Oregon: Deed Execution and Recording Formalities
The short answer
In Oregon a deed is valid between the grantor and grantee as soon as the owner signs a written deed and delivers it — no witnesses are needed, and Oregon requires no seal. To record the deed with the county clerk, it must be acknowledged before a notary or other authorized officer (or proved by a subscribing witness), and it must state the true consideration, carry the tax-statement and return-address information, and include Oregon's land-use warning. Recording is what protects the buyer: Oregon is a race-notice state, so an unrecorded deed can lose to a later good-faith purchaser who pays value and records first. Oregon abolished dower and curtesy and has no community property, so no spouse signature is needed to convey property titled in one owner's name alone.
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This is the general rule in Oregon. Ezel applies current Oregon law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and deed scope | Common-law title state. Deed execution and recording sit in ORS Chapter 93 (Conveyancing and Recording): the conveyance method (ORS 93.010), the writing requirement (ORS 93.020), consideration (ORS 93.030), the land-use statement (ORS 93.040), execution and acknowledgment (ORS 93.410), recordability and evidence (ORS 93.480), the recording act (ORS 93.640), and agent authority (ORS 93.670). Recording duties and first-page content are in ORS Chapter 205 (ORS 205.130, 205.234). Recording is at the county-clerk level. Scope here is an ordinary present transfer of a fee interest by an individual owner; transfer-on-death deeds (ORS 93.948–93.979), trustee, sheriff, and fiduciary deeds are outside this survey |
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| Writing and grantor signature | Signed writing required. No interest in real property (other than a lease of a year or less) 'can be created, transferred or declared otherwise than by operation of law or by a conveyance or other instrument in writing, subscribed by the party ... or by the lawful agent of the party under written authority' (ORS 93.020(1)). A conveyance is 'made by deed, signed by the person of lawful age from whom the estate or interest is intended to pass, or by the lawful agent or attorney of the person' (ORS 93.010). No seal is required (ORS 93.010, 93.410). Words of inheritance are unnecessary. The consideration and content the recording statutes demand (below) go to recordability, not to whether title passes between the parties |
| Witnesses | No subscribing witnesses required to convey or to record. ORS 93.410 requires only the grantor's signature plus acknowledgment before an authorized officer — it names no witnesses. A subscribing witness appears only as an optional alternative way to prove a deed for recording when it was not acknowledged: 'Proof of the execution of any conveyance ... shall be made by a subscribing witness thereto, who shall state the place of residence of the witness' (ORS 93.440). Because Oregon deeds are almost always acknowledged before a notary, the witness-proof route is rarely used. Oregon has no two-witness validity rule like Florida's |
| Acknowledgment or notarization | Not needed to pass title between the parties; needed to record and to protect the buyer. ORS 93.410 says a deed 'shall be signed by the grantors and shall be acknowledged before any judge of the Supreme Court, circuit judge, county judge, justice of the peace or notary public within the state.' An acknowledged (or witness-proved) deed 'may be read in evidence without further proof thereof and is entitled to be recorded in the county where the land is situated' (ORS 93.480). Acknowledgment is thus the gateway to recording — and only a recorded deed is protected against a later purchaser under ORS 93.640 — but a signed, delivered deed is still valid between grantor and grantee even if never acknowledged or recorded |
| Spouse, homestead, and marital joinder | No spousal joinder needed to convey individually owned property. 'Dower and curtesy, including inchoate dower and curtesy, are abolished' (ORS 112.685). Oregon has no community property and no statutory homestead-signature rule for conveyances — the homestead exemption is a creditor-protection amount, not a deed-signing requirement. A nonowner spouse's protection is the probate elective share claimed against the estate, not a signature on the deed. The one time both spouses must sign is when they co-own the property (for example, as tenants by the entirety): then both sign because both own it, not because of any marital-interest override on one owner's separate title |
