Arizona · A.R.S. §§11-480, 33-401, 33-411, 33-412Arizona deed requirements: signature, acknowledgment and the county recorder's format rules

An Arizona conveyance of an estate in land for more than a year must be in writing, subscribed and delivered by the party conveying or an agent authorized in writing (A.R.S. §33-401(A)). Every deed must be signed by the grantor and acknowledged before an officer authorized to take acknowledgments (§33-401(B)). Once recorded, a deed with a defect, omission or informality in the certificate of acknowledgment is deemed duly acknowledged from the recording date (§33-401(D)); an instrument isn't lawfully recorded unless it was acknowledged, and one executed and acknowledged under another state's law is valid and entitled to record (§33-411(B)–(D)). An unrecorded conveyance, deed of trust or mortgage is void as to creditors and later purchasers for value without notice, but valid between the parties and their heirs (§§33-411(A), 33-412). The county recorder may reject a document at presentation only if it lacks a caption stating its nature, isn't an original legible enough to copy, lacks original signatures where required, or – for documents executed since 1991 – is larger than 8½ by 14 inches or printed smaller than 10-point type (§11-480(A)). Margins of at least half an inch are required on every page, and the first page needs a top margin of at least two inches for recording information, or a compliant cover sheet; margin problems can affect notice but aren't grounds for rejection (§11-480(B)–(C)). A document that modifies a recorded one must state its recording date and docket and page, and a document accepted for recording can't later be attacked for failing these format rules (§11-480(D)–(E)).