North Dakota: Deed Execution and Recording Formalities

Requirements one by one

Governing law and scope

North Dakota is a common-law title state and is not a community-property state. Deed execution sits in
N.D.C.C. Title 47 (Property), ch. 47-10 (Real Property Transfers); recording sits in ch. 47-19 (Record
Title); the one marital-signature rule is in ch. 47-18 (Homestead). An estate in real property is
transferred by a written instrument the owner (or a written-authorized agent) signs (§ 47-10-01). Recording
is done by the recorder of the county where the land sits (§ 47-19-07). This page covers an ordinary
present transfer of a fee interest by an individual owner; corporate, fiduciary, tax, and mortgage deeds run
on their own rules.

Writing and grantor signature

A North Dakota deed is a written instrument the owner signs, and it needs no seal. "An estate in real
property ... can be transferred only by operation of law or by an instrument in writing, subscribed by the
party disposing of the same or by the party's agent thereunto authorized by writing" (§ 47-10-01). A seal is
unnecessary: "The absence of the seal of any grantor or grantor's agent ... shall not invalidate or in any
manner impair the same" (§ 47-10-05). The state supplies a short statutory grant form (§ 47-10-06), and each
deed must contain "the post-office address ... of each grantee" (§ 47-10-07).

Witnesses

North Dakota needs no witnesses to make a deed valid. A subscribing witness matters only as an
alternative to a notary for recording: "The execution of a grant of an estate in real property to entitle
the same to be recorded, if it is not acknowledged, must be proved by a subscribing witness" (§ 47-10-05). A
notarized deed needs no witnesses, and there is no two-witness execution rule like Florida's.

Acknowledgment or notarization

Notarization is a recording and notice step, not a validity step between the parties. An unrecorded deed is
valid between the parties (§ 47-19-46). To record it, "its execution must be established: 1. If executed by
an individual, by acknowledgment by the person executing the same ... [or] 3. By proof by a subscribing
witness" (§ 47-19-03). Acknowledgment may be taken before a notary, a judge, or the clerk of the supreme
court (§ 47-19-13). Once recorded, the instrument's record is "notice of the contents of the instrument ...
as to all persons" (§ 47-19-19).

Spouse, homestead, and marital joinder

North Dakota has no dower or curtesy and is not a community-property state, but a married owner cannot convey
the homestead alone. "The homestead of a married person, without regard to the value thereof, cannot be
conveyed or encumbered unless the instrument by which it is conveyed or encumbered is executed and
acknowledged by both the husband and wife" (§ 47-18-05). So a deed of the married owner's homestead needs
both spouses to sign and acknowledge, even if only one spouse holds title. Property that is not the homestead
may be conveyed by the titled owner alone.

Signing through an agent or representative

An agent can sign a North Dakota deed under written authority. Section 47-10-01 authorizes a conveyance by the
owner's "agent thereunto authorized by writing," and the code supplies an attorney-in-fact acknowledgment
form in which the agent "subscribed the name of ______ thereto as principal and that person's own name as
attorney in fact" (§ 47-19-29). Recording the power of attorney is customary, and a recorded power to convey
is not revoked unless the revocation is also recorded (§ 47-19-44); but the recording act reaches every
title-affecting instrument "except a will or power of attorney" (§ 47-19-42), so the power itself is not a
priority-affecting conveyance and no statute makes recording it a condition of a valid agent deed.

Recording office and statewide content

Record the deed with the recorder of the county where the land sits (§ 47-19-07). Before recording, the
deed's execution must be established by acknowledgment or by proof of a subscribing witness (§ 47-19-03). The
deed must show "the post-office address ... of each grantee," or the recorder will not receive it — though a
missing address "shall not defeat the doctrine of constructive notice" (§ 47-19-05). A deed with a
metes-and-bounds description must also name and give the address of the person who drafted the description
(§ 47-19-03.1). Confirm current fees and any local requirements with the county recorder.

