Deed Execution and Recording Formalities in Michigan

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law and scope

Michigan's deed rules sit almost entirely in one old, still-governing chapter: the Revised Statutes of 1846, Chapter 65, compiled as MCL Chapter 565 and titled Of Alienation by Deed, and the Proof and Recording of Conveyances. Its opening section says a conveyance of land "may be made by deed, signed and sealed by the person from whom the estate or interest is intended to pass, being of lawful age, or by his lawful agent or attorney, and acknowledged or proved and recorded as directed in this chapter, without any other act or ceremony whatever" (MCL 565.1). The word "conveyance" is defined broadly to reach "every instrument in writing, by which any estate or interest in real estate is created, aliened, mortgaged or assigned," except wills, leases of three years or less, and land contracts (MCL 565.35). Michigan is a common-law title state with no community property; deeds are recorded with the county register of deeds, and priority runs on a race-notice rule (MCL 565.29). This page covers an ordinary present-fee transfer by an individual owner using a warranty or quitclaim deed; tax, foreclosure, and fiduciary deeds have their own rules.

Writing and grantor signature

A deed must be a writing signed by the owner (or the owner's lawful agent), and the grantor must be "of lawful age" (MCL 565.1). That is the whole execution requirement for passing title. Two points surprise people. First, no seal is needed. A separate statute provides that an actual seal, a scroll or seal device, the word seal, or the letters L.S. after the signature are unnecessary. A deed signed without any of those is still treated as sealed and remains valid and effectual to convey the legal estate (MCL 565.241). The word "sealed" still appears in the 1846 statute and in the statutory deed forms, but MCL 565.241 makes it a dead letter. Second, the statutory short-form warranty deed and quitclaim deed each show only the grantor's signature — "A.B. conveys and warrants to C.D." (MCL 565.151) and "A.B. quit claims to C.D." (MCL 565.152) — with no line for a co-signer or witness.

Witnesses

None. Michigan once required two subscribing witnesses, but a 2002 amendment removed that rule. MCL 565.8 now requires only that a deed "be acknowledged before any judge, clerk of a court of record, or notary public within this state" — it says nothing about witnesses. The same section cleans up the past: a deed already on record "that lacks 1 or more witnesses" and "has been of record for a period of 10 years or more" is "as valid and effectual as if it had been duly executed." So a deed signed today needs no witness to be executed or recorded, and even an older witness-short deed heals itself once a decade passes on the record.

Acknowledgment or notarization

Notarization is a recording step, not a validity step. A deed signed by the owner already transfers title; the acknowledgment is what opens the door to the land records. MCL 565.8 directs that a Michigan deed "shall be acknowledged before any judge, clerk of a court of record, or notary public," who then "endorse[s] on the deed a certificate of the acknowledgment" with its true date. The register of deeds enforces this: it "shall not" record a deed "unless the deed ... is acknowledged or proved as provided by this chapter" (MCL 565.47). But an unacknowledged deed is not worthless — it still binds the grantor and grantee. Only recording (which requires the acknowledgment) affects a later purchaser (MCL 565.29), and a good-faith deed for value is expressly not void for a defect in "the ... acknowledgment, or certificate of acknowledgment" (MCL 565.604).

Spouse, homestead, and marital joinder

For a sole owner, Michigan needs no spouse's signature. It is not a community-property state, and dower — the old life-estate right of a widow — has been abolished: "a wife's dower right is abolished and unenforceable either through statute or at common law" (MCL 558.30), a change effective April 6, 2017. Reflecting that, the requirement to state a male grantor's marital status on a deed now applies only to instruments "offered for record before April 6, 2017" (MCL 565.221); it does not apply to a deed signed today. So a married person who owns the home in their own name can convey it alone. The one common exception is ownership, not marriage: when spouses hold title together as tenants by the entirety (or as any joint owners), each is an owner and both must sign to convey the whole.

Signing through an agent or representative

MCL 565.1 lets an owner's "lawful agent or attorney" sign the deed. The authority is a power of attorney, and Michigan gives it its own recording track. Under MCL 565.36, a letter of attorney or other instrument giving an agent power to convey land may be acknowledged or proved and recorded in a county where the land is located. Its record or a certified transcript "may be read in evidence in the same manner, and with the like effect, as a conveyance recorded in such county" (MCL 565.36). In everyday practice the power of attorney is acknowledged and recorded together with — or just before — the deed the agent signs, so the chain of authority appears in the same records.

