Rhode Island Warranty Deed

A warranty deed made by one individual grantor is the simplest configuration Rhode Island conveyancing offers: one record owner signs, one acknowledgment certificate follows the signature, and the grantee receives the property with the strongest title promises Rhode Island law recognizes. This form prepares that deed for Rhode Island real property under the statutory deed provisions of Rhode Island General Laws Chapter 34-11.

Five Covenants in Three Words

Rhode Island packs the entire warranty into a statutory phrase. A deed that grants WITH WARRANTY COVENANTS carries, by force of Sections 34-11-15 and 34-11-16, the grantor's covenants of lawful seisin in fee simple, freedom from encumbrances except those stated, lawful authority to sell and convey, quiet enjoyment, and a promise to warrant and defend the title against the lawful claims of all persons. The reach matters: these covenants run to the whole chain of title, not merely to defects arising during the grantor's ownership, which is what a general warranty deed or full covenant deed conveys. Generic words of conveyance do no warranty work in Rhode Island; Section 34-11-26 states that grant, grantor, and grantee imply no warranty, so the covenant phrase itself gives the deed its character. The form carries the phrase in its operative section and lists any exceptions in a dedicated encumbrances section, the boundary line of the covenant against encumbrances.

One Grantor, One Certificate

The form recites a single individual owner as grantor: one name in the grantor section, one signature line with the printed name beneath it that Section 34-11-1.1 calls for, and one acknowledgment certificate expressing the free act and deed language of Section 34-12-1. A sole owner selling a home, a person conveying inherited property held in that person's name alone, and an owner deeding land for a stated price all present the single grantor pattern this deed recites. The form is not set up for co-owner grantors, entity grantors, or fiduciaries such as executors and trustees, whose deeds carry different recitals and signature architecture. On the receiving side, the grantee section holds one or more grantees; Rhode Island reads a deed to two or more grantees as a tenancy in common under Section 34-3-1 unless the deed manifests a joint tenancy or, for spouses, a tenancy by the entirety, and the guide describes each recognized form.

Recorded with the City or Town, Not the County

Rhode Island records land evidence municipally. The deed goes to the recorder of deeds or the city or town clerk of the municipality where the property is located, under Sections 34-11-1 and 34-13-1, and recording is what makes the conveyance operative against third parties. The statewide fee for recording a warranty deed is eighty dollars under Section 34-13-7, plus a four dollar Historical Records Trust charge. A sale also brings the real estate conveyance tax: three dollars and seventy-five cents for each five hundred dollars of consideration, with an additional residential rate on the portion above an annually indexed threshold that the Division of Taxation set at 824,000 dollars for 2026, paid by documentary stamps affixed to the deed at recording.

Two Entries Rhode Island Looks For

Two content statutes shape the blanks. Section 34-11-1.4 requires a deed resulting from a sale to state the total dollar amount of the actual sale price, and Section 34-11-1.2 requires the grantee's name with a residence or post office address; in each case the clerk may decline to record a deed presented without the entry. The form gives each requirement its own numbered section, and the completed example shows both entries filled for a realistic Warwick sale, from the platted legal description through the notary block.

The download includes three pieces: the blank warranty deed as a fillable PDF, a completed example showing the entire document filled in for a Warwick fact pattern, and a plain language guide that explains every section, the signing formalities, and municipal recording. The materials describe Rhode Island law in general terms and are not legal advice.