Wisconsin Warranty Deed
A Wisconsin warranty deed guarantees clear title and defends the buyer against claims, with covenants set by Wis. Stat. 706.10(5). Attorney review available.
Introduction
Wisconsin codifies the warranty covenants themselves: under Wisconsin Statutes Section 706.10(5), a deed in which the grantor warrants the land guarantees clear title and forever guarantees and defends quiet possession against all lawful claims originating before the conveyance. 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. Wisconsin is useful to understand here, because Wisconsin codifies the warranty words themselves. Under Wisconsin Statutes Section 706.10(5), a conveyance by which the grantor warrants the land or its title is construed to include covenants that the grantor is lawfully seized, has good right to convey, that the land is free from all encumbrance, and that the grantor will forever guarantee and defend the title and quiet possession against all lawful claims whatever originating prior to the conveyance. Wisconsin implies no warranty from mere words of grant, so the deed must expressly warrant to carry that protection (Section 706.10(6)). You record the signed, authenticated deed in the office of the register of deeds of the county where the land lies (Section 706.05(1)). DocDraft builds your Wisconsin warranty 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 agrees to defend the buyer against any later claim; it gives the buyer the strongest title protection and is the opposite of a quitclaim deed, which guarantees nothing (Wisconsin Statutes Section 706.10(4)).
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Wisconsin codifies warranty covenant language. When the grantor warrants the land or its title, Section 706.10(5) construes the deed to include covenants of seisin, good right to convey, freedom from all encumbrance, and a promise to forever guarantee and defend the title and quiet possession against all lawful claims whatever originating prior to the conveyance.
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Wisconsin implies no warranty from words of grant. Under Section 706.10(6) no warranty or covenant is implied in a conveyance unless the deed expressly warrants, so the operative word is warrants (or warrant and defend), not simply grant. A special or limited warranty deed limits that promise to claims arising through the grantor.
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You record the signed deed in the office of the register of deeds of each county in which the land lies (Section 706.05(1)). Wisconsin follows a race-notice priority rule, so an unrecorded deed is void against a later good-faith purchaser for value whose deed is recorded first (Section 706.08(1)(a)). Record promptly.
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To be recordable, the grantor's signature must be acknowledged before a notary under chapter 140 or authenticated under Section 706.06 (a public officer or a Wisconsin State Bar member may authenticate). Wisconsin does not require subscribing witnesses for a deed (Section 706.05(6)).
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Wisconsin imposes a real estate transfer fee on the grantor of 30 cents for each 100 dollars of value or fraction thereof (Section 77.22(1)). The value is reported on the mandatory electronic transfer return (eRETR); the deed shows no tax amount, but if the transfer is exempt the exemption reason must be stated on its face by reference to the proper Section 77.25 subsection.
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If the deed alienates a married person's interest in a homestead, both spouses must sign it or join by separate conveyance, or the conveyance is not valid, except for transfers between spouses (Section 706.02(1)(f)). A homestead is the dwelling plus surrounding land under Section 706.01(7).
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Warranty Deed in Wisconsin, 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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Once your Warranty Deed is ready, you can check whether it needs to be notarized in Wisconsin in about a minute, and notarize it online through DocDraft if it does.
Wisconsin Requirements for Warranty Deed
A warranty deed guarantees clear title and defends the buyer against claims. Wisconsin codifies the warranty words: under Wisconsin Statutes Section 706.10(5), a conveyance by which the grantor warrants the land or its title is construed to include covenants that the grantor is lawfully seized, has good right to convey, that the land is free from all encumbrance, and that the grantor will forever guarantee and defend the title and quiet possession against all lawful claims whatever originating prior to the conveyance.
Wisconsin implies no warranty from mere words of grant. Section 706.10(6) provides that no warranty or covenant is implied in any conveyance unless the deed expressly warrants, so the operative word is warrants (or warrant and defend), not grant. A quitclaim deed conveys only the grantor's interest with no warranty (Section 706.10(4)). Wisconsin uses a true warranty deed and has no statutory grant-deed short form.
Record the signed, authenticated deed in the office of the register of deeds of each county in which the land lies (Section 706.05(1)). Wisconsin follows a race-notice priority rule: a conveyance that is not recorded is void against a later good-faith purchaser for value whose conveyance is recorded first (Section 706.08(1)(a)). Record promptly to protect your interest.
Before recording, the grantor's signature must be acknowledged before a notary under chapter 140 or authenticated under Section 706.06, where a public officer or a member in good standing of the State Bar of Wisconsin may endorse the instrument Acknowledged or Authenticated. Wisconsin does not require subscribing witnesses, and Section 706.05(6) bars rejection of a deed for the absence of witnesses.
