Cowlitz County Warranty Deed (Individual Grantor) Form

In a Washington deed, the words conveys and warrants carry an entire body of law. This fillable form prepares a Washington warranty deed for one individual grantor under RCW 64.04.030, the statutory warranty deed, with a single grantor entry, one signature line, and one notary acknowledgment certificate. Buyers and title examiners also know this instrument as a general warranty deed; in Washington the statutory name and the operative words come straight from the statute.

Six operative words, five covenants of title

RCW 64.04.030 attaches a full set of implied covenants to a deed in the statutory form. By reciting that the grantor conveys and warrants the described real estate, the deed promises that the grantor was lawfully seized of an indefeasible fee simple estate, had good right and full power to convey it, and that the premises were free from all encumbrances; the grantor further warrants the grantee's quiet and peaceable possession and will defend the title against all persons who may lawfully claim it. Those covenants bind the grantor's heirs and personal representatives as if written out at full length, and they reach title matters from before the grantor's ownership as well as during it, which is what separates this deed from Washington's bargain and sale and quitclaim postures. The form's exceptions section states the matters the covenants are made subject to, such as recorded easements and plat restrictions, so the warranty and the actual state of the record can match.

One grantor, one signature, one certificate

The form recites exactly one grantor, an individual conveying in a personal capacity: one name-and-residence entry, one signature line over a printed name, and one acknowledgment certificate in the individual capacity short form of RCW 42.45.140. An unmarried owner, and a married owner or state registered domestic partner conveying separate property under RCW 26.16.010, present the single-signature pattern this deed recites. A conveyance of community real property follows a different execution rule, RCW 26.16.030(3), under which both spouses or both domestic partners join in the deed and both acknowledge it, a two-signature pattern this form is not set up to carry. Trustees, personal representatives, and entity officers likewise sign in representative capacities the certificate here does not recite.

Formatted for the Washington recording counter

Washington recording is governed by a statewide format statute, RCW 65.04.045, and the form is built to it: a full three inch recording margin at the top of the first page, the return address block on the top left where the statute places it, one inch margins elsewhere, and first-page fields for the grantor and grantee names, the abbreviated legal description, and the assessor's parcel number the county auditor indexes by. A deed alone is not the whole package at the counter. Sales are subject to the real estate excise tax of chapter 82.45 RCW, and the county treasurer processes the excise tax affidavit and marks the tax paid or not due before the auditor accepts a taxable conveyance for recording; the guide walks through the affidavit, the graduated state and local rates, the exemption codes for gifts and other nonsale transfers, and the statutory recording fees and surcharges that apply per instrument.

What arrives with the form

The completed example runs the entire document on a realistic King County fact pattern, from the return address block through the notary's title of office line, so every blank has a model entry. The guide covers the statutory framework, the ways Washington grantees may hold title, each numbered section, signing before a notarial officer in or outside Washington, and the recording steps described above.

The download contains the blank warranty deed as a fillable PDF, the completed example, and the plain language guide. The materials describe Washington law in general terms and are informational; they are not legal advice, and a Washington attorney can address how these rules apply to a particular title or transaction.