50-State Recording Requirement Table — Contract for Deed / Land Contract
Legal information, not legal advice. Verify against the cited primary sources before acting. Statutes in this area are frequently amended. Last verified: 2026-06-08.
Most U.S. jurisdictions impose no contract-for-deed-specific recording mandate — recording the CFD (or a memorandum) is permissive but priority-protective under the state’s general recording act, and the practical burden falls on the buyer to record and perfect the equitable interest against the seller’s later grantees and creditors. A minority of states impose a hard recording duty on the seller, with a deadline measured in days or months and a teeth-bearing penalty (rescission, civil penalty, or loss of a remedy). This table extracts, for every one of the 56 jurisdictions (50 states + DC + 5 territories), the answer to five questions:
- Mandatory? — Is recording the CFD/memorandum required by statute, or merely permitted/priority-protective?
- Deadline — If mandatory, how many days/months from execution?
- Who records — Whom the statute (or practice) puts the recording burden on.
- Effect of non-recording — The downstream consequence: rescission right, civil penalty, loss of a seller remedy, or simply loss of priority to a bona-fide purchaser/creditor.
- Citation — The controlling statute (or case) the jurisdiction page gives.
Each row links the source jurisdiction page. See the doctrine pages recording-and-priority and marketable-title for the cross-jurisdictional framework, and texas / minnesota for the model mandatory-recording regimes.
Legend. Mandatory? column: Yes = statute compels recording (deadline + duty); No = permissive/priority-protective only; Conditional = not compelled generally, but recording is a precondition to a specific seller remedy (forfeiture, foreclosure, or cancellation). ”—” / “unverified” = the source page does not resolve the cell.
The seven mandatory / conditional-recording jurisdictions (the exceptions)
These are the jurisdictions where recording is more than priority hygiene — record by the deadline or lose the deal/remedy:
| Jurisdiction | Trigger | Deadline | Who | Bite for non-compliance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| texas | mandatory record of full contract + disclosures | 30 days | seller | liability under § 5.079, capped $500/yr; recording also converts the instrument into a vendor’s-lien deed (foreclose-only) |
| minnesota | mandatory (residential) | 4 months | vendor | vendee-record default + 2% of principal civil penalty; recording is a precondition to § 559.21 cancellation |
| iowa | mandatory (residential) | 90 days (30 days + full contract if § 558.70 applies) | contract seller | statutory penalty / forfeiture-bar (see iowa §5) |
| maine | mandatory | 20 days | vendor (at purchaser’s expense) | priority loss; statutory memorandum contents required |
| maryland | mandatory | 15 days | vendor | purchaser’s unconditional right to cancel until recorded |
| illinois | mandatory | 10 business days | seller | buyer may rescind and recover all money paid until recorded |
| ohio | mandatory (record + file w/ county auditor) | 20 days | vendor | ORC 5313.02(C) duty |
| north-carolina | mandatory | 5 business days | seller (pays fee) | hard statutory duty; memorandum contents prescribed |
| nevada | mandatory | 30 days after first payment | seller | failure is a deceptive trade practice (NRS 598.0923) |
| arizona | mandatory (any instrument conveying equitable interest) | 60 days | transferor (seller) | statutory indemnity to transferee for costs/fees/punitive damages |
| colorado | notice-of-transfer to treasurer/assessor (not the contract) | 90 days | seller | buyer’s voiding remedy (§ 38-35-126(3)) |
| washington | conditional — record is precondition to forfeiture | no deadline | seller (to keep remedy) | cannot forfeit unless contract/memo recorded in each county (RCW 61.30.030) |
| oklahoma | conditional — record is precondition to foreclosure | no deadline | seller (to keep remedy) | cannot foreclose unless filed of record + mortgage tax paid (16 O.S. § 11A) |
Colorado’s 90-day rule is a notice-of-transfer-to-the-treasurer duty, not a contract-recording mandate; the contract itself is recorded permissively. Washington and Oklahoma impose no general duty but condition the seller’s own remedy on prior recording. Georgia has a tax-driven exception (below). All other jurisdictions are permissive.
