Florida Special Warranty Deed (Corporation Grantor)

When a Florida corporation conveys real estate, two features set the deed apart from an everyday residential transfer: the warranty runs only for the corporation's own period of ownership, and Florida gives a corporation its own statutory way to sign. This special warranty deed form is built around both. The grantor is a corporation, the covenant reaches claims arising by, through, or under that corporation but against none other, and the execution block carries an officer signature line, a corporate seal space, and two witness blocks, so the completed deed satisfies either of Florida's corporate execution statutes.

A warranty measured by the corporation's own tenure

Florida prescribes no statutory special warranty form. Section 689.02 of the Florida Statutes supplies the statutory warranty deed, and section 689.03 gives a deed substantially in that form the full common-law covenants, reaching every defect back through the whole chain of title. A special warranty deed narrows the promise by express language: the grantor warrants and defends the title only against claims by, through, or under the grantor. A defect created by an earlier owner sits outside the covenant. This form states that limitation directly and adds that the deed is not made under the section 689.02 form, so the full statutory covenants do not attach by implication. The corporation stands behind what happened on its own watch and leaves earlier history to the title search and the transaction's title insurance.

Two statutory ways a Florida corporation signs

Section 689.01, the general statute of conveyances, calls for the grantor's signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses and states that corporations may convey under that section or under sections 692.01 and 692.02. Section 692.01 is the corporate route: a deed sealed with the common or corporate seal and signed in the corporation's name by its president, any vice president, or its chief executive officer, with no recorded corporate resolution needed to evidence the signing officer's authority. This form provides for both routes at once. The officer signs under the corporate seal, two witnesses sign with the printed names and post-office addresses section 695.26 has required for recording since January 1, 2024, and the notary completes the statutory corporate acknowledgment short form from section 695.25(2).

Recording with the clerk and the documentary stamp

The deed is recorded in the official records of the clerk of the circuit court in the county where the property is located, and the form reserves the blank space of at least 3 inches by 3 inches at the top right of the first page that section 695.26 sets aside for the clerk. Documentary stamp tax under section 201.02 is due at recording: 70 cents per $100 of consideration statewide, with Miami-Dade County following its own rate and surtax structure. Consideration under the statute includes any mortgage on the property, whether or not the grantee assumes it.

The package includes the blank deed as a fillable PDF, a completed example showing a realistic Orange County corporate sale, and a plain language guide that walks through every numbered section, the signing formalities, and the recording steps. The materials describe Florida law in general terms and are not legal advice.