Deed Execution and Recording Formalities in Connecticut

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law and scope

Connecticut records deeds in the land records of the town where the land lies (§ 47-10), not in a county office. Chapter 821 supplies the execution rule (§ 47-5), the list of acknowledgment officers (§ 47-5a), and the recording rule (§ 47-10). Chapter 821a supplies optional statutory deed forms (§ 47-36c), and § 45a-436 supplies the surviving-spouse statutory share. This page covers an ordinary present transfer of a fee interest by an individual owner. Section 47-6's entity-specific witness and acknowledgment rules 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)). Section 47-36c says Connecticut's statutory forms "may be used" and that the chapter does not preclude another legal deed form.

Witnesses

A conveyance must be "(4) attested to by two witnesses with their own hands" (§ 47-5(a)). The official annotations state that the witnesses must be disinterested, that a grantor or grantee cannot serve as one of the two witnesses, and that a deed lacking two witness signatures was invalid. They also report that a failure to follow the statutory formalities can make a conveyance voidable rather than automatically void. The safe execution course is two proper witnesses in addition to the grantor's acknowledgment.

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

Section 47-5's complete list of deed-execution formalities does not require a spouse's signature when the titled owner conveys. Connecticut instead gives a surviving spouse a probate statutory share: "a life estate of one-third in value of all the property passing under the will, real and personal" that the deceased spouse owned at death (§ 45a-436(a)). That share applies to property passing under the will; it is not a deed-signature formality.

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 and acknowledgment rules (§§ 1-350d and 1-350r). 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 in the land records of the town where the land lies (§ 47-10(a)); the statute does not direct filing to a 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, record the power of attorney with the deed unless it is already recorded in that town and the deed references it (§ 47-10(a)).

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. The official annotations state that a bona fide later purchaser without notice of the earlier unrecorded deed prevails. Under § 47-33c, a person with an unbroken chain of title for forty years or more has marketable record title, subject to the matters listed in § 47-33d.

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)).
• 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 official annotations say the grantor and grantee cannot count as those witnesses.

Does my spouse have to sign if the house is only in my name? Section 47-5 does not list a spouse signature among the deed formalities for a titled owner. The surviving spouse's protection described here is the probate statutory share under § 45a-436, not a deed-signature requirement.

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://prdext3.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_821.htm (accessed 2026-08-08)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-5a — officers authorized to take a deed acknowledgment. https://prdext3.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_821.htm (accessed 2026-08-08)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-6 — entity-specific interested-witness and acknowledgment rule, outside this individual-owner survey. https://prdext3.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_821.htm (accessed 2026-08-08)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-36c — statutory deed forms may be used, but other legal forms are not precluded. https://prdext3.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_821a.htm (accessed 2026-08-08)
• 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://prdext3.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_821.htm (accessed 2026-08-08)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-33c — Marketable Record Title Act: a 40-year chain of title creates marketable record title. https://prdext3.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_821.htm (accessed 2026-08-08)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. § 45a-436 — surviving spouse's statutory share: a life estate of one-third of the property passing under the will. https://prdext3.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_802b.htm (accessed 2026-08-08)
• Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 1-350, 1-350d, and 1-350r — Uniform Power of Attorney Act name, execution formalities, and acknowledgment definition. https://prdext3.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_015c.htm (accessed 2026-08-08)