North Dakota special warranty deed
Here is what North Dakota actually requires on a special warranty deed. The witness rules, the notary block, the margins, the forms that have to travel with it, and where to record it, plus what the deed does and does not do.
- Recording office
- County Recorder
- Witnesses
- Notary only
- Transfer tax
- None
- First-page margin
- 3″ top
- Recording fee
- $20 up to 6 pages
- E-recording
- Approved submitters
What a special warranty deed does in North Dakota
A special warranty deed, also called a limited warranty deed or a covenant deed in some states and a grant deed in California, sits between a quitclaim and a general warranty deed. The grantor promises they did nothing during their own ownership to damage the title, and nothing more. Anything that happened before they bought the property is the buyer's risk. Estates, trustees, banks, and builders commonly use it.
The North Dakota law behind this deed
North Dakota has no section written specifically for special warranty deeds. The instrument runs on the general conveyancing and recording statutes below, which is why the requirements here look like those for any other deed in the state.
| What it governs | Citation |
|---|---|
| Conveyances generally | N.D. Cent. Code § 47-10-01 |
| Recording with the County Recorder | N.D. Cent. Code §§ 11-18-02, 11-18-02.2 and 11-18-05, and ch. 47-19 |
| Homestead and spousal consent | N.D. Cent. Code § 47-18-05 |
When North Dakota property owners use a special warranty deed
- Sell a property you inherited or hold as trustee
- Convey a property you have owned only briefly
- Transfer commercial or investment property
- Give a buyer more protection than a quitclaim without accepting unlimited exposure
What North Dakota requires on the deed
These are the execution and formatting rules county recorders enforce. Getting any of them wrong is the usual reason a deed comes back in the mail.
| Requirement | What North Dakota says |
|---|---|
| Recording office | County Recorder |
| Notarization | Required. Each signer must appear before the notary and acknowledge the signature. Signing in front of the notary is the safest practice. |
| Witnesses | None required. A notarial acknowledgment is enough. |
| Legal description | Required, copied exactly from the prior recorded deed. A street address is not sufficient. |
| Grantee's address | Each grantee's post-office address, and street address if they live inside a city, must appear on the deed (N.D.C.C. § 47-19-05). Deedly prints the address entered for each one. |
| Return address | Include a 'when recorded, return to' block so the original comes back to you. Deedly always prints one. |
| Preparer statement | Required when the legal description is metes and bounds. The deed must name who drafted the description, or say it was copied from a previously recorded instrument (N.D.C.C. § 47-19-03.1). Deedly prints this line on every North Dakota deed. |
| Prior deed reference | Not required, though it keeps the chain of title clean. |
| Page setup | 8.5 × 11 in, 3-inch clear space at the top of page one, 1-inch margins elsewhere, nothing under 11pt. This is the profile Deedly applies. |
| Accompanying form | None. The grantee's statement of consideration is printed on the deed. |
| Statement of consideration | Required on the face of the deed: the grantee, or the grantee's agent, signs a statement giving the full consideration paid or the exemption that applies, and the recorder cannot record the deed without it (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02.2). Deedly prints it at the end of the deed. It is not a separate form. |
| County auditor's certificate | Required before recording: the county auditor certifies on the deed that the transfer is entered and that all current and delinquent property taxes and special assessments on the land are paid (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02). Pay anything owing first. |
A spouse may have to sign even if they are not an owner
Both spouses must join to convey a homestead (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-18-05).
How to complete and record it in North Dakota
- Find your current deedYou need the legal description from it, word for word. If you can't find your copy, the County Recorder can provide one, usually for a few dollars.
- Identify everyone by full legal nameNames must match the current deed and government ID exactly, middle names included. A mismatch creates a gap in the chain of title that shows up years later at closing.
- Complete the deedDeedly builds it with the wording, notary certificate, and 3-inch first-page margin used for North Dakota deeds.
- Sign in front of a notaryBring photo ID. Wait to sign until you are in front of the notary: you have to appear before the notary anyway, and signing there leaves no question about who signed.
- Have the grantee sign the statement of considerationThe grantee, or the grantee's agent, signs the statement of consideration printed at the end of the deed. It gives the price paid, or the exemption that applies (a quitclaim deed is exemption h). The recorder will not accept the deed without it (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02.2).
- Have the county auditor certify itBefore the recorder will accept the deed, the county auditor must certify on it that the transfer is entered and that all current and delinquent property taxes and special assessments on the land are paid (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02). Pay anything owing first.
- Record it with the County RecorderFile in the county where the property is located and pay the recording fee. Many offices in this state also accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies. Keep the stamped receipt. It fixes your priority date.
- Update insurance and tax recordsA change of ownership can affect your homeowner's policy, your homestead or senior exemption, and in some states the assessed value. Do this within a few weeks.
