Lewis And Clark County Warranty Deed Form

The Montana Warranty Deed (Individual Grantor) conveys Montana real property from one owner signing in an individual capacity, and it carries the strongest title promise in Montana conveyancing: express general warranty covenants layered on the limited covenants the statutory word grant implies. The form recites exactly one grantor, carries one signature line, and closes with a single notarial acknowledgment certificate in Montana's statutory short form.

Full covenants in a grant-based state

Montana builds its deeds around the word grant. Section 70-20-103 of the Montana Code Annotated supplies a short statutory form of conveyance, and Section 70-20-304 gives the word grant two implied covenants only: that the grantor has not already conveyed the same estate to someone else, and that the estate is free from encumbrances the grantor or anyone claiming under the grantor created or suffered. Those implied covenants stop at the grantor's own conduct. No Montana statute supplies a general warranty short form, so a full warranty rests on express language, and this deed states it in full: covenants of seisin, right to convey, freedom from encumbrances except those listed, quiet possession, and a promise to warrant and defend title against the lawful claims of all persons. The express covenants reach defects arising anywhere in the chain of title, and the deed states that they are in addition to, not in place of, the statutory grant covenants.

One grantor, one signature, one certificate

The form recites a single individual grantor, with a grantor section that accommodates a marital-status statement, one signature and date line, and one acknowledgment certificate in the wording of Section 1-5-610: this record was acknowledged before me on a stated date by the named individual. A sole record owner conveying a home to a buyer, and an individual owner passing title into a family member's name after a sale, present the single-grantor pattern this deed recites. The form is not set up as an entity, trustee, or attorney-in-fact conveyance, and it recites one grantor rather than co-grantors. On the receiving side, the grantee section carries each grantee's name and post-office address, because Section 7-4-2618 bars the county clerk and recorder from receiving a deed that omits the grantee's address; where two or more grantees take title, a designation follows their names, and Montana's default without one is a tenancy in common under Section 70-1-314, with survivorship arising only from a declared joint interest containing the right of survivorship.

What travels with a Montana deed to the clerk and recorder

A Montana deed records with a small package around it. A completed Realty Transfer Certificate, Department of Revenue Form RTC, accompanies every deed presented for recording under Section 15-7-305, and the consideration declared on it is confidential under Section 15-7-308. The certificate carries Montana's water-right disclosure, and when it indicates that water rights are transferred, severed, divided, or exempted, the statutory certification of Section 85-2-424 accompanies the deed as well. For documents recorded on or after October 1, 2025, the recording fee is $20 for the first page and $10 for each additional page, and Montana charges no statewide transfer tax at recording. The deed itself is drawn to the formatting statute, Section 7-4-2636: letter-size white paper, blue or black ink, a full 3-inch recording band at the top of the first page, and the return name and address in the upper-left corner of that page, inside the band, where the statute places it. Montana recording is race-notice; under Section 70-21-304, an unrecorded conveyance is void as against a subsequent good-faith purchaser for value whose conveyance is first duly recorded, which is why the deed's trip to the clerk and recorder follows promptly in practice.

Inside the download

The download contains the fillable warranty deed form matched to Montana's formatting statute, a completed example showing a Gallatin County transfer with every section filled in, and a section-by-section guide covering the covenants, the grantee vesting forms Montana recognizes, signing and notarization, and the recording package described above. The materials describe Montana law in general terms and are not legal advice; a Montana attorney can address how these rules operate on a specific title or transaction.