Grantor vs Grantee: What Is the Difference?
The grantor is the party giving away an interest in property; the grantee is the party receiving it. In a normal home sale the seller is the grantor and the buyer is the grantee. The words describe direction of transfer, not whether someone is buying, selling, borrowing, or lending.
Grantor vs Grantee at a glance
| Aspect | Grantor | Grantee |
|---|---|---|
| Role in the transaction | Gives or transfers the interest | Receives the interest |
| In a typical home sale | The seller | The buyer |
| In a lease | The landlord granting the leasehold | The tenant receiving it |
| In a deed of trust | The borrower conveying to a trustee | The trustee holding the interest |
| Signature on a deed | Required — the grantor must sign to convey | Usually not required to sign |
| Memory aid | -or gives | -ee receives |
How they differ in practice
The pairing appears on nearly every document that moves an interest in real property, which is why it shows up in deeds, leases, easements, and trusts alike. A useful memory aid is the ending: the -or gives, the -ee receives, the same pattern as lessor and lessee or mortgagor and mortgagee.
The roles are tied to the specific document, not to the person. The same individual is a grantee when they buy a house and a grantor when they later sell it. In a deed of trust, a borrower is the grantor conveying an interest to a trustee, even though that borrower is also the person buying the home. County records are indexed by these names in what is often called the grantor-grantee index, which is how a title search traces the chain of ownership backward through time.
Full definitions
Read the complete dictionary entry for Grantor or Grantee.
Frequently asked questions
Is the grantor always the seller?
No. The grantor is whoever transfers the interest in that particular document. In a home sale that is the seller, but in a deed of trust the borrower is the grantor, and in a lease the landlord is. The role follows the document, not the person.
Can the same person be both grantor and grantee?
Yes, in certain filings. An owner transferring property into their own living trust appears as grantor in their individual capacity and as grantee as trustee of the trust. It is also used to change how title is held between spouses.
What is a grantor-grantee index?
It is the county register of recorded documents, indexed by the names of the parties. Title searchers use it to follow the chain of title backward, matching each grantee to the grantor of the next transfer.