| Signing through an agent or representative | An attorney-in-fact may sign under written authority. A deed may be 'signed by ... the lawful agent or attorney of the person' (ORS 93.010), and the writing statute requires the agent to act 'under written authority' (ORS 93.020(1)). To put the authority into the land records, the power of attorney, 'when acknowledged or proved in the manner prescribed for the acknowledgment or proof of conveyances, may be recorded in the county clerk's office of any county in which the lands ... [are] situated' (ORS 93.670(1)). A recorded power is not treated as revoked 'unless the instrument containing such revocation is also recorded in the same office' (ORS 93.670(2)). The underlying authority runs under Oregon's Uniform Power of Attorney Act (ORS Chapter 127) |
| Recording office and statewide content | Record with the county clerk of the county where the land is located (ORS 93.480, 205.130). The county clerk records deeds 'when properly acknowledged or proved' (ORS 205.130(2)(a)). ORS 205.234(1) requires the first page to show the transaction name, the parties' names, the person and mailing address to return the deed to after recording, the 'true and actual consideration paid for the transfer as required by ORS 93.030,' and 'the tax statement information required by ORS 93.260.' The consideration must appear on the face of the instrument or the clerk 'may not' accept it (ORS 93.030(5)), and deeds must carry Oregon's statutory land-use warning (ORS 93.040). Type must be at least 10-point on paper no larger than 8½-by-14 inches (ORS 205.232). County fees and cover-sheet details are set locally |
| Nonrecording effect and defect cures | Race-notice recording act. A signed, delivered deed is valid between grantor and grantee even unrecorded, but an unrecorded conveyance 'is void as against any subsequent purchaser in good faith and for a valuable consideration ... whose conveyance ... is first filed for record' (ORS 93.640(1)) — a later buyer beats the earlier deed only if that buyer took without notice AND recorded first. Cures: a missing ORS 93.260 tax statement 'does not invalidate the conveyance and ... the recording is valid' (ORS 93.260(2)); a missing land-use statement does not invalidate the conveyance and creates no recorder liability (ORS 93.040); and ORS 93.810 lists historical validating and curative Acts (for example, old defective acknowledgments). Recording cures no forgery, incapacity, or lack of title |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law and scope
Oregon is a common-law title state, and the core deed rules live in ORS Chapter 93,
"Conveyancing and Recording." That chapter answers how you make a deed (ORS 93.010,
93.020), what it must say (ORS 93.030 consideration, ORS 93.040 land-use statement),
how it is executed and acknowledged (ORS 93.410), when it can be recorded and used as
evidence (ORS 93.480), and when it beats a competing claimant (ORS 93.640). The
county clerk's recording duties and the first-page content list sit one chapter over,
in ORS Chapter 205 (ORS 205.130, 205.234). This page covers an ordinary present
transfer of a fee interest by an individual owner. Transfer-on-death deeds (ORS
93.948 to 93.979), and trustee, sheriff, and other fiduciary or court-officer deeds,
are outside this survey.
Writing and grantor signature
A conveyance must be a signed writing. Under ORS 93.020(1), no interest in real
property — other than a lease of a year or less — "can be created, transferred or
declared otherwise than by operation of law or by a conveyance or other instrument in
writing, subscribed by the party ... or by the lawful agent of the party under written
authority." ORS 93.010 restates the method: a conveyance is "made by deed, signed by
the person of lawful age from whom the estate or interest is intended to pass, or by
the lawful agent or attorney of the person, and acknowledged or proved, and recorded
without any other act or ceremony." Oregon requires no seal (ORS 93.010, 93.410)
and no words of inheritance to pass a fee. The longer content list in the recording
statutes is about getting the deed recorded — it does not change whether title
passes between you and your grantee.
Witnesses
Oregon needs no subscribing or attesting witnesses to sign a deed and none to
record one. ORS 93.410 asks only for the grantor's signature plus acknowledgment
before an authorized officer; it names no witnesses. A subscribing witness shows up
only as an optional alternative way to prove a deed for recording when it was never
acknowledged: proof of execution "shall be made by a subscribing witness thereto, who
shall state the place of residence of the witness" (ORS 93.440). Because nearly every
Oregon deed is acknowledged before a notary, that witness route is rarely used. There
is no two-witness validity rule here like Florida's.
