What’s the difference between title and a deed?

Title and deed are related but not the same. Title is the legal ownership of real estate: the set of rights to use, possess, and dispose of the property. A deed is the written instrument that actually transfers that title from one party to another; it’s signed by the seller (the grantor), delivered to the buyer (the grantee), and recorded with the county to put the public on notice of the new ownership. A simple way to keep them straight: you “hold title,” but you “receive a deed.” Different deed types, such as warranty, special warranty, and quitclaim, transfer title with different levels of guarantee about its quality, but the deed is always the vehicle and title is always the destination.