Arizona Grant Deed

The Arizona Grant Deed sits in the middle of the warranty spectrum — stronger than a quitclaim, weaker than a full warranty deed, and distinguished mainly by the statutory covenants that attach automatically under ARS 33-435 when the words "grant" or "convey" appear in the conveyancing clause. Those two implied covenants cover the grantor's own acts during ownership but do not reach defects elsewhere in the chain of title. Arizona grant deeds also carry a feature that quitclaim deeds do not: any after-acquired title that comes to the grantor after delivery passes automatically to the grantee, unless the deed expressly excludes it. That combination — limited warranty of the grantor's own acts plus pass-through of after-acquired title — is what sets the grant deed apart from the other options in Arizona.

When the Arizona Grant Deed Is Used

Grant deeds are used where the parties want more protection than a quitclaim provides but the grantor is not prepared to stand behind defects that predate its ownership. Common uses in Arizona include transfers between related parties with some consideration changing hands, conveyances from a closely held entity to its principals or between affiliated entities, transfers incident to a buyout or business reorganization, and certain estate and trust distributions where a fiduciary is willing to cover its own acts but not the earlier chain. Arm's-length residential sales with title insurance are more typically done by general warranty deed; quitclaim deeds are reserved for true no-value transfers and corrective work. The grant deed fills the middle lane.

The Implied Covenants Under ARS 33-435

By using the words "grant" or "convey," an Arizona grantor triggers two — and only two — implied covenants under ARS 33-435. First, that the grantor has not previously conveyed the same estate or any right, title, or interest in it to anyone other than the grantee. Second, that at the time of execution the estate is free from encumbrances made by the grantor. These covenants cover what the grantor did during its own ownership and nothing more. Defects originating before the grantor took title — an old unreleased mortgage, a missing heir's signature in a prior deed, a boundary dispute from two owners back — are not covered by a grant deed and must be addressed through title insurance or through direct negotiation with the party responsible.

The statute says the listed covenants are the only implied ones, and they can be restrained or cut back by express language in the deed. What the statute does not authorize is the other direction: a grant deed cannot be expanded into a full warranty deed by inference. To reach the general warranty of title against all persons whomsoever, the deed must use the ARS 33-402 statutory phrase, not the grant deed form.

After-Acquired Title

Arizona grant deeds pass after-acquired title automatically. If the grantor later acquires a better interest in the same property — a remainder that vests after the deed is delivered, a share inherited from a co-owner, an outstanding interest the grantor buys up after closing — that interest flows through to the grantee by operation of the deed already recorded, without any new instrument. The rule is default, not mandatory: the grantor can reserve against after-acquired title by expressly excluding it in the granting clause. This feature is one of the practical reasons a grantee may prefer a grant deed over a quitclaim; a quitclaim conveys only what the grantor holds at the moment of delivery and does not pick up later-acquired interests.

Community Property, Marital Status, and Vesting

Arizona is a community property state, and the conveyancing clause must recite the marital status of each grantor and grantee. Property acquired by either spouse during marriage is presumed to be community property unless a separate-property exception applies (ARS 25-211). When community property is being conveyed, both spouses must sign, because a conveyance by one spouse alone is voidable by the other. When the grantor is a business entity, the signatory's representative capacity and underlying authority should be reflected in the signature block and acknowledgment, and where the conveyance depends on that authority, a resolution or statement of authority should be recorded or referenced.

Available vesting options for the grantee under ARS 33-431 include sole and separate property, tenancy in common, joint tenancy with right of survivorship, community property, and community property with right of survivorship. A conveyance to two or more grantees without a specified tenancy defaults to tenancy in common. Survivorship features and the community-property-with-right-of-survivorship form must be stated expressly — they are not implied.

Execution and Acknowledgment

Under ARS 33-401, a conveyance of land in Arizona must be in writing, subscribed and delivered by the grantor or by an agent authorized in writing. The grantor's signature must be acknowledged before a notary public or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments; Arizona does not require subscribing witnesses. Acknowledgments taken outside Arizona must comply with ARS 33-501, which recognizes notaries, judges and clerks of courts of record, and any other officer authorized to perform notarial acts in the state where the acknowledgment occurs. A grant deed must be duly acknowledged to be recordable.

Affidavit of Property Value and Exemptions

Arizona requires an Affidavit of Property Value, signed by both grantor and grantee, to accompany most instruments transferring an interest in real property (ARS 11-1133). The consideration recited on the deed must reconcile with the figures reported on the affidavit (ARS 11-1131(2)). Grant deeds often appear in transactions that qualify for an exemption under ARS 11-1134 — transfers to or from a revocable trust by the trustor, transfers between entities under common control, corrective deeds, transfers that merely confirm a prior conveyance — and when an exemption applies, a statement that the transfer is exempt, together with a citation to the specific exemption subsection, must appear on the face of the deed below the legal description. Without that recital, the recorder treats the deed as non-exempt and requires the affidavit.

Recording, Priority, and the Duty to Record

ARS 33-411.01 imposes an affirmative duty on the transferor to record a document evidencing the sale or transfer of real estate in the county where the property is located, within sixty days of the transfer. Recording provides constructive notice to subsequent purchasers and encumbrance holders for value without notice (ARS 33-411), and Arizona's race-notice rule at ARS 33-412 makes an unrecorded conveyance void as against a later purchaser for value who records first without notice of the prior transfer. Between the parties and anyone with actual notice, an unrecorded grant deed remains valid and binding, but the grantee who delays recording takes the risk of being cut off by a later purchaser or creditor who records promptly.

Formatting

ARS 11-480 sets formatting requirements that apply to every recordable instrument: legible type of at least ten points, white paper no larger than 8.5 by 14 inches, a caption identifying the document, a top margin of at least two inches on the first page reserved for the recorder's stamp, and minimum half-inch margins elsewhere. County recorders reject non-conforming documents, and several counties enforce the first-page margin rule strictly.

What's Included in the Download Package

The Arizona Grant Deed package includes the deed form drafted to trigger the ARS 33-435 implied covenants and the pass-through of after-acquired title, detailed guidelines covering the Arizona-specific drafting and recording requirements, and a completed example showing how the form should look for a typical grant deed conveyance. All files are available for instant download after purchase.