Nonrecording effect and defect cures

North Dakota's recording act is a race-notice act. An unrecorded instrument "is valid as between the
parties thereto and those who have notice thereof" (§ 47-19-46), but "an unrecorded conveyance of real
estate is void as against any subsequent purchaser in good faith, and for a valuable consideration ...
[whose conveyance] first is recorded" (§ 47-19-41). So a later buyer defeats an earlier unrecorded deed only
if that buyer takes in good faith, pays value, and records first, and depositing an instrument for record
is constructive notice to later purchasers and encumbrancers (§ 47-19-45). A defectively certified
acknowledgment can be corrected by court action (§ 47-19-38), but none of this cures a forged signature, an
incapacitated grantor, a defective description, or a grantor who did not own the land.

What trips people up

• A married owner's homestead deeded by one spouse. Section 47-18-05 says the homestead "cannot be
  conveyed or encumbered" unless both spouses execute and acknowledge the deed. On the family home, one
  spouse's signature is not enough, even if only that spouse is on the title.
• The grantee's address is a recording prerequisite. Under § 47-19-05 the recorder will not receive a
  deed that omits each grantee's post-office address — though leaving it off a recorded deed does not defeat
  constructive notice.
• Race-notice, not pure notice. A later buyer who takes without notice must also record first to win
  (§ 47-19-41). Recording promptly is what protects your priority.
• A signed deed still binds you unrecorded — but only you. Section 47-19-46 makes an unrecorded deed
  valid between the parties, yet § 47-19-41 lets a later good-faith buyer who records first defeat it.

Common questions

Do I need witnesses to sign a North Dakota deed?
No. North Dakota requires no subscribing or attesting witnesses. You need the owner's signature and, to
record, a notary's acknowledgment — or, for a deed the grantor does not acknowledge, proof by a subscribing
witness (§§ 47-10-05, 47-19-03).

Does my spouse have to sign if the house is only in my name?
If it is your homestead, yes. Section 47-18-05 bars conveying or encumbering the homestead unless both
spouses execute and acknowledge the deed. Property that is not a homestead can be conveyed by the titled
owner alone.

Is a signed-but-unrecorded North Dakota deed valid?
Between you and your grantee, yes (§ 47-19-46). But North Dakota is a race-notice state, so under § 47-19-41
a later good-faith purchaser for value who records before you can defeat your deed. Record it with the county
recorder to protect your priority.

What has to appear on the deed to record it?
The grantee's post-office address (§ 47-19-05), and for a metes-and-bounds description the drafter's name and
address (§ 47-19-03.1), plus an acknowledgment (§ 47-19-03). Confirm fees with the county recorder.

Statutes and sources

• N.D.C.C. § 47-10-01 — an estate in real property is transferred only by a signed writing (or a written-authorized agent).
  https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c10.pdf (accessed 2026-07-16)
• N.D.C.C. § 47-10-05 — an unacknowledged grant is proved by a subscribing witness to record; absence of a seal does not invalidate it.
  https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c10.pdf (accessed 2026-07-16)
• N.D.C.C. § 47-10-07 — each deed must show the grantee's post-office address.
  https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c10.pdf (accessed 2026-07-16)
• N.D.C.C. § 47-18-05 — a homestead cannot be conveyed unless both spouses execute and acknowledge the deed.
  https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c18.pdf (accessed 2026-07-16)
• N.D.C.C. § 47-19-03 — before recording, a deed's execution must be established by acknowledgment or proof by a subscribing witness.
  https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c19.pdf (accessed 2026-07-16)
• N.D.C.C. § 47-19-05 — the recorder will not receive a deed lacking the grantee's address, but a missing address does not defeat constructive notice.
  https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c19.pdf (accessed 2026-07-16)
• N.D.C.C. § 47-19-07 — a deed is recorded by the recorder of the county where the land sits.
  https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c19.pdf (accessed 2026-07-16)
• N.D.C.C. § 47-19-41 — an unrecorded conveyance is void against a subsequent good-faith purchaser for value who records first (race-notice).
  https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c19.pdf (accessed 2026-07-16)
• N.D.C.C. § 47-19-46 — an unrecorded instrument is valid between the parties and those with notice.
  https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c19.pdf (accessed 2026-07-16)