Alabama: Deed Execution and Recording Formalities

Requirements one by one

Governing law and scope

Alabama keeps three questions apart: whether a deed is good between buyer and seller,
whether it can be recorded, and whether it beats a competing claimant. Execution rules
live in Title 35, Chapter 4, Article 2 (§§ 35-4-20 to -34); recording rules live in
Article 3 (§§ 35-4-50 and following). This page covers an ordinary present-fee transfer by
an individual owner using a warranty, statutory-warranty, or quitclaim deed. Alabama is a
common-law (title) state, not a community-property state, and dower and curtesy have been
abolished — the only marital constraint left on a deed is the homestead-signature rule of
§ 6-10-3. Deeds are recorded with the county judge of probate (§ 35-4-50). Mortgages, and
judicial, tax, and fiduciary deeds, have their own rules.

Writing and grantor signature

An Alabama deed is a signed writing that is attested and delivered. Under § 35-4-20,
"conveyances for the alienation of lands must be written or printed ... and must be signed
at their foot by the contracting party or his agent having a written authority." If the
owner cannot sign, "his name must be written for him, with the words 'his mark.'" No seal is
required to pass title (§ 35-4-21), and a deed is not invalid just because it recites no
consideration (§ 35-4-34). The execution also has to be attested — but as the next section
explains, one witness or a notary acknowledgment satisfies that. So the whole package is a
signed writing, an attestation (witness or notary), and delivery to the grantee.

Witnesses

Alabama's witness rule is the most forgiving in the country. Section 35-4-20 requires the
execution to be "attested by one witness" — only one — with two witnesses required just in the
edge cases where the grantor cannot write or signs by a mark written by someone else. And you
do not even need that one witness if the deed is notarized: § 35-4-23 provides that a notarial
"acknowledgment ... operates as a compliance with the requisitions of section 35-4-20 upon the
subject of witnesses." In plain terms, one attesting witness OR a notary acknowledgment gets
the job done. Because title companies want a notary anyway, most modern Alabama deeds simply
use the acknowledgment and carry no separate witness line.

Acknowledgment or notarization

Notarization is the standard route, but Alabama is unusually forgiving about its absence. A
signed, attested, delivered deed already conveys title; the acknowledgment's job is to supply
the attestation in place of a witness (§ 35-4-23). Alabama also has a savings statute: recording
"operates as a notice of the contents of such conveyance or instrument without any
acknowledgment or probate thereof as required by law" (§ 35-4-63). So even a deed that was never
acknowledged or probated, once it is on record, gives constructive notice to the world. In
practice, though, use a notary acknowledgment — it satisfies the attestation requirement and is
what recorders and title underwriters expect.

Spouse, homestead, and marital joinder

For an ordinary parcel, no spouse has to sign: dower and curtesy are abolished and Alabama is
not a community-property state, so a nonowner spouse has no interest in the other spouse's solely
owned, non-homestead land. The homestead is the big exception. Under § 6-10-3, "no mortgage, deed
or other conveyance of the homestead by a married person shall be valid without the voluntary
signature and assent of the husband or wife, which must be shown by his or her examination before
an officer ... and the certificate of such officer." That means conveying the family homestead
requires both spouses to sign, plus the non-titled spouse's separate examination and
certificate of assent — even when that spouse is nowhere on the title. Because of this, every
deed must recite the grantor's marital status to be recorded (§ 35-4-73), so the probate office
can flag a possible homestead problem.

Signing through an agent or representative

An agent can sign an Alabama deed if the agent has "a written authority" (§ 35-4-20). A power of
attorney used to convey land is itself an instrument affecting title, so it is acknowledged and
recorded with the judge of probate just like a deed, and it should be recorded to give notice
against later purchasers (§§ 35-4-63, 35-4-90). Alabama's Uniform Power of Attorney Act (Title 26,
Chapter 1A) governs the authority itself; making a valid power needs only the principal's
signature. Entity, trustee, and personal-representative execution follow their own separate rules.

