Deed Execution and Recording Formalities in Missouri

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law and scope

Missouri keeps deed execution and recording in Chapter 442 (Titles and Conveyance of Real Estate). How a deed transfers title comes from §§ 442.020 and 442.130; how it can be recorded and who wins a priority contest comes from §§ 442.380 through 442.400. Two other chapters matter for a home: § 513.475 governs conveying the homestead, and § 474.110 abolishes dower and curtesy. Missouri is a common-law title state with no community property, and it recognizes tenancy by the entirety for married couples. Deeds are recorded with the recorder of deeds of the county where the land lies (§ 442.380). This page covers an ordinary present-fee transfer by an individual owner; deeds of trust (Missouri's mortgage substitute), trustee, fiduciary, and tax deeds run on their own rules.

Writing and grantor signature

A written, signed deed passes title. Conveyances "may be made by deed executed by any person having authority to convey the same, or by his agent or attorney, and acknowledged and recorded as herein directed, without any other act or ceremony whatever" (§ 442.020). Deeds "shall be subscribed by the party granting the same, or by his lawful agent" (§ 442.130.1) — "subscribed" just means signed, and the grantor's signature is the whole execution requirement. No seal is needed (the deed conveys "without any other act or ceremony"), and no date or stated consideration is required for validity. Missouri does add one statewide content rule: since a 2022 amendment, every instrument conveying real estate "shall state whether any natural person acting as grantors ... are married or unmarried" (§ 442.130.2).

Witnesses

None. Missouri requires no subscribing or attesting witness to make or record an ordinary deed. A deed conveys "without any other act or ceremony whatever" (§ 442.020), and § 442.130.1 asks only that the deed be "acknowledged or proved and certified." Proof by witnesses is an alternative to the grantor's own acknowledgment when getting the deed recorded — not a validity requirement — so the ordinary route is the grantor's signature plus a notary acknowledgment, with no witnesses.

Acknowledgment or notarization

Acknowledgment is a recording step, not the moment title passes. A deed "shall be acknowledged or proved and certified in the manner herein prescribed" (§ 442.130.1), and only an acknowledged-or-proved, certified instrument may be recorded (§ 442.380). Between the grantor and grantee, though, the deed is valid even unrecorded and unacknowledged — § 442.400 makes an unrecorded instrument valid "between the parties thereto." The acknowledgment or proof is taken by one of the courts or officers listed in § 442.150, which includes notaries public. So a signed, delivered Missouri deed transfers the property between the parties; the acknowledgment is what makes it recordable and lets recording put the rest of the world on notice.

Spouse, homestead, and marital joinder

Missouri abolished dower and curtesy — "The estates of curtesy and dower are hereby abolished" (§ 474.110) — and it has no community property, so there is no across-the-board rule that a nonowner spouse must sign every deed. But Missouri has a strong homestead rule that does force a spouse's signature. Under § 513.475.2, "Either spouse separately shall be debarred from and incapable of selling, mortgaging or alienating the homestead in any manner whatever, and every such sale, mortgage or alienation is hereby declared null and void," while nothing stops "the husband and wife from jointly conveying" it. In plain terms: a married owner cannot sell or mortgage the family homestead alone — a one-spouse deed of the homestead is void — so both spouses must sign (§ 442.030 confirms spouses "may convey ... by their joint deed"). This is exactly why the 2022 law now makes a deed state whether each grantor is married (§ 442.130.2). Outside the homestead, an owner may convey solely titled property alone; property the couple holds as tenants by the entirety needs both signatures because neither owner holds a share to convey.

Signing through an agent or representative

An owner can convey through an agent or attorney-in-fact. A deed may be "executed by any person having authority to convey the same, or by his agent or attorney" (§ 442.020), and it must be "subscribed by the party granting the same, or by his lawful agent" (§ 442.130.1). The agent's signature is acknowledged or proved before an authorized officer just like the owner's own (§ 442.150). The authority is a written power of attorney, and in everyday practice it is acknowledged and recorded in the same county records as the deed so the agent's authority sits in the chain of title.

Recording office and statewide content

Record the deed with the recorder of deeds of the county where the land is located: "Every instrument in writing that conveys any real estate ... proved or acknowledged and certified in the manner herein prescribed, shall be recorded in the office of the recorder of the county in which such real estate is situated" (§ 442.380). The statewide recording conditions are the acknowledgment or proof and certification (§§ 442.130, 442.150) and the marital-status statement for each natural-person grantor (§ 442.130.2). Recording imparts constructive notice from the moment of filing (§ 442.390). County recording fees (Chapter 59), page-formatting standards, and any local affidavit requirements are separate from these execution rules; confirm the current amounts and formatting with the county recorder.

