Connecticut: Deed Execution and Recording Formalities
The short answer
Connecticut is a two-witness state. A deed must be in writing, signed by the owner, acknowledged before a notary or other authorized officer, and attested by TWO witnesses who sign with their own hands — and the grantor and grantee cannot serve as those witnesses. The deed must also state the grantee's current mailing address. You record it in the land records of the TOWN where the property sits (Connecticut has no county recording), and an unrecorded deed is good between the grantor and grantee but not against anyone else. Connecticut has no dower, curtesy, or community property, so a solo owner can convey without a spouse's signature; the surviving spouse's protection is a probate statutory share, not a signature on the deed.
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This is the general rule in Connecticut. Ezel applies current Connecticut law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and deed scope | Common-law title state, town-recording system. The core rules are in Conn. Gen. Stat. Chapter 821 (Land Titles): execution requirements (§ 47-5), who may take an acknowledgment (§ 47-5a), and recording (§ 47-10). Connecticut has no county land records — deeds are recorded with the TOWN clerk of the town where the land lies (§ 47-10). Statutory deed forms live in Chapter 821a (§ 47-36c et seq.), and the surviving-spouse statutory share is in § 45a-436. Scope here is an ordinary present transfer of a fee interest by an individual owner; corporate and association deeds (§ 47-6) and special conveyances are outside this survey |
|---|---|
| Writing and grantor signature | Signed writing required. 'All conveyances of land shall be: (1) In writing; (2) if the grantor is (A) a natural person, subscribed, with or without a seal, by the grantor with his own hand or with his mark with his name annexed to it or by his agent authorized for that purpose by a power ...' (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-5(a)). A seal is optional. The deed must also carry the grantee's current mailing address: 'A document conveying land shall also include the current mailing address of the grantee' (§ 47-5(b)). Connecticut's statutory warranty, quitclaim, and other deed forms (Chapter 821a) are available but not mandatory |
| Witnesses | TWO witnesses required — Connecticut's defining formality. A conveyance must be '(4) attested to by two witnesses with their own hands' (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-5(a)). The witnesses must be disinterested: a grantor or grantee cannot serve as one of the two attesting witnesses. Courts have voided deeds signed by only one witness, though a formality defect is generally treated as making a deed voidable rather than automatically void, and the notary who takes the acknowledgment may also act as one of the two witnesses |
| Acknowledgment or notarization | Acknowledgment required as part of execution. The deed must be '(3) acknowledged by the grantor, his agent or such duly authorized person (A) to be his free act and deed, or (B) in any manner permitted under chapter 6 or chapter 8' (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-5(a)). The acknowledgment is taken before an authorized officer — a Connecticut notary public, judge, town clerk, justice of the peace, or Superior Court commissioner (attorney), and out-of-state before an officer authorized there (§ 47-5a). Acknowledgment is one of the four listed execution requirements, alongside the writing, signature, and two witnesses |
| Spouse, homestead, and marital joinder | No spousal joinder to convey. Connecticut recognizes no dower, curtesy, or community property, and § 47-5's execution list contains no spouse-signature requirement — so an owner whose name alone is on title may convey without the other spouse joining. The surviving spouse's protection is instead a probate right: the statutory (elective) share, 'a life estate of one-third in value of all the property passing under the will, real and personal, ... owned by the deceased spouse at the time of his or her death' (§ 45a-436(a)). Because that share reaches property passing under the will at death, a lifetime deed by the owner is generally not defeated by it; the spouse claims the share against the estate in probate, not by signing the deed |
| Signing through an agent or representative | An attorney-in-fact may sign; the power is recorded with the deed. The grantor may sign 'by his agent authorized for that purpose by a power (i) executed, acknowledged and witnessed in the manner provided for conveyances, or (ii) executed, acknowledged and witnessed in the same manner provided for in section 1-350d, and subsection (a) of section 1-350r' (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-5(a)(2)(A)) — so the power of attorney itself must meet deed formalities (or the Uniform Power of Attorney Act's execution rules). 'When a conveyance is executed by a power of attorney, the power of attorney shall be recorded with the deed, unless it has already been recorded in the records of the town in which the land lies and reference to the power of attorney is made in the deed' (§ 47-10(a)). The underlying authority runs under Connecticut's Uniform Power of Attorney Act (§ 1-350 et seq.) |
