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A Florida special warranty deed is a limited-warranty real estate deed. Under Fla. Stat. § 689.01, the grantor signs it in front of two subscribing witnesses. Sellers use it, especially when they warrant the title only for their own ownership.
This page explains how the deed differs from a general warranty deed and a quitclaim deed, which sections of the Florida Statutes apply to signing and recording it, and how to fill it out step by step. To compare every deed type, read our full guide to deed forms.
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A special warranty deed is a deed in which the grantor transfers real estate and warrants the title only against claims by, through or under the grantor: the grantor's own acts and the claims of those who take through the grantor. The deed gives no promise about defects left by earlier owners. A lien, an easement or a boundary claim created before the grantor took title stays outside its warranty.
The grantor's promise is narrow but real. The grantor states that nothing the grantor did, and no one claiming through the grantor, harmed the title, such as an unpaid mortgage or another encumbrance the grantor created. The grantee takes the risk of anything that happened before that period.
The special warranty clause limits the grantor's title promise to claims by, through or under the grantor. A claim from an owner before the grantor falls outside it. A grantee who wants cover for that earlier period looks to a title search and title insurance.
These terms appear on the deed and in the steps below:
A deed with a special warranty sits between the other two common deed types: it warrants more than a quitclaim deed and less than a general warranty deed. The difference lies in how far back the grantor's title promise reaches.
| Deed | Title promise | Period the promise covers |
|---|---|---|
| General warranty deed | Full warranty: the grantor will defend the title "against the lawful claims of all persons whomsoever" (Fla. Stat. § 689.02) | Every earlier owner in the chain of title |
| Special warranty deed | Limited warranty: claims by, through or under the grantor | The grantor's own ownership |
| Quitclaim deed | No title warranty: the grantor passes whatever interest the grantor holds | None |
Fla. Stat. § 689.03 treats a deed made substantially in the § 689.02 form as a warranty deed with full common-law covenants, binding the grantor and the grantor's heirs. The special warranty form uses its own limited clause in place of that full promise.
A quitclaim deed fits transfers between people who already trust the title, such as family members. A general warranty deed fits a buyer who wants the strongest promise the grantor can give.
A Florida warranty deed is a deed in which the grantor fully warrants the title to the land and will defend it against the lawful claims of all persons, in the form Fla. Stat. § 689.02 prescribes. Lawyers often call this the statutory warranty deed.
The statutory form names the parties and their counties, states the consideration, grants the land to the grantee and the grantee's heirs and assigns, and describes the land (Fla. Stat. § 689.02). The statute introduces the form with the words "may be in the following form."
The special warranty version is the narrower kind of warranty deed. It names the parties and describes the land in the same way, but its warranty covers only the grantor's ownership.
The special warranty form suits a transfer in which the grantor will vouch for its own ownership but not for the owners before it. Common cases include:
A general warranty deed fits a sale in which the buyer expects the seller to stand behind the whole chain of title. A quitclaim deed fits a transfer with no title promise at all, such as adding a spouse to the title. The special warranty deed forms page lists this deed for other states.
A Florida special warranty deed is a written instrument that the grantor, or the grantor's lawfully authorized agent, signs in the presence of two subscribing witnesses (Fla. Stat. § 689.01). Recording adds the acknowledgment rule of Fla. Stat. § 695.03.
A deed of Florida homestead needs the owner's spouse to join in when the owner is married: under Fla. Const. art. X, § 4(c), the owner of homestead real estate, joined by the spouse if married, may alienate the homestead by mortgage, sale or gift. The spouse joins the deed even when only the owner holds title, so the signing plan covers both of them.
Fla. Stat. § 689.01 requires a transfer of a freehold estate, or of a term of more than 1 year, to be made by an instrument in writing signed in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, unless the interest passes by will. The witness rule of Fla. Stat. § 689.01 does not apply to a lease of real property. The witnesses can be present and sign electronically by audio-video communication technology, as defined in s. 117.201 (Fla. Stat. § 689.01). That technology is defined in chapter 117, Florida Statutes, the online notarization chapter, and a remote signing follows that chapter's conditions, which this page does not list.
Fla. Stat. § 695.03 lets a deed be recorded only when the grantor acknowledges its execution, a subscribing witness proves it, or it is legalized or authenticated in one of the forms the statute lists. Plan the acknowledgment for the same meeting as the witnessed signing, so the deed leaves the table ready to record.
Fla. Stat. § 689.02 requires the form for warranty deeds of conveyance to land to include a blank space for the property appraiser's parcel identification number, entered on the deed before recording if the number is available. A missing blank, a missing number or a wrong number does not affect the validity of the conveyance or the recordability of the deed (Fla. Stat. § 689.02). The parcel number is not part of the legal description and cannot replace it (Fla. Stat. § 689.02).
Fla. Stat. § 689.01 says no seal is necessary to give validity to an instrument executed in conformity with that section. A deed with the signatures and witnesses the section names needs no corporate or personal seal to be valid (Fla. Stat. § 689.01).
A recorded deed protects the grantee against creditors and later buyers: under Fla. Stat. § 695.01(1), a conveyance of real property is not good against creditors or subsequent purchasers for value without notice unless it is recorded according to law. A deed signed by an agent under a power of attorney carries one more condition: it is not good against those creditors and purchasers unless the power of attorney was recorded before their rights accrued (Fla. Stat. § 695.01(1)).
This page gives no recording fee, tax or processing time, because the sections cited here set none. Ask the recording office of the county where the property lies about its fees and how it takes deeds.
The deed includes the parties, the property, the price and the limited warranty, with space for the signatures, the witnesses and the acknowledgment. Each part has its own line or block:
A deed signed, acknowledged or proved in Florida meets the recording format rules of Fla. Stat. § 695.26 before the clerk of the circuit court records it. The section does not apply to an instrument executed, acknowledged or proved outside Florida, or to one executed before July 1, 1991 (Fla. Stat. § 695.26). For a deed it covers, the clerk records it only when it shows:
The clerk may, at the clerk's discretion, accept a deed with a name or address printed in another position if the connection between the signature, the name and the address is apparent (Fla. Stat. § 695.26).
The deed is filled out from the details on the grantor's current deed: the names, the parcel ID and the legal description. Have that deed at hand before the first step.
The deed is completed in two stages: the witnessed signing, then the acknowledgment and recording. The steps follow Fla. Stat. § 689.01 and § 695.03.
The deed is not a red flag by itself: it means the grantor limits the title promise to the grantor's own ownership. A title search and title insurance address the period before that.
The grantee benefits most from a general warranty deed, because its warranty reaches claims from every earlier owner. The special warranty form moves more of that risk to the grantee and spares the grantor claims the grantor did not cause.
Yes, this deed can transfer a house or any other Florida real estate when the grantor and the grantee agree to a limited warranty. The grantee often buys title insurance to cover the earlier period.
Fla. Stat. § 689.01 names the party conveying the estate, or that party's lawfully authorized agent, as the person who signs before the two witnesses. The section names no signature for the grantee. When the property is the married owner's homestead, the owner's spouse joins in the deed (Fla. Const. art. X, § 4(c)).
Remote witnessing is allowed only in the form Fla. Stat. § 689.01 names: the two subscribing witnesses are present and sign electronically by audio-video communication technology, as defined in s. 117.201. That technology belongs to the online notarization rules of chapter 117, Florida Statutes, so check that chapter's conditions before a remote signing; a video call alone is not described as enough.
A property deed is any written instrument that transfers real estate, and a warranty deed is one kind of property deed that also promises the title is good. The special warranty version makes that promise for the grantor's ownership only.
General information, not legal or tax advice.
