Missouri general warranty deed
Here is what Missouri actually requires on a general 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
- Recorder of Deeds
- Witnesses
- Notary only
- Transfer tax
- None
- First-page margin
- 3″ top
- Recording fee
- ~$19 first page
- E-recording
- Approved submitters
What a general warranty deed does in Missouri
A general warranty deed transfers ownership and adds the full set of title covenants: the grantor promises they own the property, have the right to sell it, that it is free of undisclosed encumbrances, and that they will defend the title against any claim, including claims that arose long before they owned it. It is the standard instrument for an arm's-length sale between private parties.
The Missouri law behind this deed
In Missouri the words "grant, bargain and sell", which Deedly's warranty deed uses, carry three covenants of their own (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 442.420): that the grantor held an indefeasible fee simple, that the property was free of encumbrances made or suffered by the grantor or anyone the grantor claims through, and that the grantor will give further assurances. The deed also states its general warranty in full. The table below lists the main statutes behind the rules on this page.
| What it governs | Citation |
|---|---|
| Covenants implied by "grant, bargain and sell" | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 442.420 |
| Conveyances generally | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 442.020 |
| Recording with the Recorder of Deeds | Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 442.380 to 442.400, 59.310, 59.330 |
| Homestead and spousal consent | Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 513.475, 474.150 |
When Missouri homeowners use a general warranty deed
- Sell a property directly to a buyer without an agent
- Transfer a property where the buyer expects full title protection
- Satisfy a purchase contract that calls for a warranty deed
- Convey property where a title company requires warranty covenants
What Missouri requires on the deed
These are the execution and formatting rules recorders of deeds enforce. Getting any of them wrong is the usual reason a deed comes back in the mail.
| Requirement | What Missouri says |
|---|---|
| Recording office | Recorder of Deeds |
| 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 | Must appear on the face of the deed. |
| Return address | Recommended so the original comes back to you. |
| Preparer statement | Not required, but customary. |
| 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, 0.75-inch margins elsewhere, nothing under 8pt. This is the profile Deedly applies. |
A spouse may have to sign even if they are not an owner
When a married owner conveys, the owner's spouse must join in the deed even if not on title. A conveyance of the homestead by one spouse alone is void (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 513.475.2). Any other conveyance made without the spouse's joinder or written assent is presumed to defraud the spouse's marital rights if the spouse survives the owner (§ 474.150.2).
How to complete and record it in Missouri
- Find your current deedYou need the legal description from it, word for word. If you can't find your copy, the Recorder of Deeds 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 Missouri 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.
- Record it with the Recorder of DeedsFile 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 Missouri
| Cost | Typical amount |
|---|---|
| Recording fee | About $19 for the first page and roughly $3 per additional page |
| Transfer tax | None in this state |
| Notary | Missouri caps a notary's fee for an acknowledgment at $5 per signature, plus any travel fee agreed in advance (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 486.685). |
| Deedly | $49, one time (launch price, regular $69) |
| Attorney (for comparison) | $150–$700 for the same statutory document |
Missouri imposes no state real estate transfer tax, so the recording fee is normally your only cost beyond notarization.
Where to record it in Missouri
Missouri deeds are recorded with the Recorder of Deeds in the county where the property sits, not where you live. There are 114 counties in Missouri.
Many Missouri 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 Missouri: St. Louis County, Jackson, St. Charles, Greene, St. Louis City, Clay, Jefferson, Boone. See all Missouri recording offices.
What a general warranty deed does NOT do
Being honest about the limits is more useful than a sales pitch. Every one of these catches somebody out.
- The covenants only bind the grantor personally. If they have no assets, a covenant claim may be worth little.
- It does not replace title insurance or a title search. It gives you a claim after the fact, not clean title today.
- It does not avoid probate and cannot be revoked once delivered and recorded.
- Signing one when you don't actually know the property's history exposes you to real liability. Where that is a concern, a special warranty deed is the safer instrument.
Quirks of Missouri law that catch people out
- Page one must state whether each grantor is married or unmarried (Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 442.130.2, 59.310.2).
- The recorder will not record a deed without a legal description and a mailing address for at least one grantee (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 59.330).
- Nothing may be written or stamped in the top 3 inches of page one. A recorder may refuse a document that breaks Missouri's format rules, or record it as non-standard for an extra $25 (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 59.310.1, .3).
- A married owner's spouse must sign the deed, even if not on title: one spouse alone cannot convey the homestead (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 513.475.2).
- In the City of St. Louis, every grantee must also sign the deed before a notary, and the deed must give the grantor's residence address; the Recorder will not record a deed without them (St. Louis Rev. Code §§ 15.152.030, 15.152.040). The grantee must first file a Certificate of Value with the City Assessor (§ 5.70.010).
- Missouri has 114 counties plus the independent City of St. Louis, 115 recording offices in all. The City of St. Louis is not part of St. Louis County and has its own Recorder of Deeds, so check which one the property is in before you record.
- Missouri's constitution bars the state, counties and other political subdivisions from imposing any new tax on the sale or transfer of real estate (Mo. Const. art. X, § 25).
- A conveyance to a married couple is presumed to create a tenancy by the entirety, which protects the property from creditors of only one spouse.
How to hold title in Missouri
When two or more people take title in Missouri 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 Missouri: tenancy by the entirety (married couples only), joint tenancy with right of survivorship, and tenancy in common.
Married couples
A conveyance to a married couple in Missouri is presumed to create a tenancy by the entirety.
$49, one time. Your finished deed appears in full before you pay, with Missouri's witness rules, margins, and recording instructions already applied.
Common questions
No. Missouri 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 Recorder of Deeds. 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 around $19 for the first page and roughly $3 per additional page. Missouri has no state real estate transfer tax, so the recording fee is normally the whole cost. Missouri's statutes set a base charge of $19 for a deed's first page and $3 for each page after it ($5 and $3 under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 59.310.6, plus a $6 user fee under § 59.319.1, a $3 housing trust fee under § 59.319.2 and a $5 fee under § 59.800.1), and every office we read charges more, so the fee varies by county: $23 in Jackson County and the City of St. Louis, and $26 in Clay County and St. Louis County. Some county schedules are undated and may not show the August 28, 2026 increase in the user fee. Confirm the fee with your recorder before you send a check.
No. Missouri 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 Recorder of Deeds in the county where the property is located, not where you live, and not where the buyer lives. Missouri has 114 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. When a married owner conveys, the owner's spouse must join in the deed even if not on title. A conveyance of the homestead by one spouse alone is void (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 513.475.2). Any other conveyance made without the spouse's joinder or written assent is presumed to defraud the spouse's marital rights if the spouse survives the owner (§ 474.150.2). 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
- Missouri quitclaim deedTransfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title.
- Missouri special warranty deedTransfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it.
- Missouri beneficiary deedNames who inherits your property, skips probate, and changes nothing while you're alive.
- Missouri life estate deedYou keep the right to live in the property for life; named remaindermen own it after you.
- All deed rules for MissouriRecording offices, transfer tax, witness rules, and fees.
- Missouri 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.