Full 56-jurisdiction table
| # | Jurisdiction | Mandatory? | Deadline | Who records | Effect of non-recording | Controlling citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | alabama | No | — (none) | buyer (in practice) | Permissive; recorded contract is notice to subsequent purchasers/lienors/creditors; unrecorded loses priority | Ala. Code § 35-4-53 |
| 2 | alaska | No | — (none) | either; buyer in practice | Race-notice; unrecorded void vs. subsequent BFP whose conveyance first recorded; not a precondition to remedies | AS 40.17.080 |
| 3 | american-samoa | Yes (registration to pass title) | — (no CFD deadline) | party seeking title | No instrument passes title or binds the land until registered with the Territorial Registrar; registration = notice | A.S.C.A. § 37.0210 |
| 4 | arizona | Yes | 60 days | transferor (seller) | Statutory indemnity to transferee for costs/fees/punitive damages; unrecorded also void vs. later BFP | A.R.S. §§ 33-411.01, 33-411(A) |
| 5 | arkansas | No | — (none) | either; buyer in practice | Race-notice; recorded = constructive notice from filing; unrecorded not valid vs. BFP without notice or lien creditor | Ark. Code § 14-15-404(a)–(b) |
| 6 | california | No | — (none) | buyer (memorandum, in practice) | Race-notice; unrecorded void vs. later good-faith purchaser/mortgagee who records first | Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1213, 1214 |
| 7 | colorado | Conditional (notice-of-transfer duty) | 90 days (notice to treasurer/assessor) | seller | Buyer’s voiding remedy for missed notice-of-transfer; contract itself recorded permissively (race-notice) | C.R.S. §§ 38-35-126(2)–(3), 38-35-109 |
| 8 | connecticut | No | — (none) | buyer (to protect interest) | Race-notice; no conveyance holds land vs. third persons unless recorded in town land records; not a remedy precondition | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 47-10 |
| 9 | delaware | No | — (none) | buyer (to protect priority) | Race state — priority from time recorded; not a precondition to seller’s § 314 remedies | 25 Del. C. §§ 151, 153 |
| 10 | district-of-columbia | No | — (none) | buyer (in practice) | Notice jurisdiction; effective vs. creditors/subsequent BFPs only from delivery to Recorder of Deeds | D.C. Code § 42-401 |
| 11 | florida | No | — (none) | either; buyer in practice | Notice state; unrecorded not effectual vs. creditors/subsequent purchasers without notice; recording triggers doc-stamp tax | Fla. Stat. § 695.01(1) |
| 12 | georgia | No (tax-driven exception) | — generally; before delivery of bond for title if any price due >3 yrs out | either (§ 44-2-6); seller for the § 48-6-68 duty | Permissive; unrecorded loses priority to later instrument recorded first; § 48-6-68 exception compels seller recording + intangible tax when price runs >3 yrs | O.C.G.A. §§ 44-2-6, 48-6-68 |
| 13 | guam | No | — (none) | buyer/vendee | Race-notice; unrecorded void vs. subsequent BFP whose conveyance first recorded; recording w/ Dept. of Land Management = notice | 21 GCA §§ 37101–37103 |
| 14 | hawaii | No | — (none) | buyer | Race-notice (Regular System) / Torrens (Land Court); recorded agreement of sale gets express statutory priority (§ 502-85) | HRS §§ 502-83, 502-85 |
| 15 | idaho | No | — (none) | buyer (in practice) | Race-notice; unrecorded void vs. subsequent good-faith purchaser/mortgagee who records first | Idaho Code § 55-812 |
| 16 | illinois | Yes | 10 business days | seller | Buyer may rescind and recover all money paid until recording occurs | 765 ILCS 67/20 |
| 17 | indiana | No | — (no fixed CFD deadline) | buyer (typically); either | Conveyances must be recorded; priority by time of filing; unrecorded “fraudulent and void” vs. later BFP who records first | IC 32-21-4-1 |
