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What is a warranty deed? What it promises, and who pays

When someone puts a claim on your house, the first call goes to your owner's title insurer, not the seller who signed your warranty deed. That deed is the seller's written promise, made at the sale, that the title is good and that they'll defend it.

8 min read · Updated 2026-10-30

The short answer

The seller, called the grantor, signs the deed and gives it to the buyer, the grantee. In a general warranty deed the seller promises they own the property and have the right to sell it, that nothing sits on the title beyond what the deed lists, and that they’ll defend your ownership against anyone with a lawful claim. Cornell’s Legal Information Institute says it offers “the highest level of protection to the buyer during the transfer of ownership”.

The deed is a promise. The policy is the money. A title problem can surface decades after closing, and by then the seller may have died, moved away or run out of money. Rocket Mortgage puts it bluntly: even with a valid claim against the seller, “if they can’t be located or don’t have the resources to pay, the buyer could still lose.” What actually pays is your owner’s title insurance policy, if you bought one at closing.

Six promises, and why your deed may make fewer

The traditional list comes from American common law, which recognizes six covenants of title:

  • Seisin. The seller owns what they’re selling.
  • Right to convey. They have the right to sell it to you.
  • Against encumbrances. No liens or other claims sit on it beyond what the deed lists.
  • Quiet enjoyment. Nobody with a better claim will push you out.
  • Warranty. The seller will defend your title against anyone who lawfully claims it.
  • Further assurances. The seller will sign whatever extra papers it takes to make your title good. Washington’s and Ohio’s statutory forms both leave this one out.

Your deed’s own words decide how many of those it makes. In Texas, a deed that only says “grant” or “convey” implies just two: that the seller hasn’t already conveyed the property to someone else, and that it’s free of encumbrances when signed (Property Code 5.023). You can sue on those two as if they were written out. In California, “grant” also implies two, both limited to what the seller did (Civil Code 1113), so a California grant deed promises less than a general warranty deed.

A Washington statutory warranty deed, the form where the seller “conveys and warrants,” carries five promises under RCW 64.04.030. A Washington appeals court listed all five. Ohio’s statutory general warranty covenants list four. That’s what a statutory warranty deed means: a deed that carries the promises your state’s law reads into it.

A special warranty deed narrows the promise in time. The seller warrants only against problems from their own years of ownership, and nothing from before. Special warranty deeds are common in commercial sales, and Arkansas Legal Services adds foreclosure and estate sales to that list. If you bought a foreclosure, check which one you got. A general warranty deed has no such limit.

No warranty deed promises anything about the house itself. Arkansas Legal Services says one “does not guarantee that a property is in good physical condition,” and it doesn’t protect against zoning problems or building code violations. The title promises have exceptions, too: Cornell’s definition carves out what’s “explicitly stated in the deed.” Those sit on the “subject to” line, so read it before you assume the title came with nothing attached.

On paper, the promise lives in a few lines. Texas’s statutory form (Property Code 5.022) still opens with “Know all men by these presents,” hands over the land with “grant, sell, and convey,” and makes the promise with “to warrant and forever defend.” Around those sit the parties, what the buyer gave and the legal description. A deed that carves out exceptions lists them on a “subject to” line. The notary block and the county’s recording stamp, with its instrument number and recording date, get added at signing and at recording.

The words on a warranty deed that make the promiseA warranty deed based on Texas’s statutory form, with an exceptions line added, top to bottom. The opening, “Know all men by these presents.” The parties: the seller, or grantor, to the buyer, or grantee. The consideration, what the buyer gave for the land. The granting clause, “grant, sell, and convey,” marked as making the promise. The legal description, which land: lot, block, subdivision. The exceptions line, “subject to,” listing what the promise does not cover, marked as limiting the promise. The habendum, “To have and to hold the above described premises.” The warranty clause, “to warrant and forever defend,” marked as making the promise. The seller’s signature and date. Below the sheet, two parts that are not in the statutory form: the notary block, added at signing, and the recording stamp with the instrument number and recording date, added by the county.The words that make the promiseBased on the Texas statutory form, plus an exceptions lineWords that make or limit the promiseOpening“Know all men by these presents”PartiesSeller (grantor) to buyer (grantee)ConsiderationWhat the buyer gave for the landGranting clause“grant, sell, and convey”Legal descriptionWhich land: lot, block, subdivisionExceptionsSubject to: what the promisedoes not coverHabendum“To have and to hold the abovedescribed premises”Warranty clause“to warrant and forever defend”SignatureThe seller signs and dates itNot part of the statutory formAdded at signingNotary blockthe notary’sacknowledgmentAdded by the countyRecording stampinstrument numberand recording dateGranite · October 2026 · granite.co
Your state’s form may word these differently. The granting words, the exceptions line, and the warranty clause are where to look on your own deed.

At the far end of the scale, a quitclaim deed makes no warranties about the title at all. Our deed vs. title guide puts all four common deed types side by side.

When a claim shows up: who you call, and who pays

First, check which policy you have. Lenders usually require a lender’s policy, and it protects them. The CFPB says it “does not protect your investment in the home (your equity).” The owner’s policy is the one you choose to buy at closing, and it covers you for as long as you own the property.

Here’s the order, using the standard 2021 ALTA owner’s policy. Policies issued before 2021 use older ALTA forms with different wording, and insurers and states can change the text, so read your own.

