Franklin County Warranty Deed Form

This Maine warranty deed is set up for one individual grantor: a single grantor block, a single signature line, and a single acknowledgment certificate, conveying Maine real property with the full statutory warranty covenants. The form follows the Maine Short Form Deeds Act, 33 M.R.S. 761 to 775, and it describes a natural person who holds record title and conveys in that person's own right.

Two capitalized words that carry four covenants

Maine wrote its warranty deed into the statute book. Form 1 of 33 M.R.S. 775 is the statutory short form, in which the grantor, for consideration paid, grants the property to the grantee with WARRANTY COVENANTS, and 33 M.R.S. 763 and 764 give those two words their content: covenants that the grantor is lawfully seized in fee, that the premises are free of all encumbrances, that the grantor has good right to sell and convey, and that the grantor and the grantor's heirs will warrant and defend the premises against the lawful claims and demands of all persons. This deed carries that statutory phrase in its operative section, so the general warranty a buyer expects arrives through the exact words Maine law defines.

The covenant against encumbrances is measured against what the deed itself states. The form's encumbrances section lists the recorded easements, restrictions, and any mortgage remaining on the property, and the covenants read around whatever appears there, which is why that section sits directly above the operative words on the printed deed.

One grantor, one signature, one certificate

The form recites exactly one individual grantor, who signs alone before a notarial officer. A printed name line under the signature satisfies the typed or printed name requirement of 33 M.R.S. 651-A, and the certificate below the notary line follows the individual capacity short form of 4 M.R.S. 1917, the wording Maine adopted with the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts. A sole owner of record selling to a buyer, an unmarried owner passing property to a relative, and a married owner conveying alone under the owner-only conveyance rule of 33 M.R.S. 480 present the single-grantor pattern this deed recites. The form is not set up as a two-grantor instrument, and it does not recite an entity, trustee, or personal representative grantor; those configurations carry different capacity recitals and different certificate counts.

What the registry of deeds looks at

A Maine deed becomes effectual against third persons when it is acknowledged and recorded in the registry of deeds for the county where the land lies, under 33 M.R.S. 201. The statewide recording fee, set by 33 M.R.S. 751 and 752 as amended effective January 1, 2026, is published by the registries as 40 dollars per instrument for general submitters. The form's layout follows the Maine Registers of Deeds Association all-county paper standard: a 1.75 inch first page top margin for the recording information, 1 inch continuation tops, a clean 1.5 inch bottom on the last page, and type at or above the published 10 point Times minimum, so the printed document arrives inside the margins every Maine registry publishes.

Recording also has a tax layer. A deed offered for recording is ordinarily accompanied by the Maine real estate transfer tax declaration of value, and the register collects the tax at the counter: for transfers on or after November 1, 2025, the rate is 2 dollars and 20 cents per 500 dollars of value up to 1,000,000 dollars and 6 dollars per 500 dollars above that, imposed half on the grantor and half on the grantee, with the exemption list in 36 M.R.S. 4641-C. The deed itself carries the grantee's mailing address that 33 M.R.S. 456 calls for, and the guide walks through the declaration, the exemptions, and the registry steps in order.

The download delivers this Maine warranty deed form as a fillable PDF, a completed example showing the entire document filled in for a realistic Cumberland County transaction, and a plain language guide that explains every numbered section, the signing formalities, and the recording process. The materials describe Maine law and the form in general terms and are not legal advice.