| 18 | iowa | Yes (residential) | 90 days (30 days + full contract if § 558.70 applies) | contract seller | Statutory penalty / forfeiture-bar; memorandum permitted (full contract if § 558.70) | Iowa Code § 558.46 |
| 19 | kansas | No | — (none) | any interested person | Permissive; § 58-5202 adds a back-end buyer duty (15 days to record release after notice/cure failure or owe fees/costs) | K.S.A. 58-5202 |
| 20 | kentucky | No | — (none) | either (signed/acknowledged by both) | Permissive but advisable; unrecorded ineffective vs. purchasers without notice or creditors; recorded like a mortgage | KRS 382.110 |
| 21 | louisiana | Conditional (for third-party effect) | — (no day-deadline) | either | Recordation governs ranking/third-party effect; later seller sales/liens take subject to recorded bond for deed; lien release-price guarantee must be recorded before offering | La. R.S. 9:2941.1, 9:2942 |
| 22 | maine | Yes | 20 days | vendor (at purchaser’s expense) | Mandatory memorandum recording; fixes priority under race-notice act (§ 201); statutory memo contents required | 33 M.R.S. §§ 482(2), 201 |
| 23 | maryland | Yes | 15 days | vendor | Purchaser’s unconditional right to cancel if exercised before recording; duty must be stated on the contract | RP §§ 10-102, 10-104 |
| 24 | massachusetts | No (90-day staleness rule) | — (no CFD deadline; recorded P&S stale after 90 days post-delivery date) | buyer (memorandum, in practice) | Notice state; recorded agreement loses third-party effect 90 days after deed-delivery date unless suit + memo filed; awkward fit for multi-year CFD | M.G.L. c. 184 §§ 17A, 15; c. 183 § 4 |
| 25 | michigan | No | — (none) | either; vendee has incentive | Permissive; recorded (acknowledged) land contract has deed/mortgage effect vs. later parties; unrecorded void vs. BFP who records first | MCL 565.354, 565.29 |
| 26 | minnesota | Yes (residential) | 4 months | vendor | Vendee-record default + 2% of principal civil penalty; recording is a precondition to § 559.21 cancellation | Minn. Stat. §§ 507.235, 559.21 subd. 4b |
| 27 | mississippi | No | — (none) | either; buyer in practice | Race-notice; unrecorded not good vs. purchaser for value without notice or any creditor; priority by time of filing | Miss. Code § 89-5-1 |
| 28 | missouri | No | — (none) | either | Race-notice; unrecorded valid only between parties + those with actual notice; no CFD recording duty | RSMo §§ 442.380, 442.400 |
| 29 | montana | No | — (none) | buyer (in practice) | Race-notice; unrecorded void vs. subsequent BFP/encumbrancer who records first; not a remedy precondition (contrast WA) | MCA 70-21-304, 70-21-102 |
| 30 | nebraska | No | — (none) | buyer (chief protection) | Permissive; recorded executory contract admissible like a conveyance; no record-by-X duty, no penalty | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 76-204 |
| 31 | nevada | Yes | 30 days after first payment | seller | Failure to record is a deceptive trade practice (NRS 598.0923); recording also gives notice/priority | NRS 598.0923(1)(f)(3); NRS 111.315 |
| 32 | new-hampshire | No | — (none) | buyer (to protect priority) | Permissive; not effective vs. BFPs for value until recorded; no remedy precondition | RSA 477:3-a |
| 33 | new-jersey | No | — (none) | buyer (in practice); either | Race-notice; unrecorded void vs. subsequent BFP/mortgagee without notice who records first | N.J.S.A. 46:26A-2, 46:26A-12 |
| 34 | new-mexico | No | — (none; 30-day bills failed) | either; buyer in practice | Notice act; unrecorded does not affect BFP/mortgagee/lien creditor without knowledge; possession under unrecorded REC ≠ notice | NMSA 1978 §§ 14-9-1, -2, -3 |