| Recording office and statewide content | Record with the TOWN clerk of the town where the land lies (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-10(a)) — Connecticut has no county recording office. The deed must be acknowledged and attested by two witnesses (§ 47-5(a)) and must state the grantee's current mailing address (§ 47-5(b)); if signed by an agent, the power of attorney is recorded with the deed unless already of record (§ 47-10(a)). Connecticut imposes a state and often municipal real estate conveyance tax (a separate return), and each town sets its own recording fees and formatting — check with the specific town clerk |
| Nonrecording effect and defect cures | Recording is required to bind third parties. 'No conveyance shall be effectual to hold any land against any other person but the grantor and his heirs, unless recorded on the records of the town in which the land lies' (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-10(a)). So an unrecorded deed is valid between grantor and grantee but not against a later purchaser or creditor; Connecticut courts have applied this so that a bona fide later purchaser without notice of an unrecorded deed prevails. Long-standing title defects can be cleared under the Marketable Record Title Act: 'Chain of title for not less than forty years creates marketable record title' (§ 47-33c). Recording and the passage of time cure no forgery, incapacity, or lack of ownership |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law and scope
Connecticut is a common-law title state with a distinctive recording system: it has no
county land records, so deeds are filed with the town clerk of the town where the
land lies. The core rules are in Conn. Gen. Stat. Chapter 821, "Land Titles" — execution
requirements (§ 47-5), the officers who may take an acknowledgment (§ 47-5a), and recording
(§ 47-10). Statutory deed forms sit in Chapter 821a (§ 47-36c and following), and the
surviving-spouse statutory share is in § 45a-436. This page covers an ordinary present
transfer of a fee interest by an individual owner; corporate and association deeds (§ 47-6)
and other special conveyances are outside this survey.
Writing and grantor signature
A deed must be a signed writing. Under § 47-5(a), "all conveyances of land shall be: (1) In
writing; (2) if the grantor is (A) a natural person, subscribed, with or without a seal, by
the grantor with his own hand or with his mark with his name annexed to it or by his agent
authorized for that purpose." A seal is optional. Connecticut also requires the deed to name
where to reach the new owner: "A document conveying land shall also include the current
mailing address of the grantee" (§ 47-5(b)). The state's statutory warranty, quitclaim, and
other deed forms (Chapter 821a) are available but not mandatory.
Witnesses
This is Connecticut's stand-out rule. A conveyance must be "(4) attested to by two witnesses
with their own hands" (§ 47-5(a)). Two people, not one, must sign as witnesses, and they must
be disinterested — the grantor and the grantee cannot serve as the attesting witnesses,
because that would defeat the purpose of the requirement. Connecticut courts have held a deed
signed by only one witness invalid, so this is not a formality to skip. In practice, the
notary who takes the acknowledgment can also be one of the two witnesses. (A defect in
witnessing generally makes a deed voidable rather than automatically void, but do not rely on
that — get two proper witnesses.)
Acknowledgment or notarization
Acknowledgment is one of the four execution requirements, not a separate recording-only step.
The deed must be "(3) acknowledged by the grantor, his agent or such duly authorized person
(A) to be his free act and deed" (§ 47-5(a)). The acknowledgment is taken before an authorized
officer — in Connecticut a notary public, judge, town clerk, justice of the peace, or
Superior Court commissioner (a Connecticut attorney), and out of state before an officer
authorized to take acknowledgments there (§ 47-5a). So a properly executed Connecticut deed
carries the grantor's signature, an acknowledgment, and two witnesses' signatures together.
Spouse, homestead, and marital joinder
Connecticut requires no spouse signature to convey. It recognizes no dower, curtesy, or
community property, and the § 47-5 execution list contains no marital-joinder requirement, so
an owner whose name alone is on title can convey without the other spouse joining. The
surviving spouse's protection is a probate right, not a signature: the statutory (elective)
share — "a life estate of one-third in value of all the property passing under the will, real
and personal, ... owned by the deceased spouse at the time of his or her death" (§ 45a-436(a)).
Because that share reaches property passing under the will at the owner's death, a lifetime
deed by the owner is generally not undone by it; the spouse claims the share against the
estate in probate.
