Titles, Deeds & Ownership Restrictions

Title is ownership. A deed is the document that transfers it. This area asks how title moves from one person to another, how the public records protect buyers, what a valid Florida deed needs, and what can limit an owner's rights after closing. The Florida-specific numbers are two witnesses, 7 years, 30 years and 90 days.

Acquiring title

Voluntary alienation is a transfer the owner chooses: a sale or gift by deed, or a transfer by will. Involuntary alienation happens without the owner's consent:

• Adverse possession under color of title: 7 years of continued possession under a written instrument, decree or judgment. For possession that began after 1945, the instrument must be recorded.
• Adverse possession without color of title: 7 years of actual, continued possession. The claimant must also pay all outstanding taxes within 1 year of taking possession, file a return with the property appraiser within 30 days after that, and keep paying the taxes.
• Eminent domain: the government may take private property only for a public purpose and with full compensation.

Notice and the recording act

Under s. 695.01, a deed, mortgage, or lease for 1 year or longer that is not recorded is not effective against creditors or later purchasers who paid value without notice. Recording gives constructive notice to the world. A buyer with actual notice of an unrecorded deed is not a purchaser “without notice” and gets no protection. Florida also treats a grantee under a quitclaim deed as a bona fide purchaser for recording purposes.

Condition of title. Under the Marketable Record Title Act, a person whose chain of title has been of record for 30 years or more has a marketable record title. It is free of older claims except the exceptions the Act lists. Title insurance protects against claims that arose before the purchase, such as a previous owner's unpaid taxes or unpaid contractors. A licensee may never give an opinion that title is good unless it is based on a current attorney's opinion. The licensee must also advise the buyer to consult an attorney or obtain title insurance.

Florida deeds

• Execution: a conveyance must be in writing and signed in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. No seal is needed, and a lease needs no witnesses.
• Clauses: the statutory form has a granting clause (“has granted, bargained and sold”), the words “heirs and assigns forever,” the legal description, and a warranty clause. In the warranty clause the grantor will defend title “against the lawful claims of all persons whomsoever.”
• Statutory warranty deed: a deed substantially in that form carries full common-law covenants, as if they were written out, and binds the grantor's heirs.
• Quitclaim deed: passes whatever interest the grantor has, if any, with no representation about the title.
• A parcel ID number belongs on the deed, but it is not part of the legal description and cannot replace it.

Ownership limitations and restrictions

Easement

A right to use or control another's land, or the area above or below it, for a specific limited purpose.

Way of necessity

A right-of-way Florida implies when land conveyed or retained has no other reasonable and practicable access.

Encroachment

An interference with or intrusion onto another's property, such as a fence over the line.

Deed restrictions

Recorded restrictive covenants governing use and occupancy, often enforced by an HOA.

Liens

• A specific lien attaches to one property. A mortgage is one example. A construction lien is another: the claim of lien must be recorded no later than 90 days after the lienor last furnished labor, services or materials.
• A general lien reaches all of a debtor's property. A federal tax lien attaches to all property and rights to property of a taxpayer who neglects to pay after demand.
• A governmental lien for an improvement, service, fine or penalty is good against later purchasers only if it is recorded. Taxes, special assessments and utilities are the exceptions.

Where this shows up on the exam

Titles, Deeds, and Ownership Restrictions is 7% of the exam in the DBPR booklet (January 2025), about seven questions. Expect to identify a deed type or clause, apply the recording act to two competing buyers, and recall the two-witness, 7-year, 30-year and 90-day rules.

Sources

North Carolina law as published by the General Assembly and the Office of Administrative Hearings, checked 2026-11-05:

• Fla. Const. Art. X, ss. 4, 6
• ss. 95.16, 95.18, F.S.
• s. 475.25(1)(j), F.S.
• ss. 689.01-689.03, F.S.
• s. 695.01, F.S.
• s. 704.01, F.S.
• s. 712.02, F.S.
• s. 713.08, F.S.
• s. 720.401, F.S.
• 26 U.S.C. 6321
• CFPB: owner's title insurance
• HUD Handbook 4000.1 Glossary
• DBPR Sales Associate Candidate Information Booklet (Jan 2025)