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A Florida general warranty deed transfers land and fully warrants its title. Fla. Stat. § 689.03 gives a deed in the statutory form full common-law covenants binding the grantor's heirs. This page covers the deed's parts, signing, recording and the steps to fill it out.
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A Florida general warranty deed is a written deed that transfers land from a grantor to a grantee with the grantor's promise to defend the title against the lawful claims of all persons.
The statutory form in Fla. Stat. § 689.02 names the date, both parties with the county and state of each, the consideration paid and the land conveyed. The deed passes the land to the grantee and the grantee's heirs and assigns. Its warranty clause sets it apart from other Florida deeds.
The deed uses a few terms of art. The table gives each one in plain words.
| Term | Also called | Meaning on the deed |
|---|---|---|
| Grantor | Party of the first part, seller | Transfers the land and gives the warranty |
| Grantee | Party of the second part, buyer | Receives the land for themselves and their heirs and assigns |
| Consideration | Price | The sum the grantee pays for the land |
| Legal description | Description of the land | The words that identify the exact land conveyed |
| Parcel identification number | Parcel ID | The property appraiser's number for the parcel, in its own blank |
| Subscribing witness | Witness | A person who watches the grantor sign and then signs too |
A Florida general warranty deed guarantees the title against the lawful claims of all persons: in the warranty clause of Fla. Stat. § 689.02, the grantor fully warrants the title and promises to defend it.
The statutory form's warranty clause reads: "And the said party of the first part does hereby fully warrant the title to said land, and will defend the same against the lawful claims of all persons whomsoever." (Fla. Stat. § 689.02)
When a deed is executed substantially in that form, Fla. Stat. § 689.03 holds it to be a deed with full common-law covenants. Those covenants bind the grantor and the grantor's heirs as if they were written out in the deed, when the deed follows that form (Fla. Stat. § 689.03).
The grantee benefits most from the deed: the grantor and the grantor's heirs stay bound by the warranty when the deed follows the statutory form (Fla. Stat. § 689.03). A buyer who later faces a lawful claim to the land can look to that promise.
A general warranty deed carries the full warranty of Fla. Stat. § 689.02, against the lawful claims of all persons, while a special warranty deed narrows the grantor's promise, commonly to claims that arose during the grantor's own ownership.
The three common Florida deeds differ in what the grantor promises about the title.
| Deed | What the grantor promises | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| General warranty deed | Warrants the title and will defend it against the lawful claims of all persons | Fla. Stat. § 689.02 |
| Special warranty deed | A narrower warranty, as the deed's own words set out | A grantor who will not answer for earlier owners |
| Quitclaim deed | No warranty of title; it passes whatever interest the grantor holds | Transfers within a family or to clear a title question |
The deed type is a term of the sale, and the purchase contract usually names the deed the seller gives. The deed forms page lists the other deed types.
A Florida deed of this kind must be an instrument in writing signed by the grantor in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, or signed by the grantor's lawfully authorized agent, under Fla. Stat. § 689.01.
The table sets out each requirement the Florida statutes place on the deed, with its source.
| Requirement | What the statute says | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Writing and signer | An instrument in writing, signed by the grantor or the grantor's lawfully authorized agent | Fla. Stat. § 689.01 |
| Witnesses | Two subscribing witnesses present at the signing | Fla. Stat. § 689.01 |
| Remote witnesses | The witnesses may be present and sign electronically by audio-video communication technology | Fla. Stat. § 689.01 |
| Seal | No seal is needed for validity when the deed is executed as the section requires | Fla. Stat. § 689.01 |
| Acknowledgment | To be recorded, the execution is acknowledged, proved by a subscribing witness, or legalized or authenticated | Fla. Stat. § 695.03 |
| Parcel ID | A blank for the parcel identification number, filled in if the number is available before recording | Fla. Stat. § 689.02 |
| Recording | Not good against creditors or later purchasers for value without notice unless recorded | Fla. Stat. § 695.01(1) |
The deed needs two subscribing witnesses at the signing: both watch the grantor sign and then sign the deed themselves, as Fla. Stat. § 689.01 requires.
The deed's two witnesses may attend by audio-video communication technology: Fla. Stat. § 689.01 lets the witness requirement be met by witnesses who are present and sign electronically that way, as defined in s. 117.201.
The deed must be acknowledged before it can be recorded: under Fla. Stat. § 695.03, the execution must be acknowledged by the person who signed it, proved by a subscribing witness, or legalized or authenticated in one of the forms the section lists. The form's acknowledgment block is where the officer who takes the acknowledgment, such as a notary public, fills in the county, the date and the signer's name.
The deed form must include a blank space for the property appraiser's parcel identification number, and the number, if available, is entered before the deed is presented for recording (Fla. Stat. § 689.02).
A missing blank, a missing number or an incorrect number does not affect the validity of the conveyance or the recordability of the deed, under Fla. Stat. § 689.02.
The parcel identification number is not part of the legal description, and Fla. Stat. § 689.02 bars its use as a substitute for the legal description. The deed therefore carries both: the number in its blank and the full legal description in the body.
The deed protects the grantee against creditors and later buyers only once it is recorded: Fla. Stat. § 695.01(1) makes a conveyance not good against creditors or subsequent purchasers for value without notice unless it is recorded according to law.
A deed signed under a power of attorney carries one more condition: it is not good against those creditors or purchasers unless the power of attorney is recorded before their right accrues (Fla. Stat. § 695.01(1)).
The Florida general warranty deed form is filled out in order, from the parties and the price to the land, the signatures and the acknowledgment, following the layout of the statutory form in Fla. Stat. § 689.02.
The common slips on this deed sit in the names, the land description and the witnessing, and each one is easiest to fix while the deed is still unsigned. Compare every entry with the current deed and the closing papers.
Keep a signed copy of the finished deed for your own files, and give a copy to the other party.
The Florida sections cited on this page name no one who has to present the deed for recording. What they set is the deed's condition first: signed before two subscribing witnesses (Fla. Stat. § 689.01) and acknowledged or otherwise proved (Fla. Stat. § 695.03).
The deed's cost is not set by the sections cited on this page, and it can include more than recording and acknowledgment charges, such as a tax on the transfer. Ask the recording office for the county where the land lies for its current charges, and the Florida Department of Revenue whether any tax applies to the deed.
Yes, the deed is the document that conveys the house: in the statutory form the grantor "has granted, bargained and sold" the land to the grantee and the grantee's heirs and assigns (Fla. Stat. § 689.02).
A warranty deed is one kind of home deed. Every deed transfers an interest in land, and this one adds the grantor's promise to defend the title (Fla. Stat. § 689.02); a quitclaim deed carries no such promise.
Fla. Stat. § 689.01 names the signature of the party granting the land, the grantor or the grantor's lawfully authorized agent, and names no signature by the grantee.
Fla. Stat. § 689.02 prints the wording of a Florida warranty deed, and a deed executed substantially in that form is held to carry full common-law covenants (Fla. Stat. § 689.03). Forms for other states are on the general warranty deed forms page.
The current deed holds the legal description. Copy it exactly as written, including every abbreviation, so the new deed describes the same land.
General information, not legal or tax advice.