| 35 | new-york | No | — (none by CFD statute; RPL timing limits) | either; vendee in practice | Unrecorded void vs. subsequent good-faith purchaser who records first; effective only up to 30th day after contract date for conveyance; >1-yr-early record deemed not recorded | RPL § 294 |
| 36 | north-carolina | Yes | 5 business days | seller (pays fee) | Hard statutory duty; “Memorandum of a Contract for Deed” contents prescribed (incl. (b)(8)/(b)(11) periods) | G.S. 47H-2(d) |
| 37 | north-dakota | No | — (none) | buyer (in practice) | Race-notice; unrecorded void vs. subsequent BFP who records first or intervening attachment/judgment; drafter-naming rule (§ 47-19-03.1) | N.D.C.C. § 47-19-41 |
| 38 | northern-mariana-islands | No | — (none) | any person may record | Race-notice; transfer/encumbrance (term >1 yr) invalid vs. subsequent BFP without notice who records first; record w/ Commonwealth Recorder | 1 CMC §§ 3701, 3703–3705 |
| 39 | ohio | Yes | 20 days | vendor (record + file w/ county auditor) | Hard statutory deadline (one of the few in the country) | ORC 5313.02(C) |
| 40 | oklahoma | Conditional (precondition to foreclosure) | — (no general deadline) | seller (to keep remedy); buyer for priority | Unrecorded not valid vs. third persons (§ 15); § 11A bars foreclosure unless contract filed of record + mortgage tax paid | 16 O.S. §§ 11A, 15, 16 |
| 41 | oregon | No | — (none) | buyer (in practice); seller for forfeiture notice | Race-notice; unrecorded land-sale contract void vs. subsequent BFP who records first; record notice needed to bind/notice juniors in forfeiture (§ 93.940) | ORS 93.640 |
| 42 | pennsylvania | No (90-day general rule, permissive for CFD) | 90 days general (permissive for the land contract) | either; vendee in practice | Unrecorded void vs. subsequent BFP/mortgagee/judgment creditor without notice who records first; delay = loss of priority, not invalidity | 21 P.S. §§ 351, 444 |
| 43 | puerto-rico | No (but recording = third-party effect) | — (no deadline statute) | party protecting title | Reservation-of-title / retroventa clauses opposable to third parties only when recorded in the registry | Código Civil 2020, Art. 1290 |
| 44 | rhode-island | No | — (none) | buyer (in practice) | Conveyance void unless written/acknowledged/recorded, except good between parties + those with notice; recording = constructive notice | R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 34-11-1, 34-13-2 |
| 45 | south-carolina | No | — (none) | either; buyer in practice | Race-notice; contract valid vs. subsequent creditors/purchasers only from day and hour recorded; possession ≠ notice | S.C. Code §§ 30-7-10, 30-7-90 |
| 46 | south-dakota | No | — (none) | buyer (in practice) | Permissive; recording = constructive notice; unrecorded void vs. subsequent BFP/encumbrancer who records first; needed for clerk’s foreclosure cert (§ 21-50-6) | SDCL 43-28-1, -15, -17 |
| 47 | tennessee | No | — (none) | either; buyer should | Unregistered valid between parties but null and void as to creditors/BFPs without notice; priority from registration | Tenn. Code §§ 66-24-101, 66-26-101, 66-26-103 |
| 48 | texas | Yes | 30 days | seller (full contract + disclosures) | Liability under § 5.079, capped $500/yr; recording converts the instrument into a vendor’s-lien deed enforceable only by foreclosure (§ 5.079(a)) | Tex. Prop. Code §§ 5.076, 5.079 |
| 49 | us-virgin-islands | No (none located) | — (unverified) | party protecting interest | Recording with Recorder of Deeds in the judicial division; deeds need 2 witnesses; no record until property taxes shown paid; exact priority section unverified | 28 V.I.C. §§ 42, 121 |
| 50 | utah | No | — (none) | either; buyer has incentive | Permissive; recorded acknowledged doc = notice; unrecorded void vs. subsequent BFP for value who records first; URC must be acknowledged | Utah Code §§ 57-3-102, 57-3-103 |
