Acceptance

Key Takeaways

• A transfer of real property by deed takes three acts in order: the grantor signs and acknowledges the deed, the grantor delivers it, and the grantee accepts it.
• Without acceptance by the grantee, the transfer is not complete even when the deed was properly written, signed, acknowledged, and delivered.
• Delivery is the grantor's act and acceptance is the grantee's act. Exam questions often turn on which party performs which one.
• Acceptance of a deed is a different concept from acceptance of a purchase offer, which is what forms a contract rather than what conveys title.

What It Means

Acceptance is the step where the grantee, the person named to receive a deed, takes that deed as their own. A transfer of real property moves through three acts in order. The grantor signs the Deed and has the signature acknowledged before a notary. The grantor then delivers it to the grantee, intending to pass title now rather than someday. Last, the grantee accepts it. Skip the final act and the transfer is unfinished, no matter how clean the paperwork looks.

Students often assume signing is the moment ownership changes hands. It is not. A deed the named grantee refuses has moved nothing. That is why Delivery and acceptance are always taught as a pair: delivery is what the grantor does, acceptance is what the grantee does, and a completed conveyance needs both halves.

Keep this separate from accepting an offer. When a buyer and seller agree on the terms of a purchase, they reach Mutual Acceptance and they have a contract, which is a promise to convey later. Acceptance of a deed is the conveyance itself, the moment the promise is carried out.

How It Works in Washington

In Washington, the deed is governed by statute but acceptance is not. RCW 64.04.010 requires that every conveyance of real estate, or any interest in it, be by deed. RCW 64.04.020 sets the form: every deed must be in writing, signed by the party bound by it, and acknowledged before a person authorized to take acknowledgments. Those two sections tell you what a valid Washington deed looks like. Neither one names delivery or acceptance, because those requirements come from common law rather than from the statute text. A student who goes hunting for an RCW that says "the grantee must accept" will not find one.

Recording is the other half of the picture. Under RCW 65.08.070, an unrecorded conveyance is void as against a later purchaser or mortgagee who buys in good faith, pays valuable consideration, and records first. So a Washington grantee who accepts a deed and then leaves it in a drawer can still lose the property to a second buyer who records ahead of them. In a normal closing this never comes up, because the escrow agent records the deed the same day the seller's funds are disbursed.

Example

Priya sells her Spokane rental to Marcus for $415,000. At closing on June 12, Priya signs a statutory warranty deed in front of a notary and the escrow agent holds it. Marcus wires his funds, escrow disburses to Priya, and the agent sends the deed to the county for recording that afternoon. Marcus takes the keys the same day.

Every element is present. The deed is written, signed, and acknowledged. Priya delivered it through escrow, intending to pass title at closing. Marcus accepted it by funding, recording, and moving in. Title is his.

Now change one fact. Priya's uncle Ray signs a deed handing Marcus a neighboring two-acre parcel that carries $9,400 in unpaid drainage assessments. Marcus wants no part of it, refuses the deed, and never records. There is no acceptance, so nothing transferred. Ray still owns the parcel and Ray still owes the $9,400.

Common Mistakes and Exam Traps

• Delivery and acceptance are two acts by two different people. If a question says the grantor accepted the deed, the question is describing the wrong party.
• Recording is not what makes a transfer valid. An unrecorded deed can still pass title between grantor and grantee; recording protects the new owner against later buyers.
• Acknowledgment before a notary proves the signature is genuine. It is not the grantee accepting anything, and it is performed by the grantor.
• A question about accepting an offer is testing contract formation, not conveyance. Read carefully to see which document is being accepted.