What it costs in North Dakota
| Cost | Typical amount |
|---|---|
| Recording fee | $20 for up to 6 pages |
| Transfer tax | None in this state |
| Notary | North Dakota caps the notary fee at $5 per notarial act, plus a travel or remote-technology fee only if agreed in advance (N.D.C.C. § 44-06.1-28). |
| Deedly | $49, one time (launch price, regular $69) |
| Attorney (for comparison) | $150–$700 for the same statutory document |
North Dakota has no state real estate transfer tax, so the recording fee is normally your only cost, but any property taxes and special assessments due on the land must be paid before the deed can be recorded (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02).
Where to record it in North Dakota
North Dakota deeds are recorded with the County Recorder in the county where the property sits, not where you live. There are 53 counties in North Dakota.
Many North Dakota recording offices accept e-recording through vendors such as Simplifile, CSC, or ePN. E-recording is generally open only to approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders, so if you prepared the deed yourself, plan to record in person or by mail. Some offices accept filings from the public through those vendors; your county's website will say.
Recording offices we cover in North Dakota: Cass, Burleigh, Grand Forks, Ward, Williams. See all North Dakota recording offices.
What a special warranty deed does NOT do
Being honest about the limits is more useful than a sales pitch. Every one of these catches somebody out.
- Defects that predate your ownership are not covered. The buyer bears that risk.
- It does not substitute for a title search or an owner's title insurance policy.
- It transfers ownership immediately and cannot be revoked.
- Some purchase contracts specifically require a general warranty deed; check yours before using this one.
Quirks of North Dakota law that catch people out
- The grantee, or the grantee's agent, must sign a statement on the deed giving the full price paid or the exemption that applies (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02.2). Transfer on death deeds are exempt.
- The county auditor must certify on the deed that the transfer is entered and that all property taxes and special assessments are paid before the recorder will accept it (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02).
- Each grantee's post-office address, and street address if inside a city, must appear on the deed (N.D.C.C. § 47-19-05).
- A metes and bounds description needs a line naming who drafted it, or saying it came from a previously recorded instrument (N.D.C.C. § 47-19-03.1).
- Both spouses must sign and acknowledge a deed of a married person's homestead (N.D.C.C. § 47-18-05).
- North Dakota has no real estate transfer tax (N.D. Const. art. X, § 27).
How to hold title in North Dakota
When two or more people take title in North Dakota and the deed says nothing more, the law presumes a tenancy in common, which means no automatic survivorship. If you want the survivor to take the whole property, the words have to be on the deed. Forms of co-ownership available in North Dakota: joint tenancy with right of survivorship and tenancy in common.
$49, one time. Your finished deed appears in full before you pay, with North Dakota's witness rules, margins, and recording instructions already applied.
Common questions
No. North Dakota has no requirement that an attorney prepare a deed. What matters is the correct statutory language, an accurate legal description, proper notarization, and recording with the County Recorder. Deedly produces all of that for $49, versus roughly $150–$700 for an attorney to draft the same document. If ownership is disputed, the current owner has died without probate, or the transfer is tax-sensitive, use an attorney.
Expect $20 for up to 6 pages. North Dakota has no state real estate transfer tax, so the recording fee is normally your only cost, but any property taxes and special assessments due on the land must be paid before the deed can be recorded (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-02). Set by state law and the same in every county (N.D.C.C. § 11-18-05): $20 for a document of one to six pages, $65 for seven to twenty-five pages, plus $3 for each page after twenty-five. A document without one-inch margins costs $10 more.
No. North Dakota requires only that the grantor's signature be acknowledged before a notary public. Forms that show witness lines are usually generic templates borrowed from another state.
With the County Recorder in the county where the property is located, not where you live, and not where the buyer lives. North Dakota has 53 counties. Many offices in this state also accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies.
No, and this is the single most common misunderstanding about deeds. A deed changes who owns the property. The mortgage is a separate contract with the lender, and only a refinance or a written release from the lender removes a borrower. Someone can be off the deed and still fully liable on the loan.
Often, yes. Both spouses must join to convey a homestead (N.D. Cent. Code § 47-18-05). That surprises people, because the spouse is not becoming an owner. They are releasing rights the law gives them automatically. Deedly adds a joinder block for the signature when it applies.
Keep reading
- North Dakota quitclaim deedTransfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title.
- North Dakota general warranty deedTransfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows.
- North Dakota transfer on death deedNames who inherits your property, skips probate, and changes nothing while you're alive.
- North Dakota life estate deedYou keep the right to live in the property for life; named remaindermen own it after you.
- All deed rules for North DakotaRecording offices, transfer tax, witness rules, and fees.
- North Dakota recording officesWhere to file in each county.
Deedly is not a law firm
Its software and documents are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. We provide self-help software and state-specific deed forms; you make your own decisions about your property. Using Deedly does not create an attorney-client relationship, and nothing here is legal advice. If your situation is complex or contested, talk to a licensed attorney in your state.