  1. Find the owner’s policy in your closing papers.
  2. Tell the insurer in writing, promptly. The form requires it. If late notice hurts the insurer, what it owes you shrinks by that much.
  3. If you’re sued over a covered claim, ask in writing for a defense. The insurer pays for it, and it picks the lawyer.
  4. If the insurer pays your claim, it can step into your rights against others, up to what it paid, and that includes your warranty rights under the deed. If its payment doesn’t cover your whole loss, you’re repaid first and the insurer waits.
  5. If there’s no owner’s policy, or the claim isn’t covered, the deed’s promises are what you have, and the seller is who you’d sue, if the time to sue hasn’t run out. That’s the point to call a real estate lawyer.
A claim shows up on your house: who you call, and who paysA flow chart. It starts when someone makes a claim against your title, then asks whether you have an owner’s title policy. If yes, under the standard 2021 ALTA owner’s policy: first, tell the insurer in writing, promptly. Second, the insurer handles covered claims and pays for your defense if you ask in writing. Third, if it pays, it can use your warranty rights against the seller, and you are repaid first. If you have no owner’s policy, or the claim is not covered, the deed’s promises are your remedy: you would pursue the seller, which works only if the seller can be found, can pay, and the time to sue has not run out. A note at the bottom says a lender’s policy protects the lender, not you.When a claim shows up: who you callStandard 2021 ALTA owner’s policy. Read yours.Someone makes a claim against your titleDo you have an owner’s title policy?YesNo1. Tell the insurerin writing, promptly.2. It handles coveredclaims, and pays foryour defense if youask in writing.3. If it pays, it canuse your warrantyrights against theseller. You’re repaidfirst.No policy, or notcovered: the deed’spromises are yourremedy.You’d pursue theseller. That worksonly if they can befound, can pay, andthe time to suehasn’t run out.A lender’s policy protects the lender, not you.Granite · October 2026 · granite.co
Solid boxes are the owner’s policy path. Dashed boxes are what’s left when there’s no policy, or it doesn’t cover the claim.

The policy has limits of its own. The 2021 form excludes problems you created or agreed to, ones you knew about and didn’t tell the insurer, and ones that arise after the policy date. Zoning and building rules are mostly excluded too.

The clock on an old deed

Some of a warranty deed’s promises start their clock at closing. In Rowe v. Adams (2018), the Washington appeals court called seisin and the covenant against encumbrances present covenants, “breached, if at all, at conveyance.” The time to sue on them starts the day the house changes hands, not the day you find the problem. Quiet enjoyment and the duty to defend are future covenants. They break later, “when a third party asserts a claim to the property,” and their clock starts when you’re evicted or the seller refuses to defend you.

How long you have is state law. In Illinois, a suit on seisin must be brought within 10 years (Brown v. Lober). Vermont allows 15 years on a seisin claim. There’s no national number, and for a real claim a lawyer in your state works out the date. Who can still sue depends on the state and the promise: in Washington, quiet enjoyment runs with the land, so it can reach a later owner.

On a parent’s 30-year-old deed, the closing-day promises may have expired long ago. The later ones only start running when someone makes a claim. So the paper worth hunting for is the parent’s owner’s policy. The 2021 form keeps insuring heirs and anyone the will leaves the house to, and the trustee or beneficiary of an estate-planning trust the owner deeded the house into. A buyer isn’t covered. A 30-year-old policy is on an older form, so read what it says. Our end-of-life checklist covers the rest of a parent’s papers.

After you sell, keep the policy

Don’t throw out your owner’s policy when you sell. Sell with a warranty deed and the 2021 ALTA form keeps your coverage in force for as long as you could still be held to the warranties you gave. Otherwise the policy ends when you sell, and it never passes to your buyer. They need their own.

File the policy with the deed

Keep the owner’s policy in the same place as the deed, for as long as you own the house and after you sell it. If anyone ever makes a claim on the house, it’s the first paper you’ll need, and a deed without it is half the story. Lost the deed? Our deed vs. title guide covers what a copy costs and the mailers that offer to sell you one, and how long to keep important documents covers the rest of the pile.

Granite reads a deed the moment it lands: the deed type as printed, the grantor, the grantee, and, on a recorded copy, the instrument number and recording date off the county’s stamp. It files the deed under the house by its street address, next to the survey and the settlement statement. The full field list is on our property deed page. Drop the title policy in too: Granite titles it, summarizes it and makes every page searchable, so typing “title insurance” brings it straight back.

FAQ

Warranty deed questions people actually ask

Does a warranty deed prove ownership?
Not on its own. It shows the seller transferred the property to you and made promises about the title. It isn't proof the title is clean. Rocket Mortgage puts it this way: a warranty deed by itself "does not guarantee that every issue with a title has been discovered and addressed."
Does a warranty deed override a will?
A will can only give away what you still own when you die. If you deeded the house away during your life, it's usually not yours to leave. A deed signed and delivered before death generally stands. If the deed was never delivered, was signed late in life, or is contested, ask a probate lawyer.
What's the difference between a warranty deed and a deed of trust?
A warranty deed is how the title came to you. A deed of trust secures a loan, and some states use it instead of a mortgage. It has three parties: a lender, a borrower, and a trustee.
Can you sell a house you got with a warranty deed?
Yes. You sign a new deed to your buyer, and if it's a warranty deed, you're the one making the promises now.
Is a warranty deed the same as a title?
No. The deed is the document that moved ownership to you. Title is the ownership itself. Our deed vs. title guide covers the difference.
Where do I get a copy of my warranty deed?
From the county recorder (in some states the register of deeds or county clerk) where the property is. The recorded copy carries the county's instrument number and recording date.

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