Acknowledgment or notarization
In Oregon, notarization is a recording-and-priority step, not a validity step. A
signed, delivered deed already transfers title between grantor and grantee. But ORS
93.410 directs that a deed "shall be signed by the grantors and shall be acknowledged
before any judge of the Supreme Court, circuit judge, county judge, justice of the
peace or notary public within the state," and only an acknowledged (or witness-proved)
deed "may be read in evidence without further proof thereof and is entitled to be
recorded in the county where the land is situated" (ORS 93.480). So the acknowledgment
is what lets you record — and, because only a recorded deed is protected under ORS
93.640, what ultimately protects the buyer against a later purchaser. It is not what
makes the deed good against your own grantor.
Spouse, homestead, and marital joinder
Oregon abolished the old marital life-estate interests: "Dower and curtesy, including
inchoate dower and curtesy, are abolished" (ORS 112.685). Oregon is not a
community-property state, and it has no statutory homestead-signature rule for
conveyances — the homestead exemption is a dollar amount that protects a home from
creditors, not a requirement that a spouse sign the deed. So an owner whose name alone
is on title can convey without a spouse's signature. A surviving spouse's protection
comes later, as the elective share claimed against the deceased spouse's estate in
probate — not as a signature on the deed. The one situation where both spouses must
sign is when they co-own the property (for example, as tenants by the entirety):
there, both sign because both are owners, not because of any marital-interest override
on one spouse's separate title.
Signing through an agent or representative
An attorney-in-fact can sign an Oregon deed, but the authority has to be in writing.
ORS 93.010 lets a deed be "signed by ... the lawful agent or attorney of the person,"
and ORS 93.020(1) requires the agent to act "under written authority." To put that
authority into the land records, the power of attorney — "when acknowledged or proved
in the manner prescribed for the acknowledgment or proof of conveyances" — "may be
recorded in the county clerk's office of any county in which the lands ... [are]
situated" (ORS 93.670(1)). And a recorded power stays effective until a revocation is
recorded too: it "is [not] deemed to be revoked ... unless the instrument containing
such revocation is also recorded in the same office" (ORS 93.670(2)). The underlying
authority runs under Oregon's Uniform Power of Attorney Act (ORS Chapter 127); in
practice the power is recorded with the same county clerk so the agent's authority
appears in the chain of title.
Recording office and statewide content
Record the deed with the county clerk of the county where the land is located (ORS
93.480; ORS 205.130). The clerk records deeds "when properly acknowledged or proved"
(ORS 205.130(2)(a)). ORS 205.234(1) then lists what the first page must show: the
transaction name, the parties' names, the person and mailing address the deed will be
returned to after recording, "the true and actual consideration paid for the transfer
as required by ORS 93.030," and "the tax statement information required by ORS
93.260." The consideration must appear on the face of the deed, or the clerk "may not"
accept it (ORS 93.030(5)). Deeds also carry Oregon's statutory land-use warning (ORS
93.040), and the text must be at least 10-point type on paper no larger than 8½-by-14
inches (ORS 205.232). Recording fees and cover-sheet formatting are set locally —
check with the county clerk.
Nonrecording effect and defect cures
Oregon's recording act is race-notice. A signed, delivered deed is valid between
grantor and grantee even unrecorded, but an unrecorded conveyance "is void as against
any subsequent purchaser in good faith and for a valuable consideration ... whose
conveyance ... is first filed for record" (ORS 93.640(1)). Read that carefully: a
later buyer defeats your earlier deed only if that buyer both took without notice of
it and recorded first. So recording promptly is what locks in your priority. A few
slips are forgiven: a deed missing the ORS 93.260 tax-statement information "does not
invalidate the conveyance and ... the recording is valid" (ORS 93.260(2)); a missing
land-use statement does not invalidate the conveyance and creates no recorder
liability (ORS 93.040); and ORS 93.810 collects historical validating and curative
Acts, such as ones fixing old defective acknowledgments. None of this cures a forged
signature, an incapacitated grantor, or a grantor who did not own the land.