Recording office and statewide content

Record the deed with the judge of probate of the county where the land sits (§ 35-4-50). Two
statewide items gate acceptance at the counter. First, the deed must have "endorsed on it a
printed, typewritten, or stamped statement showing the name and address of the individual who
prepared the instrument" (§ 35-4-110). Second, it must recite the grantor's marital status
(§ 35-4-73), the record flag tied to the homestead rule above. Separately, a deed recording
(privilege) tax of $0.50 per $500 of value (§ 40-22-1) and the Department of Revenue's Real
Estate Sales Validation Form (RT-1) are their own steps — confirm current amounts and any county
formatting rules with the probate office.

Nonrecording effect and defect cures

Alabama protects a later good-faith purchaser or creditor. Under § 35-4-90, all conveyances "are
inoperative and void as to purchasers for a valuable consideration, mortgagees, and judgment
creditors without notice, unless the same have been recorded before the accrual of the right of
such purchasers, mortgagees, or judgment creditors." Two consequences follow. First, an
unrecorded deed still passes title between the grantor and grantee. Second, it is void against a
later buyer, lender, or judgment creditor who gives value, has no notice of it, and whose right
accrues before the deed is recorded — which is why recording promptly matters. On the forgiving
side, recording gives notice of the deed's contents even without acknowledgment or probate
(§ 35-4-63), and a notary acknowledgment supplies any missing attesting witness (§ 35-4-23). None
of these fix a substantive defect — fraud, forgery, incapacity, or a grantor who did not own the
land.

What trips people up

• Selling the homestead with one signature. A deed of the family homestead by a married
  person is not valid without the other spouse's signature and separate assent (§ 6-10-3), even
  if that spouse is not on the title. This is the single biggest Alabama deed trap.
• Forgetting the "prepared by" line. The probate judge will not record a deed that lacks the
  preparer's name and address (§ 35-4-110). It is a hard recording gate, not a formality.
• Leaving off marital status. A deed also has to recite the grantor's marital status to be
  accepted for record (§ 35-4-73), precisely so the office can spot a homestead issue.
• Assuming you need two witnesses. You do not. Alabama needs one witness, and a notary
  acknowledgment substitutes for it (§§ 35-4-20, 35-4-23). Extra witnesses are harmless but not
  required.

Common questions

Does an unrecorded Alabama deed still transfer the property?
Yes, between you and the person you deeded it to. Section 35-4-90 makes an unrecorded deed void
only against a later purchaser, mortgagee, or judgment creditor who gives value without notice
before the deed is recorded. Between the original parties, the deed passes title.

Do I need witnesses on an Alabama deed?
One witness satisfies the statute (§ 35-4-20), and a notary acknowledgment counts in place of the
witness (§ 35-4-23). A notarized deed therefore needs no separate witness.

My spouse isn't on the title — do they have to sign?
If the property is your homestead, yes. Section 6-10-3 makes a homestead conveyance by a married
person invalid without the other spouse's signature and separate assent, regardless of who holds
title. For a non-homestead parcel you own alone, you can convey it by yourself.

Can someone sign the deed for me under a power of attorney?
Yes, if the agent has written authority (§ 35-4-20). Have the power of attorney acknowledged and
recorded with the judge of probate along with the deed. Alabama's Uniform Power of Attorney Act
(Title 26, Chapter 1A) governs the authority.

Statutes and sources

• Ala. Code § 35-4-20 — a land conveyance must be a signed writing attested by one witness (or two in mark/agent cases).
  https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=35-4-20 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Ala. Code § 35-4-23 — a notary acknowledgment satisfies the § 35-4-20 witness requirement.
  https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=35-4-23 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Ala. Code § 35-4-50 — conveyances required to be recorded go in the office of the judge of probate.
  https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=35-4-50 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Ala. Code § 35-4-63 — recording gives notice of a deed's contents even without acknowledgment or probate (savings statute).
  https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=35-4-63 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Ala. Code § 35-4-73 — a deed must recite the grantor's marital status to be accepted for record.
  https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=35-4-73 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Ala. Code § 35-4-90 — unrecorded conveyances void as to purchasers, mortgagees, and judgment creditors for value without notice (notice priority).
  https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=35-4-90 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Ala. Code § 35-4-110 — no recording unless the instrument shows the name and address of its preparer.
  https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=35-4-110 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Ala. Code § 6-10-3 — a homestead conveyance by a married person needs the spouse's voluntary signature and assent shown by separate examination.
  https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=6-10-3 (accessed 2026-07-16)