A deed is a legal document. The purpose of deeds is to convey (transfer) ownership interests in real estate from a current owner(s) to a new owner(s). A deed is one of two ways real estate ownership can be transferred. The other way of transferring real estate is by dying.

Deeds can be categorized by the type of warranties they provide and by the type of interests they convey. There are three types of warranty deeds: general warranty deed, special warranty deed, and quitclaim deed.

Deeds can also create various types of interests for the grantee and inform on when the timing of effectiveness of those interests, e.g. during the life of the grantee or upon the death of grantor. Deeds are not always referenced by the type of interest deeds they convey, but there are a few examples such as "life estate deed", "ladybird deed", or "transfer on death deed". If the type of interest conveyed is not stated explicitly it can be interpreted through the language in the body of the deed, such as tenants by the entireties and tenants in common.