| 51 | vermont | No | — (none) | either; buyer in practice | Unrecorded/unacknowledged conveyance not effectual vs. anyone but grantor + heirs until recorded; no deadline, no penalty | 27 V.S.A. § 342 |
| 52 | virginia | No | — (none) | either | Race-notice; written contract w/ grantor in possession void vs. subsequent purchasers without notice + lien creditors until recorded | Va. Code §§ 55.1-3002, 55.1-407 |
| 53 | washington | Conditional (precondition to forfeiture) | — (no general deadline) | seller (to keep remedy); buyer for priority | Forfeiture barred unless contract/memo recorded in each county (RCW 61.30.030); race-notice priority otherwise (RCW 65.08.070) | RCW 61.30.030; RCW 65.08.070 |
| 54 | west-virginia | No | — (none) | vendee (to protect priority) | Recorded contract has deed-effect vs. creditors/purchasers; unrecorded void vs. creditors + subsequent purchasers without notice | W. Va. Code §§ 40-1-8, 40-1-9, 39-1-2 |
| 55 | wisconsin | No | — (none) | either | Race-notice (ch. 706); unrecorded void vs. subsequent good-faith purchaser who records first; must meet § 706.05 formal requisites | Wis. Stat. §§ 706.05, 706.08 |
| 56 | wyoming | No | — (none) | buyer (in practice) | Race-notice; unrecorded void vs. subsequent BFP who records first; recorded (acknowledged) instrument = notice with priority from delivery for record | W.S. 34-1-104, 34-1-120, 34-1-121 |
How to read the “effect of non-recording” column
Across the 56 jurisdictions the consequence of not recording falls into four patterns, in ascending order of severity:
- Loss of priority only (the default — ~40 jurisdictions). The contract is valid between the parties but the buyer’s equitable interest is void / not good against a subsequent bona-fide purchaser, mortgagee, or creditor without notice who records first (race-notice) or simply without notice (notice states). The buyer bears the recording burden as self-protection. See recording-and-priority.
- Loss of a seller remedy (conditional states). washington (no forfeiture without recording) and oklahoma (no foreclosure without recording + mortgage tax); minnesota (no § 559.21 cancellation if unrecorded and no good-faith recording effort). Here the seller must record to act.
- Buyer rescission / cancellation right. illinois (rescind + recover all money paid), maryland (unconditional right to cancel until recorded), colorado (voiding remedy for missed notice-of-transfer).
- Civil penalty / statutory liability. minnesota (2% of principal), texas ($500/yr cap, plus the instrument-conversion consequence), nevada (deceptive-trade-practice exposure), arizona (indemnity for costs/fees/punitive damages), iowa (statutory penalty/forfeiture-bar).
Unverified / flagged cells
- us-virgin-islands — no CFD-specific recording deadline was located, and the
exact race/notice priority section and its text are flagged
needs_verificationon the source page. The “effect of non-recording” cell is given as the general Recorder-of-Deeds framework only. - Territory pages (american-samoa, guam, northern-mariana-islands, puerto-rico) resolve recording through registration/civil-code provisions rather than a CFD statute; cells reflect what each page states.
- Where a jurisdiction page itself marks a recording detail
needs_verification, the cell here is held to what the page affirmatively states and is not extrapolated.
Disclaimer. This page is legal information, not legal advice, and may be out of date. Contract-for-deed statutes are frequently amended and recording rules turn on facts (residential vs. commercial, county of filing, memorandum vs. full contract). Consult a licensed attorney in the relevant jurisdiction before drafting, recording, enforcing, or signing an installment land contract.