Wisconsin imposes a real estate transfer fee on the grantor of 30 cents for each 100 dollars of value or fraction thereof on every non-exempt conveyance (Section 77.22(1)). The register of deeds collects it at recording, and a completed electronic transfer return (eRETR) reporting the value must accompany the deed (Section 706.05(12)). The deed shows no tax amount; if the transfer is exempt, state the exemption reason on its face by reference to the proper Section 77.25 subsection.
Identify the grantor and grantee, and include the full legal description of the property, not just the street address or parcel number (Section 706.02(1)). Wisconsin recording format also requires the drafter's name on the document and a blank space at least 3 inches by 3 inches in the upper right corner of the first page; a deed without that space may not be recorded (Section 59.43(2m)(a)). Confirm the legal description against the current vesting deed.
A conveyance that alienates a married person's interest in a homestead is not valid unless each spouse signs it or joins by separate conveyance, except for conveyances between spouses (Section 706.02(1)(f)). A homestead is the dwelling and the land reasonably necessary for its use (Section 706.01(7)). Wisconsin is a marital-property state under chapter 766, so confirm how title is held before signing.
Choose the deed to match the protection intended. A general warranty deed warrants title against all lawful claims originating prior to the conveyance under Section 706.10(5). A limited or special warranty deed uses the same statute but expressly narrows the promise to claims arising by, through, or under the grantor. A quitclaim deed gives no covenants (Section 706.10(4)). Because Wisconsin implies no warranty (Section 706.10(6)), the express words control which one you get.
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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; under Wisconsin Statutes Section 706.10(4) it passes only whatever interest the grantor could lawfully convey and does not warrant the existence, quantity, or quality of that interest. In Wisconsin the warranty is not automatic: Section 706.10(5) supplies the title covenants only when the deed expressly says the grantor warrants the land or its title, so a warranty deed and a quitclaim deed sit at opposite ends of the protection scale.
When a Wisconsin deed says the grantor warrants the land or its title, Section 706.10(5) construes it to include four covenants: that the grantor is lawfully seized of the land, has good right to convey it, that the land is free from all encumbrance, and that the grantor will forever guarantee and defend the title and quiet possession against all lawful claims whatever originating prior to the conveyance. Because that last covenant reaches claims arising before the grantor owned the property, a full warranty deed protects against earlier title defects, subject to open and notorious easements and public zoning or use restrictions.
Wisconsin uses a true warranty deed, not a grant deed. It has no statutory grant-deed short form and does not imply covenants from the word grant. Instead, Section 706.10(5) supplies the warranty covenants when the deed expressly warrants the land or its title, and Section 706.10(6) confirms that no warranty is implied otherwise. So in Wisconsin the level of protection depends on whether the deed is written as a general warranty deed, a limited warranty deed, or a quitclaim deed.
You record the signed deed in the office of the register of deeds of each county in which the land lies (Section 706.05(1)). Before it can be recorded, the grantor's signature must be acknowledged before a notary under chapter 140 or authenticated under Section 706.06, and a completed electronic real estate transfer return must accompany it (Section 706.05(12)). Wisconsin follows a race-notice priority rule, so a deed recorded first generally defeats a later one by a good-faith purchaser (Section 706.08(1)(a)), which is why you should record promptly.
Wisconsin does not require an attorney to prepare a deed; an individual may prepare and record their own warranty deed. Note that Wisconsin also allows a member in good standing of the State Bar of Wisconsin to authenticate signatures under Section 706.06 as an alternative to notarization. Because a deed transfers title and an error in the legal description, the covenants, or the spouse-joinder rule can be expensive to fix, many people have the deed reviewed first. DocDraft prepares your Wisconsin warranty deed from your facts, with attorney review available as an option before you record.
It must be notarized or authenticated, but not witnessed. Before a Wisconsin deed can be recorded, the grantor's signature must be acknowledged before a notary under chapter 140 or authenticated under Section 706.06 (a public officer or a Wisconsin State Bar member may authenticate by endorsing it Acknowledged or Authenticated with the date and their title). Wisconsin does not require subscribing witnesses, and Section 706.05(6) bars the register of deeds from rejecting a deed for the absence of witnesses.
Usually yes when the property is sold. Wisconsin imposes a real estate transfer fee on the grantor of 30 cents for each 100 dollars of value or fraction thereof on every conveyance not exempt (Section 77.22(1)). The register of deeds collects it at recording, and a completed electronic transfer return (eRETR) reporting the value must accompany the deed. The deed itself shows no tax amount, but if the transfer is exempt, the exemption reason must be stated on its face by reference to the proper Section 77.25 subsection, such as a transfer between spouses or by will or survivorship.
For a homestead, yes. Under Section 706.02(1)(f), a conveyance that alienates a married person's interest in a homestead is not valid unless each spouse signs it or joins by separate conveyance, except for conveyances between spouses. A homestead is the dwelling and the land reasonably necessary for its use under Section 706.01(7). Wisconsin is also a marital-property state under chapter 766, so confirm how title is held before signing to avoid a defective transfer.