Deed Execution and Recording Formalities in Georgia

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law and scope

Georgia keeps two questions in two places, and the survey turns on not confusing them. Execution — what makes a deed good between buyer and seller — lives in the requisites statute, O.C.G.A. § 44-5-30. Recording — what gets the deed into the public land records and fixes priority — lives in Chapter 2 of Title 44, chiefly § 44-2-2 (the clerk's recording duty and the priority rule) and the attestation sections around it (§§ 44-2-14 through 44-2-18). This page covers an ordinary present-fee transfer by an individual owner. Security deeds (Georgia's mortgage substitute), foreclosure deeds, tax deeds, and fiduciary deeds run on their own rules.

Writing and grantor signature

A Georgia deed must be "an original document, in writing, signed by the maker," and it must be "delivered to the purchaser or his or her representative" for "a good or valuable consideration" (§ 44-5-30). Two points matter for ordinary transfers. First, delivery is part of the transfer — a signed deed that is never handed over (or constructively delivered) does not pass title. Second, no particular wording or statutory form is required; a deed that makes the transaction clear will do. The maker's signature plus delivery is the heart of validity between the parties. The attestation described next is what makes the deed recordable.

Witnesses

Georgia tightened this rule in 2015. Section 44-5-30 now requires a deed to be "attested by an officer as provided in Code Section 44-2-15, and attested by one other witness." Before House Bill 322 (2015), the statute called for "at least two witnesses." So the current formula is an officer plus one other witness — commonly a notary public as the officer and one lay witness — both of whom watch the maker sign and then sign as attesting witnesses.

Attestation is a recording requirement, not a condition of validity between the parties. A deed the grantor and grantee signed without a proper officer and witness still transfers title between them (§ 44-2-2 preserves validity "between the parties thereto"), but the clerk cannot record it (§ 44-2-14), which leaves the buyer exposed to later claimants.

Acknowledgment or notarization

Before any deed "may be recorded, it must be attested or acknowledged as provided by law" (§ 44-2-14). The officers who may attest or take the acknowledgment are listed in § 44-2-15: "a judge of a court of record, including a judge of a municipal court, or ... a magistrate, a notary public, or a clerk or deputy clerk of a superior court or of a city court." Because the 2015 version of § 44-5-30 writes the officer's attestation into the deed's requisites, in practice a Georgia deed is signed in front of a notary and one other witness at the same time. If a deed was signed first and acknowledged before an authorized officer only later, that subsequent acknowledgment, once certified on the deed, still "shall entitle it to be recorded" (§ 44-2-16).

Spouse, homestead, and marital joinder

Georgia has no spousal-joinder rule for an ordinary deed. Section 44-5-30 lists what a deed needs — a signed, delivered, attested writing by the maker — and a nonowner spouse's signature is not on that list. Georgia is not a community-property state, and it has no dower or curtesy that a lifetime conveyance must clear, so an owner who holds title in their own name can convey without a spouse joining. (Marital and family protections that arise at death, such as year's support, are a separate probate matter, not a signature requirement on a deed you sign today.)

Signing through an agent or representative

Someone acting under a power of attorney can sign a Georgia deed for the owner. Section 44-5-30 requires the deed to be "signed by the maker"; an attorney-in-fact meets that by signing the owner's name as agent (for example, "Ann Owner, by Bob Agent, her attorney-in-fact"), and the deed is then attested by an officer and one witness like any other. The power of attorney itself is customarily put in writing and recorded in the same county land records alongside the deed, so the clerk and later purchasers can see that the agent had authority — but recording the power is not what makes the deed valid.

Recording office and statewide content

Record the deed with the clerk of the superior court in the county where the land is located (§ 44-2-2). The clerk "shall file, index ... and permanently record" deeds, mortgages, and liens (§ 44-2-2(b)), and a deed must be attested or acknowledged before it can be accepted (§ 44-2-14). One statewide change is worth flagging: since January 1, 2025, a "self-filer" — a person presenting a deed who is not a lawyer, licensed title or closing professional, or similar party — "shall be submitted using electronic filing" (§ 44-2-2(d)). Recording fees, page-formatting rules, and the separate PT-61 real-estate transfer-tax declaration are set by county practice and other statutes; confirm those with the specific superior court clerk.

Nonrecording effect and defect cures

Recording does not create the transfer; it protects it. A deed is fully valid between the grantor and grantee even if it is never recorded — "nothing in this Code section shall be construed to affect the validity, enforceability, or priority of any deed ... between the parties thereto" (§ 44-2-2(g)). The risk of not recording is a competing claimant. Against a later transferee or lienholder who acquires an interest in the same property "acting in good faith and without notice," deeds "shall take effect only from the time they are filed for record in the clerk's office" (§ 44-2-2(c)). In plain terms, a good-faith buyer or creditor who takes without notice of your unrecorded deed can gain priority — so recording promptly matters.