Recording office and statewide content

Record the deed with the register of deeds for the county where the land is located. The statewide checklist is in MCL 565.201: a register "shall not receive for recording an instrument" unless each signer's name is "legibly printed, typewritten, or stamped beneath the original signature ... in black or dark blue ink"; there is "no discrepancy" between that printed name and the name in the acknowledgment; any notary's name is printed near the notary's signature; the deed shows "the address of each of the grantees"; the pages meet the margin, size, and 10-point-type rules; the first five digits of any Social Security number are removed; a non-English instrument carries an English translation; and the deed states "the name and business address of the person who drafted the instrument." Recording fees, real-estate transfer-tax declarations, and other county-specific formatting are set locally — confirm them with the register before you file.

Nonrecording effect and defect cures

Recording does not make the deed good between you and your grantor; it protects the deed against outsiders. Michigan uses a race-notice rule: an unrecorded conveyance "shall be void as against any subsequent purchaser in good faith and for a valuable consideration ... whose conveyance shall be first duly recorded" (MCL 565.29). A later buyer beats an earlier one only by taking without notice of the first deed and recording first — which is why prompt recording matters. The same section adds that a buyer's use of a quitclaim deed does not, by itself, mean the buyer acted in bad faith. Two cure statutes help with paperwork slips: a good-faith deed for value is not "wholly void by reason of any defect in ... the sealing, signing, attestation, acknowledgment, or certificate of acknowledgment," and once recorded it "operate[s] as legal notice" (MCL 565.604); and a recorded deed missing witnesses is validated after ten years on record (MCL 565.8). None of these fix a substantive problem — fraud, forgery, a signer who lacked capacity, or a grantor who did not own the land.

What trips people up

• "No notary, so the deed is void." A deed signed by the owner transfers title even without a notary. The acknowledgment is what lets you record it (MCL 565.47). What actually exposes you is not recording, because an unrecorded deed can lose to a later good-faith buyer who records first (MCL 565.29).
• Looking for the seal or witness lines. Michigan needs neither. The seal requirement was abolished (MCL 565.241) and the two-witness rule was dropped in 2002 (MCL 565.8). The statutory deed forms show a single grantor signature (MCL 565.151, 565.152).
• Assuming a spouse must always sign. Since dower was abolished on April 6, 2017 (MCL 558.30), a married person who owns property in their own name generally conveys it alone. A spouse signs when they are a co-owner on the title, not merely because they are married.
• A missing drafter line or grantee address. These are easy-to-miss recording requirements — the register can reject a deed that omits the grantee's address or the "name and business address of the person who drafted the instrument" (MCL 565.201).

Common questions

Does an unrecorded Michigan deed still transfer the property? Yes, between you and the person you deeded it to. Recording is about priority: under MCL 565.29 a later good-faith buyer who pays value and records first can wipe out your earlier unrecorded deed, so record promptly.

Do I need witnesses or a seal on a Michigan deed? No to both. Witnesses stopped being required in 2002 (MCL 565.8), and affixing a seal or "L.S." is unnecessary (MCL 565.241). You need the grantor's signature and a notary acknowledgment to record.

My spouse isn't on the deed — do they have to sign? Usually not. Michigan abolished dower effective April 6, 2017 (MCL 558.30) and is not a community-property state, so a sole owner can convey alone. If both spouses are on the title, both must sign as owners.

Can someone sign the deed for me under a power of attorney? Yes. Your "lawful agent or attorney" can sign (MCL 565.1), and the power of attorney may be acknowledged and recorded in the same county land records so its record has the same evidentiary effect as a recorded conveyance (MCL 565.36).

Statutes and sources

• MCL 565.1 — a deed made by the grantor (of lawful age) or a lawful agent, acknowledged and recorded. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-565-1 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• MCL 565.35 — definition of "conveyance." https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-565-35 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• MCL 565.241 — a seal or "L.S." is unnecessary; an unsealed deed is valid. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-565-241 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• MCL 565.151 — statutory short-form warranty deed. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-565-151 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• MCL 565.152 — statutory short-form quitclaim deed. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-565-152 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• MCL 565.8 — acknowledgment before a judge, court clerk, or notary; ten-year cure for witnessless recorded deeds. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-565-8 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• MCL 565.47 — register of deeds may not record an unacknowledged deed. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-565-47 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• MCL 558.30 — a wife's dower right is abolished (effective April 6, 2017). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-558-30 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• MCL 565.221 — marital-status statement required only for instruments offered for record before April 6, 2017. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-565-221 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• MCL 565.36 — recording and evidentiary treatment of a land-conveyance power of attorney. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-565-36 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• MCL 565.201 — recording requirements (printed names, ink color, notary name, grantee address, format, drafter identification). https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-565-201 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• MCL 565.29 — race-notice priority; quitclaim does not itself defeat good faith. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-565-29 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• MCL 565.604 — good-faith deed not void for execution/acknowledgment defects; record gives legal notice. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-565-604 (accessed 2026-07-16)