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Cook County recording
An Illinois warranty deed uses ‘conveys and warrants’ and imports three statutory covenants, not six. This page is for property in Cook County, including Chicago: record with the Cook County Clerk and complete MyDec before recording.
Is this the right deed type? A warranty deed includes the grantor's full title warranties — the broadest title protection of the standard deed types.
This download includes 2 documents in editable Word format. Complete them on your own computer, then print, sign, and record.
Packet is delivered in Word format; no blank PDF of the deed is included.
A simple three-step workflow; the packet guides you through each one.
Gather the current deed or title record and the exact legal description of the property before you start.
Complete the blank deed and follow the included state guidance for signing, acknowledgment, and related requirements.
Confirm your county recorder's cover sheets, transfer forms, fees, and local practices, then submit the executed deed.
Cook County deeds — including Chicago — are recorded with the Cook County Clerk. Complete MyDec before recording. Chicago property has extra city stamp prerequisites.
All of Cook County, including Chicago
118 N. Clark Street, Room 120, Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 603-5050
Monday–Friday 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.; last customer 4:45 p.m.
Record with the Cook County Clerk. Complete MyDec for the state and county transfer declaration. Exempt deeds also need the Clerk’s Grantor/Grantee Affidavit. If the property is the grantor’s Illinois homestead, the non-titled spouse must join.
In addition to MyDec, Chicago transfers need the City transfer-tax declaration in MyDec and any required municipal transfer-tax stamp. Before city stamps issue, obtain a Full Payment Certificate from the Department of Finance. A certificate of zoning compliance is also required for some 1-, 2-, or 5-or-fewer-unit residential buildings.
See page 1 of the actual blank form and review a plain-language outline of what appears on page 1. The complete formatted packet is delivered after checkout.
ILLINOIS WARRANTY DEED.
Recording and return information: fields for the preparer and return-to recipient names, mailing addresses, and related recording details, with a 3.5×3.5 inch recorder / Cook County Clerk stamp band.
Party information: grantor and grantee names, mailing addresses, marital status, vesting, and the grantee mailing address required by 55 ILCS 5/3-5026.
Consideration and optional 31-45 notation: a nominal consideration recital and an optional 35 ILCS 200/31-45 face-of-deed exemption field. Categories (b), (k), and (m) still need PTAX-203 / MyDec.
Property description: the legal description of the property, or a reference to an attached exhibit.
Statutory warranty conveyance: the grantor conveys and warrants under 765 ILCS 5/9 — three combined covenants, not six, and no further-assurances promise — plus the customary homestead-release insert.
About this Illinois form
An Illinois warranty deed is the statutory 765 ILCS 5/9 form. The operative words are “conveys and warrants.” Those words import three combined covenants only: (1) the grantor was the lawful owner of an indefeasible fee simple and had good right and full power to convey; (2) the premises were free from all incumbrances except as stated; and (3) the grantor warrants quiet and peaceable possession and will defend the title against all persons who may lawfully claim the same. Illinois does not import a separate seisin covenant or further assurances unless the deed expressly adds them.
An Illinois statutory warranty deed (765 ILCS 5/9) uses “conveys and warrants” and imports three combined covenants. An Illinois quitclaim (765 ILCS 5/10) uses “convey and quit claim” and imports none. Illinois has no separate “grant deed” category. Special warranty under 765 ILCS 5/8 is a different instrument and is not this packet.
PublicLegal-authored self-help deed form. Provided for customers to complete with their own transaction information and submit to the proper local recording office. Recorder offices and state agencies may require separate supplemental forms, taxes, fees, or cover sheets, and requirements vary by jurisdiction and transaction. Review the product notes and confirm local recording requirements before relying on any completed deed.
ILRG provides self-help deed forms and download support. Attorney-reviewed PublicLegal-authored deed forms are provided for you to complete with your own transaction information. Deed recording requirements, supplemental forms, transfer taxes, title-company practices, and legal suitability vary by jurisdiction and transaction. If you are not 100 percent satisfied after purchasing from us, contact us for a refund.
No. You receive the statewide Illinois deed packet. This page adds Cook County recording guidance. Only the documents listed under Included documents are included.
Record with the Cook County Clerk, Recordings Division, 118 N. Clark Street, Room 120, Chicago. Complete MyDec before recording. Chicago property also needs the City declaration in MyDec and any required municipal transfer-tax stamp. Exempt deeds need the Clerk’s Grantor/Grantee Affidavit.
An Illinois statutory warranty deed imports three combined covenants under 765 ILCS 5/9: lawful ownership of an indefeasible fee simple and good right and full power to convey; freedom from all incumbrances except as stated; and quiet and peaceable possession plus defense of title against lawful claimants. It does not import a separate seisin covenant or further assurances unless the deed expressly adds them.
A warranty deed is not a substitute for a title search or title insurance. Title insurance is standard Illinois practice and is typically required by mortgage lenders. The buyer’s real protection is the search, the policy, and Illinois counsel — not the deed form alone.
Record with the County Recorder of the county where the land lies. In Cook County, record with the Cook County Clerk. In some smaller counties the county clerk is the recorder.
No. A deed transfers title. It does not release a borrower from an existing mortgage, remove liens, or replace lender consent, payoff, refinance, or assumption.
If the property is the grantor’s Illinois homestead, the non-titled spouse must join. The customary homestead-release words on the deed release only the signer’s homestead and are not a substitute for the other spouse’s signature. A titled spouse, or a spouse needed to convey a tenancy by the entirety, signs as a grantor.
PublicLegal provides this self-help deed form template for customers to complete with their own transaction information. For transaction-specific legal, title, tax, or recording guidance, consult an attorney, title company, tax professional, or the local recording office.
A warranty deed includes the grantor's warranty covenants — generally a promise that the grantor owns the property and will defend the title against claims, subject to any exceptions stated in the deed. It offers the grantee broader title protection than a quitclaim deed.
Warranty deeds are commonly used in arm's-length sales and other transfers where the grantee wants full title warranties from the grantor. Lenders and title insurers generally expect them for ordinary purchases.