Highlands County Warranty Deed (Two Grantors) Form

Florida writes its warranty deed into the statute book. Section 689.02 of the Florida Statutes has prescribed a short form of warranty deed since 1891, and Section 689.03 gives a deed made substantially in that form the effect of a warranty deed carrying full common-law covenants. This form prepares that statutory conveyance for two grantors, the shape a Florida transfer takes when a married couple or two co-owners hold the title being conveyed.

Covenants that reach the whole chain of title

The statutory form works through two operative phrases. The grantors recite that they have "granted, bargained and sold" the land to the grantee and the grantee's heirs and assigns forever, and the deed closes with the covenant that the grantors "fully warrant the title to said land, and will defend the same against the lawful claims of all persons whomsoever." Under Section 689.03, that short covenant carries the full set of common-law title covenants, reaching the whole chain of title rather than the grantors' own years of ownership. A separate section lists the matters the warranty does not cover, such as recorded easements and current-year taxes, and the parcel identification number blank required by Section 689.02(2) appears with the legal description.

Two grantors and the two-witness signing rule

Florida keeps an execution formality most states dropped long ago: under Section 689.01, each grantor signs in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, in addition to the notarial acknowledgment that Section 695.03 requires for recording. Since January 1, 2024, the recording statute also calls for each witness's printed name and post-office address, the printed name of every signer, the grantee's name and address, and the name and post-office address of the natural person who prepared the deed. The form carries a labeled line for each item, pairs each grantor's signature with that grantor's own witness blocks, and gives each grantor a separate acknowledgment certificate in the checkbox format of Section 117.05(13), so the grantors can sign at one closing or at different times before different notaries.

For a married couple, the structure has a constitutional dimension as well: Article X, Section 4(c) of the Florida Constitution permits an owner to alienate homestead real estate only when joined by the owner's spouse, and a deed both spouses sign shows that joinder on its face.

What happens at the courthouse

The completed deed is recorded with the clerk of the circuit court in the county where the property is located. Recording protects the grantee against creditors and later purchasers under Section 695.01, with priority set by official register number under Section 695.11. Documentary stamp tax under Chapter 201 is collected at recording, at 70 cents per $100 of consideration everywhere except Miami-Dade, which has its own rate and surtax structure. The first page reserves the 3-inch square at the top right that Section 695.26 sets aside for the clerk.

The package includes the fillable blank deed, a completed example built on a Hillsborough County fact pattern, and a plain-language guide that walks the form section by section; the materials describe Florida law in general terms and are not legal advice.