Arizona Special Warranty Deed

The Arizona Special Warranty Deed conveys real property with a limited warranty: the grantor defends the title only against claims arising by, through, or under the grantor, and not against defects that predate the grantor's ownership. That narrower promise is the whole point of the instrument. Arizona's statutory framework doesn't spell out special warranty covenants on the face of the deed the way a full warranty deed does under ARS 33-402 — instead, the implied covenants attach through the word "convey" (ARS 33-435), and the deed itself recites the limiting language that restricts the warranty to the grantor's own period of ownership. The result is a shorter promise than a general warranty deed, but a materially stronger one than a quitclaim.

When the Arizona Special Warranty Deed Is Used

Special warranty deeds are the working instrument for transactions where the grantor is willing to stand behind what happened during its ownership but not behind the chain of title that came before. Typical uses in Arizona include conveyances out of an estate by a personal representative, conveyances by a trustee from a trust, commercial sales where the seller took title through foreclosure or a tax sale and cannot credibly warrant the earlier chain, transfers by a relocation company or bank after an REO sale, and transfers between related business entities. Residential arm's-length sales in Arizona are typically done by general warranty deed with title insurance providing the backstop — special warranty deeds show up most often when the grantor is a fiduciary, an institution, or a party whose own interest in the property is recent.

Scope of the Limited Warranty

The distinction between a general and a special warranty deed is defined by the scope of claims the grantor agrees to defend against. Under a general warranty deed drafted to the ARS 33-402 form, the grantor warrants the title "against all persons whomsoever" — every claim, regardless of when it arose. Under a special warranty deed, the warranty is limited to claims arising by, through, or under the grantor. If a defect predates the grantor's ownership — a missing heir's interest from two transfers ago, an unreleased mortgage from a prior owner, a mechanic's lien filed before the grantor took title — the grantee cannot bring a warranty claim against the grantor. The grantee would instead rely on the title insurance policy issued at closing, which is why special warranty deeds and title insurance typically travel together in Arizona commercial practice.

The two implied covenants under ARS 33-435 still attach because the deed uses the word "convey": the grantor represents that the same estate has not been previously conveyed to anyone other than the grantee, and that the estate is free from encumbrances made by the grantor. Those covenants cover the grantor's own acts; the recited "by, through, or under" language preserves the limit for everything outside that window.

Community Property, Marital Status, and Vesting

Arizona is a community property state, and a special warranty deed must recite the marital status of each grantor and grantee in the conveyancing clause. Property acquired by either spouse during marriage is presumed to be community property unless a separate-property exception applies (ARS 25-211). Both spouses must sign when community property is being conveyed, because a conveyance by one spouse alone is voidable by the other. When an institutional grantor — a bank, a trust, a corporate entity — is conveying, the marital-status issue falls out, but the signatory's authority to act for the entity must be established on the face of the deed or by a separate authority document, typically a recorded resolution or a statement of authority.

Vesting options for the grantee track the general rules under ARS 33-431: 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 in the deed.

Execution and Acknowledgment

Under ARS 33-401(B), a special warranty deed must be signed by the grantor and 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 is taken. When the grantor is a business entity or a fiduciary, the acknowledgment certificate should reflect the representative capacity (officer, manager, trustee, personal representative), and the underlying authority document should be recorded or referenced where the conveyance depends on it.

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 stated on the deed must reconcile with the figures reported on the affidavit (ARS 11-1131(2)). Special warranty deeds frequently appear in transactions that qualify for one of the exemptions at ARS 11-1134 — conveyances from a personal representative distributing an estate, conveyances to or from a revocable trust by the trustor, deeds confirming a transfer in a prior instrument, deeds between entities under common control — 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 will require 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 means an unrecorded conveyance is void as against a subsequent purchaser for value who records first without notice of the prior transfer. Between the parties and anyone with actual notice, an unrecorded special warranty deed is still valid and binding — but the grantee who delays recording risks 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 the first-page margin rule is enforced strictly in several counties.

What's Included in the Download Package

The Arizona Special Warranty Deed package includes the deed form drafted with the limited warranty language that restricts the grantor's covenant to claims by, through, or under the grantor, detailed guidelines covering the Arizona-specific drafting and recording requirements, and a completed example showing how the form should look for a typical fiduciary or institutional conveyance. All files are available for instant download after purchase.