Deeds in Pennsylvania

Types of Deeds

National Type	Local Name	Primary Use	Source of Form
General Warranty Deed	General Warranty Deed	[rarely used]	Common Law
Special Warranty Deed	Special Warranty Deed	(1) Commercial (2) Residential	Common Law
Fiduciary Warranty Deed	Fiduciary Warranty Deed	(1) Estates	Common Law
Bargain and Sale Deed	N/A	N/A	N/A
Quit-Claim Deed	Quit-Claim Deed	(1) Railroad (2) Utilities	Common Law
Foreclosure Deed	Sheriff's Deed	(1) Mortgage Foreclosures (2) Judgment Executions	Common Law (Deed Poll)
Other	Statutory Short Form	[rarely used]	21 P.S. § 1

• NOTE: The Statutory Short Form of Deed is almost never used. It can be changed into any type of common Deed above simply by changing the Warranty language. In conjunction with this Statutory Short Form Deed were statutes permitting the substitution of Common Law warranty language with shorter phrases contained in the statutes. These are occasionally used, but are still not as common as the Common Law forms of warranties.

Execution of Deeds

Witness	Grantor	Not required, but blanks for witness are customarily included in most deeds.
	Grantee	N/A.
Marital Status	Grantor	Not required, but customarily included.
	Grantee	Not required, but customarily included.
Marital Rights	Common Law Dower	Abolished.
	Common Law Curtesy	Abolished.
	Statutory Dower	N/A.
	Community Property	N/A.
	Homestead	N/A.
	Equitable Distribution	A non-titled spouse is normally not required to sign any deed. In the event of a pending divorce between the titled and non-titled spouse, the non-titled spouse must join in the conveyance to waive any claim to the potential equity in the property.

Types of Deeds

National Type	Local Name	Primary Use	Source of Form
General Warranty Deed	General Warranty Deed	[rarely used]	[rarely used]
Special Warranty Deed	Special Warranty Deed	Most common for all types of transfers	Common Law and Statutory forms exist
Fiduciary Warranty Deed	Executor's Deed Administrator's Deed	Used for conveyances by personal representatives.	Common Law and Statutory forms exist.
Bargain and Sale Deed	N/A	N/A	N/A
Quit-Claim Deed	Quit Claim Deed (Rare)	Used as an estoppel and for specialty transactions.	Common Law and Statutory forms exist.
Foreclosure Deed	Deed Poll	Mortgage and Tax Foreclosures	Common Law

Execution of Deeds

Witnesses	Grantor	Not Required
	Grantee	Not Required
Marital Status	Grantor	Not Required but preferred custom and practice
	Grantee	Not Required but preferred custom and practice
Marital Rights	Common Law Dower	Abolished.
	Common Law Curtesy	Abolished.
	Statutory Dower	N/A.
	Community Property	Not Recognized.
	Homestead	No.
	Equitable Distribution	Yes.