Minnesota: Deed Execution and Recording Formalities

Requirements one by one

Governing law and scope

Minnesota, like most states, keeps three questions separate. Whether a deed is good
between the buyer and seller turns on the statute of frauds (Minn. Stat. § 513.04) and the
conveyancing rules in chapter 507. Whether the deed can go into the public land records
turns on the recordability rules in the same chapter (§§ 507.091–507.24, 507.093).
Whether the new owner beats a competing claimant turns on the recording-priority statute
(§ 507.34). This page covers an ordinary present-fee transfer by an individual owner using
a warranty or quitclaim deed. Transfer-on-death deeds (§ 507.071), mortgages, and probate
or fiduciary deeds have their own rules, and registered "Torrens" land (chapter 508) is
recorded through a separate registrar of titles rather than the county recorder.

Writing and grantor signature

The core rule is the statute of frauds. Under § 513.04, no interest in land (other than a
lease of a year or less) can be "created, granted, assigned, surrendered, or declared,
unless by act or operation of law, or by deed or conveyance in writing, subscribed by the
parties creating, granting, assigning, surrendering, or declaring the same, or by their
lawful agent thereunto authorized by writing." "Subscribed" means signed. That signed
writing — by the owner, or by an agent whose authority is itself in writing — is the whole
execution requirement for validity between the parties. Section 507.07 gives you optional
statutory warranty- and quitclaim-deed forms you can copy, and § 507.061 confirms you do
not need old "words of inheritance" (like "to C.D. and his heirs") to pass a fee. No seal
or recital of consideration is required.

Witnesses

None. An ordinary Minnesota deed needs no subscribing or attesting witness. The clearest
proof is the statutory forms themselves: the warranty and quitclaim deeds in § 507.07 each
end with a single "(Signature)" line for the grantor and no witness line at all. And the
recording statute, § 507.24, asks only that the deed be "executed, acknowledged ... and
the acknowledgment certified" — it never mentions witnesses. Witnessing is neither a
validity requirement nor a route to recording in Minnesota, which is worth stating plainly
because a number of other states still require two.

Acknowledgment or notarization

Notarization is a recording step, not a validity step. A written, signed conveyance already
transfers title under § 513.04; nothing about a notary is needed to make the deed good
between the parties. But to be recorded, an instrument "shall be legible and archivable, it
shall be executed, acknowledged by the parties executing the same, and the acknowledgment
certified, as required by law" (§ 507.24, subd. 1). The recorded original must carry "the
original signatures of the parties who execute it and of the notary public or other officer
taking an acknowledgment" (§ 507.24, subd. 2(a)), and the acknowledgment form comes from
chapter 358. A deed signed outside Minnesota can still be recorded if it was executed
validly where it was signed.

Spouse, homestead, and marital joinder

Minnesota's marital-signature rule is about the homestead, not about every married grantor.
Section 507.02 provides that "if the owner is married, no conveyance of the homestead ...
shall be valid without the signatures of both spouses." There are narrow exceptions — a
purchase-money mortgage (§ 507.03), a conveyance between the spouses (§ 500.19, subd. 4),
and a joint-tenancy severance (§ 500.19, subd. 5). Outside the homestead, "a spouse, by
separate deed, may convey any real estate owned by that spouse ... subject to the rights of
the other spouse therein." So a couple's home requires both signatures even if only one
spouse holds record title, while a non-homestead parcel owned by one spouse can be conveyed
by that spouse alone. Because Minnesota is not a community-property state, only the
homestead — not a general "married people need both signatures" rule — triggers mandatory
joinder. A spouse's signature may be supplied by "the spouse's duly appointed
attorney-in-fact."

Signing through an agent or representative

An agent can sign a Minnesota deed, but the agent's authority must be "in writing"
(§ 513.04), and for a homestead conveyance a spouse may act through "the spouse's duly
appointed attorney-in-fact" (§ 507.02). The power of attorney does not just sit in a drawer:
§ 507.24 lists a "power of attorney" right alongside a "conveyance" as an instrument that
can be recorded only when it is "executed, acknowledged ... and the acknowledgment
certified." In practice the power is acknowledged and recorded in the same county land
records as the deed it supports. Minnesota's own Powers of Attorney chapter (chapter 523)
governs the authority itself. When someone signs in a representative capacity for a
corporation, partnership, LLC, or trust, § 507.24, subd. 2(a) lets the deed be recorded on a
representative-capacity acknowledgment "without further inquiry into the authority of the
person making the acknowledgment."

Recording office and statewide content

Record the deed with the county recorder of the county where the land sits (§ 507.34); a
deed "may be recorded in every county where any of the lands lie" (§ 507.24). If the parcel
is registered Torrens land, it goes instead to that county's registrar of titles. A handful
of items are statewide. The recorded original needs the parties' and the notary's original
signatures (§ 507.24, subd. 2(a)) and a certified acknowledgment (§ 507.24, subd. 1). The
deed must name who drafted it — "This instrument was drafted by ... (name) ... (address)"
(§ 507.091) — and where property-tax statements should go — "Tax statements for the real
property described in this instrument should be sent to: ... (legal name of grantee) ...
(address)" (§ 507.092). The document also has to meet the § 507.093 format standards: sheets
no larger than 8.5 by 14 inches, black ink of at least 8-point type, white paper of at least
20-pound weight, half-inch borders, and a three-inch blank strip across the top of the first
page (its right half reserved for the recorder's stamp, its left half for tax certification).
Separately, when a sale's price tops $3,000, an electronic Certificate of Real Estate Value
(eCRV) is filed with the county auditor (§ 272.115). Deed tax under chapter 287 and county
recording fees are their own steps — confirm current amounts with the recorder.