Signing through an agent or representative
An attorney-in-fact can sign a Connecticut deed. The grantor may sign "by his agent authorized
for that purpose by a power (i) executed, acknowledged and witnessed in the manner provided
for conveyances, or (ii) executed, acknowledged and witnessed in the same manner provided for
in section 1-350d, and subsection (a) of section 1-350r" (§ 47-5(a)(2)(A)) — meaning the power
of attorney itself must meet deed formalities or the Uniform Power of Attorney Act's execution
rules. And the power has to go into the land records: "When a conveyance is executed by a
power of attorney, the power of attorney shall be recorded with the deed, unless it has
already been recorded in the records of the town in which the land lies and reference to the
power of attorney is made in the deed" (§ 47-10(a)). The underlying authority runs under
Connecticut's Uniform Power of Attorney Act (§ 1-350 et seq.).
Recording office and statewide content
Record the deed with the town clerk of the town where the land lies (§ 47-10(a)) —
Connecticut's 169 towns each keep their own land records; there is no county recorder. The
deed must be acknowledged and attested by two witnesses (§ 47-5(a)) and must state the
grantee's current mailing address (§ 47-5(b)); if an agent signed, the power of attorney is
recorded with the deed unless already of record (§ 47-10(a)). Connecticut imposes a state and
often a municipal real estate conveyance tax, filed on a separate return, and each town sets
its own recording fees and formatting — confirm with the specific town clerk.
Nonrecording effect and defect cures
Recording is what makes a deed bind anyone beyond the grantor. "No conveyance shall be
effectual to hold any land against any other person but the grantor and his heirs, unless
recorded on the records of the town in which the land lies" (§ 47-10(a)). So a signed,
witnessed, delivered deed is good between you and your grantee even unrecorded, but a later
purchaser or creditor is not bound by it until it is recorded — and Connecticut courts have
applied this so that a good-faith later purchaser without notice of an unrecorded deed
prevails. Old title problems can be cleared under the Marketable Record Title Act, under
which a "chain of title for not less than forty years creates marketable record title"
(§ 47-33c). None of this cures a forged signature, an incapacitated grantor, or a grantor
who did not own the land.
What trips people up
- The two-witness rule. Connecticut needs two witnesses, not one, and they must be
disinterested — the grantor and grantee cannot be the witnesses (§ 47-5(a)(4)). A deed
witnessed by only one person has been held invalid. Many out-of-state forms provide only a
notary block and miss this. - Forgetting the grantee's address. The deed must state the grantee's current mailing
address (§ 47-5(b)); a town clerk can reject one that leaves it out. - Recording in the wrong place. There is no county recorder in Connecticut. File with the
clerk of the specific town where the land sits (§ 47-10). - Assuming a signed deed is safe unrecorded. It binds your grantor, but a later good-faith
buyer without notice can defeat an unrecorded deed (§ 47-10).
Common questions
How many witnesses does a Connecticut deed need?
Two. The deed must be "attested to by two witnesses with their own hands" (§ 47-5(a)(4)), and
the grantor and grantee cannot count as those witnesses. The notary can be one of the two.
Does my spouse have to sign if the house is only in my name?
No. Connecticut has no dower, curtesy, or community property, and no spouse-signature rule for
deeds. The surviving spouse's protection is the probate statutory share under § 45a-436, not
a signature on the deed.
Where do I record a Connecticut deed?
With the town clerk of the town where the property is located (§ 47-10). Connecticut records
land in its towns, not in counties.
Is a signed-but-unrecorded Connecticut deed valid?
Between you and your grantee, yes. Against a later purchaser or creditor, no — it is not
effectual to hold the land against anyone but the grantor and the grantor's heirs until
recorded (§ 47-10).
Statutes and sources
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-5 — conveyances must be in writing, signed, acknowledged, and attested by two witnesses; grantee mailing address required.
https://www.cga.ct.gov/2025/pub/chap_821.htm (accessed 2026-07-16) - Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-10 — an unrecorded conveyance does not hold land against anyone but the grantor and heirs; power of attorney recorded with the deed; town land records.
https://www.cga.ct.gov/2025/pub/chap_821.htm (accessed 2026-07-16) - Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-33c — Marketable Record Title Act: a 40-year chain of title creates marketable record title.
https://www.cga.ct.gov/2025/pub/chap_821.htm (accessed 2026-07-16) - Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-436 — surviving spouse's statutory share: a life estate of one-third of the property passing under the will.
https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_802b.htm (accessed 2026-07-16)
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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