Ala. Code
Code of Alabama

Ala. Code § 35-4-20 (2026)

Conveyance Required to Be in Writing; Signature; Attestation by Witnesses.

✓ official Alabama Legislature (ALISON) text, current July 2026
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Conveyances for the alienation of lands must be written or printed, or partly written and partly printed, on parchment or paper, and must be signed at their foot by the contracting party or his agent having a written authority; or, if he is not able to sign his name, then his name must be written for him, with the words “his mark” written against the same, or over it; the execution of such conveyance must be attested by one witness or, where the party cannot write, by two witnesses who are able to write and who must write their names as witnesses; or, if he can write his name but does not do so and his name is written for him by another, then the execution must be attested by two witnesses who can and do write their names.

(Code 1852, §1266; Code 1867, §1535; Code 1876, §2145; Code 1886, §1789; Code 1896, §982; Code 1907, §3335; Code 1923, §6838; Code 1940, T. 47, §22.)

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 25 cases (7 in the last 5 years), 1979–2025 · leading case: Blevins v. Hillwood Off. Ctr. Owners' Ass'n, 51 So. 3d 317 (Ala. 2010).
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Blevins v. Hillwood Off. Ctr. Owners' Ass'n, 51 So. 3d 317 (Ala. 2010). · cites it 2× “Thus, according to Hillwood, the complaint was filed by a non-member of the HOCOA who, consequently, lacked standing to challenge the HOCOA’s existence and practices. The Blevinses do not dispute the factual basis for Hillwood’s argument.”
Health Sci. Prods., Inc. v. Taylor (In Re Health Sci. Prods., Inc.), 183 B.R. 903 (Bankr. N.D. Ala. 1995). · cites it 4× “Conveyances for the alienation of lands must be written or printed, or partly written and partly printed, on parchment or paper, and must be signed at their foot by the contracting party or his agent having a written authority; or, if he is not able to sign his name, then his…”
Mississippi Valley Title Ins. Co. v. Hardy, 541 So. 2d 1057 (Ala. 1989). · cites it 2× “Ala.Code 1975, § 35-4-20. If a conveyance is attempted and these requirements are not met, then the conveyance is void.”
Smith v. Smith, 820 So. 2d 64 (Ala. 2001). · cites it 3× “See § 35-4-20, Ala.Code 1975. [11] Further, the *71 deed must be delivered to the grantee.”
State, Dept. of Revenue v. Ritchey, 541 So. 2d 514 (Ala. 1989). · cites it 5× “The trial court held that the partnership agreement was effective to convey legal title to the subject property to the partnership pursuant to Code of Alabama 1975, §§ 35-4-20 and 35-4-24.”
In Re Miller, 320 B.R. 203 (Bankr. N.D. Ala. 2005). “Code of Alabama (1975) §§§ 35-4-20, 35-4-23, and 35-4-24. In order for an acknowledgment to be effective, it must clearly identify the person or persons who executed the conveyance, and the person signing the instrument must have appeared before the notary or other officer and…”
Reese v. Harris, 772 So. 2d 1193 (Ala. Civ. App. 2000). · cites it 4× “Ala.Code 1975, § 35-4-20, requires that conveyances for “the alienation of lands” be written and “signed at their foot by the contracting party or his agent having a written authority.”
JLJ, Inc. v. Rush Bldg. Co. (In re JLJ, Inc.), 115 B.R. 324 (Bankr. N.D. Ala. 1990). · cites it 4× “Obviously, the part of the assignment which purports to convey this interest in real property, to be effective, would have to meet the requirements for a deed — such as the requirement for a witness, as provided by Ala.Code § 35-4-20 (1975), or an acknowledgment before a notary…”
Rucker v. Morgan, 702 So. 2d 452 (Ala. Civ. App. 1996). · cites it 2× “Having the will notarized serves the same function and provides the same safeguards as having two witnesses sign the will.”
Rch Iv-Wb, LLC v. Wolf Bay Partners, L.L.C., 78 So. 3d 395 (Ala. 2011). · cites it 3× “Code 1975; and (2) that the form of the acknowledgment on the mortgage assignment failed to comply with §§ 35-4-20 through 35-4-68, Ala.Code 1975.”
Penrod v. Lapere, 367 So. 2d 1381 (Ala. 1979). “Section 35-4-20 governing conveyances of land provides that “the execution of such conveyances must be attested by one witness.”
Smith v. Walker, 91 So. 3d 77 (Ala. Civ. App. 2012). · cites it 2× “In full, § 35-4-20 provides: "Conveyances for the alienation of lands must be written or printed, or partly written and partly printed, on parchment or paper, and must be signed at their foot by the contracting party or his agent having a written authority; or, if he is not able…”
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