Nonrecording effect and defect cures

Recording does not create the transfer; it protects it. Minnesota is a race-notice state:
under § 507.34 an unrecorded conveyance is "void as against any subsequent purchaser in good
faith and for a valuable consideration ... whose conveyance is first duly recorded," and
against an intervening attachment or judgment. Two things follow. First, an unrecorded deed
is still valid between the grantor and grantee — § 507.34 only voids it as against a
later good-faith buyer — so a signed, delivered, unrecorded deed does pass title, it just
leaves the grantee exposed. Second, a later buyer wins only by taking without notice and
recording first, which is why recording promptly matters; a quitclaim in the chain does not
by itself put that buyer on notice. A couple of paperwork cures exist: after a deed has been
on record 15 years without showing the grantor's marital status, that record becomes "prima
facie evidence that such grantor ... was an unmarried person" (§ 507.021), and a missing
drafter statement does "not lessen or impair" the record's validity (§ 507.091, subd. 3).
None of these fix a substantive defect — fraud, forgery, incapacity, or a grantor who did
not own the land.

What trips people up

• Forgetting the drafter and tax-statement lines. A Minnesota deed can be perfectly
  signed and notarized and still be rejected at the counter because it does not say who
  drafted it (§ 507.091) or where to send tax statements (§ 507.092). These are recording
  conditions, not validity conditions, but they will stop the deed from being recorded.
• One spouse signing the homestead. A deed of the couple's homestead signed by only one
  spouse is "not valid" under § 507.02 — this is stronger than a mere priority problem. If
  the parcel is the homestead, get both signatures (or a spouse's attorney-in-fact), even
  when only one spouse is on the title.
• Assuming notarization makes the deed "official." A signed deed already transfers title
  between the parties (§ 513.04). The notary acknowledgment is what lets you record it
  (§ 507.24). Skipping recording — not skipping the notary — is what leaves you exposed to a
  later buyer.
• Torrens land. If the property is registered land, the county recorder is the wrong
  office; registered land is handled by the registrar of titles under chapter 508, and the
  examiner-of-titles process can add steps a standard recording does not have.

Common questions

Does an unrecorded Minnesota deed still transfer the property?
Yes, between you and the person you deeded it to. Section 507.34 voids an unrecorded deed
only "as against" a later good-faith purchaser who records first — not between the original
parties. What you lose by not recording is priority against that later buyer.

Do I need witnesses to sign a Minnesota deed?
No. Minnesota requires no witnesses to execute a deed. The statutory deed forms in § 507.07
show only the grantor's signature line, and the recording statute (§ 507.24) asks for
acknowledgment, not witnessing.

My spouse isn't on the title — do they still have to sign?
If the property is your homestead, yes. Section 507.02 makes a homestead conveyance invalid
"without the signatures of both spouses," regardless of who holds record title. For
non-homestead property that you own alone, you can convey it by yourself, subject to your
spouse's marital rights.

Can someone sign the deed for me under a power of attorney?
Yes, if the authority is in writing (§ 513.04), and for a homestead a spouse's "duly
appointed attorney-in-fact" may sign (§ 507.02). Plan to acknowledge and record the power of
attorney in the same county land records, because § 507.24 treats a power of attorney as a
recordable instrument that must be acknowledged and certified like the deed.

Statutes and sources

• Minn. Stat. § 513.04 — statute of frauds; a land conveyance must be a signed writing (or by an agent authorized in writing).
  https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/513.04 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Minn. Stat. § 507.07 — optional statutory warranty- and quitclaim-deed forms (grantor signature only).
  https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/507.07 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Minn. Stat. § 507.02 — both spouses must sign to convey the homestead; attorney-in-fact may sign.
  https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/507.02 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Minn. Stat. § 507.24 — when an instrument is recordable: execution, acknowledgment, certification, original signatures.
  https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/507.24 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Minn. Stat. § 507.091 — deed must name and give the address of its drafter; noncompliance does not impair the record.
  https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/507.091 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Minn. Stat. § 507.092 — deed must name and give the address of the person to receive tax statements.
  https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/507.092 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Minn. Stat. § 507.093 — document format standards for recording (size, ink, paper, borders, first-page blank).
  https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/507.093 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Minn. Stat. § 272.115 — Certificate of Real Estate Value (eCRV) filed with the county auditor when consideration exceeds $3,000.
  https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/272.115 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Minn. Stat. § 507.34 — race-notice priority; unrecorded conveyance void as against a later good-faith recorder.
  https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/507.34 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• Minn. Stat. § 507.021 — after 15 years on record, an instrument silent on marital status is prima facie evidence the grantor was unmarried.
  https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/507.021 (accessed 2026-07-16)