Two cure routes handle attestation slips. A deed that is "neither attested by nor acknowledged before one of the officers named in Code Section 44-2-15" may still be recorded "upon the affidavit of a subscribing witness" who swears to its execution (§ 44-2-18). And a deed acknowledged after the fact becomes recordable once the officer certifies that acknowledgment (§ 44-2-16). None of these fix a substantive problem — a forged signature, an incapacitated grantor, or a grantor who did not own the land.

What trips people up

• "It wasn't notarized, so the sale didn't happen." A signed, delivered deed passes title between you and the other party even without an officer and witness (§ 44-2-2 preserves validity between the parties). What the missing attestation costs you is recording — and therefore protection against a later buyer.
• Only one witness, no officer. Since 2015, Georgia needs an officer (usually a notary) and one other witness (§ 44-5-30). A deed signed before a single notary with no second witness, or before two lay witnesses with no officer, is not properly attested and will be rejected for recording.
• "The clerk recorded it, so it's airtight." Recording gives notice and priority; it is not a ruling that the deed is genuine, correctly describes the land, or was signed by the true owner. A defective deed that slips through can still be attacked.
• Waiting to record. Georgia protects a later good-faith purchaser without notice (§ 44-2-2(c)). The longer an unrecorded deed sits, the longer someone else can record first and take priority.

Common questions

Does an unrecorded Georgia deed still transfer the property? Yes — between you and the person you deeded it to, recording changes nothing (§ 44-2-2(g)). What you lose by not recording is priority against a later good-faith buyer or creditor who takes without notice and records (§ 44-2-2(c)).

How many witnesses does a Georgia deed need? An officer plus one other witness. Section 44-5-30 requires attestation "by an officer as provided in Code Section 44-2-15, and ... by one other witness." The officer is typically a notary public.

My deed was signed but never notarized — can I fix it for recording? Often yes. If the deed was signed but not properly attested, a subscribing witness can make an affidavit before an authorized officer to prove it up for recording (§ 44-2-18), or the maker can acknowledge it before an officer who then certifies that fact (§ 44-2-16).

Can someone sign the deed for me under a power of attorney? Yes. The attorney-in-fact signs your name as your agent, and the deed is attested like any other. Plan to record the written power of attorney in the same county records so the clerk and future buyers can see the authority.

Statutes and sources

• O.C.G.A. § 44-5-30 — requisites of a deed to lands: a signed, delivered writing attested by an officer (§ 44-2-15) and one other witness. Quoted from the enrolled 2015 act (HB 322 / 2015 Ga. Laws 145); the ellipsis marks the struck 2015 phrase "and attested by at least two witnesses," so current law reads "signed by the maker, attested by an officer as provided in Code Section 44-2-15, and attested by one other witness." https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20152016/153784 (accessed 2026-08-24)
• O.C.G.A. § 44-2-2 — clerk of superior court records deeds; priority against a good-faith third party without notice runs from filing; self-filer electronic filing on/after 1/1/2025; recording does not affect validity between the parties. Quoted from the enrolled 2024 act (HB 1292 / 2024 Ga. Laws 549, eff. 1/1/2025). https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20232024/229549 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• O.C.G.A. § 44-2-14 — a deed must be attested or acknowledged as provided by law before it can be recorded. https://archive.org/download/gov.ga.ocga.2024/T44%20Ch1-7%20(V31)%202010_djvu.txt (accessed 2026-07-16)
• O.C.G.A. § 44-2-15 — officers authorized to attest recordable instruments (judge, magistrate, notary public, or superior/city court clerk). https://archive.org/download/gov.ga.ocga.2024/T44%20Ch1-7%20(V31)%202010_djvu.txt (accessed 2026-07-16)
• O.C.G.A. § 44-2-16 — a subsequent acknowledgment before an authorized officer, once certified, entitles the deed to be recorded. https://archive.org/download/gov.ga.ocga.2024/T44%20Ch1-7%20(V31)%202010_djvu.txt (accessed 2026-07-16)
• O.C.G.A. § 44-2-18 — a deed neither attested nor acknowledged may be recorded on the affidavit of a subscribing witness. https://archive.org/download/gov.ga.ocga.2024/T44%20Ch1-7%20(V31)%202010_djvu.txt (accessed 2026-07-16)