and include the grantee's complete post office address (21 P.S. Section 356).
Before recording, the grantor's signature must be acknowledged before a notary. Pennsylvania does not require subscribing witnesses for a deed; the older statute (21 P.S. Section 42) allows proof by two witnesses only as an alternative when the grantor does not personally acknowledge. In ordinary practice a notarial acknowledgment by the grantor is the recording path.
Pennsylvania imposes a state realty transfer tax of 1 percent of the value of the realty conveyed (61 Pa. Code Section 91.111), and the local municipality and school district add their own realty transfer tax, commonly another 1 percent, so the combined rate varies by locality. A Statement of Value (Form REV-183) is filed with the deed when the full value is not stated in it, the transfer is a gift, or an exemption is claimed (61 Pa. Code Section 91.112).
Identify the grantor and grantee, state the consideration, and include the full legal description of the property (not just the street address or parcel number). Reference the prior deed by which the grantor took title. 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.
Pennsylvania is not a community-property state and has abolished dower and curtesy (20 Pa.C.S. Section 2105), so a non-owner spouse generally need not join in a deed of the other spouse's individually owned property. Property the spouses hold as tenants by the entireties, however, can be conveyed only if both spouses sign, because each is a co-owner. Confirm how title is held before signing.
Choose the deed to match the protection intended. A general warranty deed (will warrant generally, 21 P.S. Section 5) warrants title against all claims, including those predating the grantor. A special or limited warranty deed (will warrant specially, 21 P.S. Section 6) warrants only against the grantor's own acts. A quitclaim (release and quit claim, 21 P.S. Section 7) gives no covenants. The reason for the transfer usually points to the right one.
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In Pennsylvania the difference is written into the deed's operative words. A warranty deed reciting that the grantor 'will warrant generally the property hereby conveyed' carries a statutory covenant to warrant and defend title against all persons (21 P.S. Section 5). A quitclaim deed reciting 'release and quit claim' makes no such promise and conveys only the interest the grantor actually holds, with no title covenants (21 P.S. Section 7). So a warranty deed guarantees clear title and defends the buyer, while a quitclaim guarantees nothing. Title 21 is an older statute, so confirm the current wording.
A general warranty deed guarantees clear title against every claim, including defects that arose before the seller owned the property, and commits the seller to defend it. Pennsylvania's deed statute makes that concrete: the words 'will warrant generally the property hereby conveyed' have the effect of a covenant to forever warrant and defend the property, and every part of it, against the lawful claims and demands of all persons whomsoever (21 P.S. Section 5). That is the broadest title protection a Pennsylvania deed can give. Confirm the current statutory wording, since Title 21 is an older statute.
Pennsylvania is a warranty-deed state, not a grant-deed state. It does not prescribe a single fill-in-the-blank form; instead its deed statute (Title 21) gives legal effect to the covenant words the deed uses. 'Will warrant generally' produces a general warranty deed (21 P.S. Section 5), 'will warrant specially' a special or limited warranty deed (21 P.S. Section 6), and 'release and quit claim' a quitclaim (21 P.S. Section 7). The wording you choose, not a form name, fixes the level of protection, so match it to the guarantee you mean to give.
Take the signed deed to a notary so the grantor's signature is acknowledged, then record it with the Recorder of Deeds of the county where the property is located. Pennsylvania follows a race-notice priority rule, so a deed recorded first by a good-faith buyer without notice generally defeats an earlier unrecorded one (21 P.S. Section 351); record promptly. Bring a completed Statement of Value (Form REV-183) where the county requires it, and confirm current formatting and fees with your county Recorder of Deeds.
No. Pennsylvania does not require an attorney to prepare or record a deed, and an individual may prepare and record their own warranty deed. That said, a deed transfers title, and a mistake in the legal description, the choice of warranty covenants, or how the grantee takes title can be costly to unwind, so many people have the deed reviewed first. DocDraft prepares your Pennsylvania deed from your facts, with attorney review available as an option before you record.
Notarized, yes; witnessed, no. The Recorder of Deeds will not record a Pennsylvania deed until the grantor's signature is acknowledged before a notary. Subscribing witnesses are not required: the older statute lets two witnesses prove the deed only as an alternative when the grantor does not personally acknowledge (21 P.S. Section 42). In ordinary practice a notarial acknowledgment by the grantor is all it takes to record.
Usually, when the property is sold. Pennsylvania levies a state realty transfer tax of 1 percent of the value of the realty conveyed (61 Pa. Code Section 91.111), and the local municipality and school district add their own realty transfer tax, commonly another 1 percent, so the combined rate depends on the locality. A Statement of Value (Form REV-183) must accompany the deed when the full value is not set forth in it, the transfer is a gift, or an exemption is claimed (61 Pa. Code Section 91.112). Transfers between spouses and between parents and children are among the common exemptions.
Both promise something, but not the same thing. Under Pennsylvania's deed statute, a general warranty deed recites 'will warrant generally' and defends the title against the lawful claims of all persons, including problems that predate the grantor's ownership (21 P.S. Section 5). A special or limited warranty deed recites 'will warrant specially' and defends only against claims by the grantor and anyone claiming through the grantor (21 P.S. Section 6). The general form gives the buyer the widest protection; the special form is common when the seller will not stand behind title problems from before they owned the property.