What trips people up
- Assuming a signed deed is safe without recording. It is good against your
grantor, but under Oregon's race-notice rule a later good-faith buyer who pays value
and records first can beat it (ORS 93.640(1)). Record promptly. - Leaving the true consideration off the face of the deed. The county clerk "may
not" accept a deed that does not state the true and actual consideration in dollars
(ORS 93.030(5)) — a vague "$10 and other valuable consideration" recital can get the
deed rejected. - Forgetting the land-use warning. Oregon deeds must carry the statutory land-use
statement (ORS 93.040). A deed can still be valid and recorded without it, but many
clerks and title companies flag its absence. - Thinking a spouse must sign. Because Oregon abolished dower and curtesy and has
no community property (ORS 112.685), a solo owner conveys alone. Both spouses sign
only when they actually co-own the property.
Common questions
Do I need witnesses to sign an Oregon deed?
No. Oregon requires no witnesses to convey land. A subscribing witness is only an
optional fallback way to prove a deed for recording if it was never acknowledged
before a notary (ORS 93.440).
Does my spouse have to sign if the house is only in my name?
No. Oregon abolished dower and curtesy and is not a community-property state (ORS
112.685), and there is no homestead-signature rule for deeds. If the property is
titled in your name alone, you can convey it alone. Both spouses sign only when both
are on title.
Is a signed-but-unrecorded Oregon deed valid?
Between you and your grantee, yes. Against a later good-faith buyer who pays value and
records first, no — Oregon is a race-notice state, so that later buyer can defeat your
unrecorded deed (ORS 93.640).
What information does an Oregon deed need to be recorded?
The parties' names, the true and actual consideration in dollars (ORS 93.030), the
address to return the deed to and the tax-statement information (ORS 205.234, 93.260),
and Oregon's land-use warning (ORS 93.040), all acknowledged before a notary and filed
with the county clerk (ORS 93.480, 205.130).
Statutes and sources
- ORS 93.010 — conveyances of land made by deed signed by the owner or the owner's lawful agent; no seal required.
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors093.html (accessed 2026-07-16) - ORS 93.020 — no real-property interest transferred except by a writing subscribed by the party or a written-authority agent.
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors093.html (accessed 2026-07-16) - ORS 93.030 — deed must state the true and actual consideration; clerk may not record it without the consideration on its face.
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors093.html (accessed 2026-07-16) - ORS 93.040 — mandatory land-use statement in deeds; no recorder liability for recording a deed without it.
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors093.html (accessed 2026-07-16) - ORS 93.410 — execution and acknowledgment: deed signed by grantors and acknowledged before an authorized officer; no seal.
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors093.html (accessed 2026-07-16) - ORS 93.440 — proof of execution by a subscribing witness (the alternative to acknowledgment).
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors093.html (accessed 2026-07-16) - ORS 93.480 — an acknowledged or proved deed is admissible as evidence and entitled to be recorded in the county where the land sits.
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors093.html (accessed 2026-07-16) - ORS 93.640 — race-notice recording act: unrecorded conveyance void against a later good-faith purchaser who records first.
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors093.html (accessed 2026-07-16) - ORS 93.670 — power of attorney to convey lands may be recorded like a conveyance; revocation must also be recorded.
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors093.html (accessed 2026-07-16) - ORS 112.685 — dower and curtesy, including inchoate dower and curtesy, are abolished.
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors112.html (accessed 2026-07-16) - ORS 205.130 — recording duties of the county clerk; records deeds and powers of attorney when properly acknowledged or proved.
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors205.html (accessed 2026-07-16) - ORS 205.234 — required first-page content: transaction and party names, return address, consideration, and tax-statement information.
https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors205.html (accessed 2026-07-16)
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