Nonrecording effect and defect cures

Recording does not create the transfer; it protects it. An unrecorded deed is fully valid "between the parties thereto, and such as have actual notice thereof," but is not valid against anyone else "until the same shall be deposited with the recorder for record" (§ 442.400). Once recorded, the deed "impart[s] notice to all persons of the contents thereof and all subsequent purchasers and mortgagees shall be deemed ... to purchase with notice" (§ 442.390). That is a notice rule: a later buyer who pays value and takes without actual notice of the earlier deed prevails — and, unlike a race-notice state, Missouri does not additionally require that later buyer to record first. An unrecorded deed still binds the original parties. On the cure side, a recorded instrument that was "not certified or is defectively certified" still imparts notice one year after it is filed (§ 490.340). None of this fixes a substantive problem — fraud, forgery, a signer who lacked capacity, a bad legal description, or a grantor who did not own the land.

What trips people up

• Selling the family home without your spouse's signature. Even if only your name is on the title, Missouri bars either spouse from conveying the homestead alone — a one-spouse sale or mortgage of the homestead is "null and void" (§ 513.475.2). Both spouses must sign to convey the family residence.
• Leaving off the married-or-unmarried statement. Since 2022, a Missouri deed must state whether each natural-person grantor is married or unmarried (§ 442.130.2). Recorders look for it, and it is what tells a title examiner whether the homestead-joinder rule applies.
• "No notary, so the deed is void." A signed, delivered Missouri deed already conveys the land between the parties (§ 442.400). Acknowledgment before a notary is what makes it recordable (§§ 442.130, 442.380) — and not recording is what exposes you to a later good-faith buyer (§ 442.400).
• Recording in the wrong county. Missouri deeds are recorded with the recorder of deeds in the county where the land sits (§ 442.380), and only recording puts later purchasers on notice (§ 442.390).

Common questions

Does an unrecorded Missouri deed still transfer the property? Yes, between you and your grantee — an unrecorded deed is valid "between the parties thereto" (§ 442.400). Recording protects that transfer against outsiders: an unrecorded deed is not valid against a later purchaser who lacks actual notice of it (§ 442.400), so record promptly.

Do I need witnesses or a seal on a Missouri deed? No to both. A Missouri deed conveys land "without any other act or ceremony whatever" (§ 442.020), and recording requires only that the deed be acknowledged or proved (§ 442.130), not witnessed. The ordinary route is the grantor's signature plus a notary acknowledgment.

We're married but only I'm on the title — does my spouse have to sign to sell our home? For the family homestead, yes. Missouri makes a one-spouse sale or mortgage of the homestead "null and void" (§ 513.475.2), so both spouses must sign to convey it. Outside the homestead, an owner can convey solely titled property alone — dower and curtesy are abolished (§ 474.110).

Can someone sign the deed for me under a power of attorney? Yes. A deed may be executed by "his agent or attorney" (§ 442.020) and subscribed "by his lawful agent" (§ 442.130.1), with the agent's signature acknowledged before an authorized officer (§ 442.150). In practice the power of attorney is recorded with the deed.

Statutes and sources

• RSMo § 442.020 — a deed conveys land, by the grantor or an agent, without any other act or ceremony. https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=442.020 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• RSMo § 442.030 — a husband and wife may convey either spouse's real estate by their joint deed. https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=442.030 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• RSMo § 442.130 — deeds must be subscribed by the grantor or lawful agent and acknowledged or proved; grantor marital-status statement required. https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=442.130 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• RSMo § 442.150 — courts and officers (including notaries) who take acknowledgment or proof. https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=442.150 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• RSMo § 442.380 — instruments recorded with the recorder of the county where the land is situated. https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=442.380 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• RSMo § 442.390 — a recorded instrument imparts constructive notice from the time of filing. https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=442.390 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• RSMo § 442.400 — an unrecorded instrument is valid only between the parties and those with actual notice (notice priority). https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=442.400 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• RSMo § 474.110 — curtesy and dower abolished. https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=474.110 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• RSMo § 513.475 — homestead defined and exempt; one spouse alone is barred from conveying the homestead (both must join). https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=513.475 (accessed 2026-07-16)
• RSMo § 490.340 — a recorded but defectively certified instrument imparts notice one year after filing. https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=490.340 (accessed 2026-07-16)