Do Real Estate Leases Need to Be Notarized? The State-by-State Truth

OneNotary Team

September 16, 2025

If you’ve ever signed a lease—whether for an apartment, retail space, or an industrial property—you probably just sat down, signed, and moved in.

So why do some states require leases to be notarized or even recorded at the county clerk’s office? And why does it seem like most property managers have never heard of this rule?

Signing a lease online

At OneNotary, we spend a lot of time digging into notarization laws for all 50 states. Here’s what you need to know about lease notarization—and when it actually matters.

Why Notarize a Lease?

A notary’s acknowledgment is more than a formality—it can be a legal requirement in certain situations.

The main reasons notarization comes up in leases are:

State Law Requirements
- Some states require long-term leases to be notarized and recorded to be enforceable against third parties.
- Example: In Ohio, any lease over 3 years must be notarized. Without it, courts treat it like a short-term tenancy.
Recording in Public Land Records
- In many states, you can record a memorandum of lease instead of the full lease.
- Recording creates constructive notice—alerting future buyers or lenders that a lease exists.
Protecting Rights in a Sale or Refinancing
- Recording (with notarization) can ensure a tenant’s lease survives a change in property ownership.

Who Usually Records a Lease?

You might assume landlords handle this, but in practice, it’s often tenants—especially commercial tenants with a lot at stake.

Typical scenarios:

Ground leases or long-term retail/industrial spaces
Tenants building significant improvements they want protected
States where law mandates recording for certain term lengths
Leasehold financing or title insurance requirements

Why Many Property Managers Don’t Know About It

Here’s the catch:
These rules only apply in certain states and usually only for long-term leases—often more than 3, 5, or 7 years.

That means:

Most residential leases (1 year) never hit the threshold.
The requirement doesn’t void the lease between landlord and tenant—it just affects enforceability against third parties.
The impact is usually only felt during property sales or refinancing, not in day-to-day management.

States Where Notarization/Recording Is Required

Here’s a quick snapshot of some key states and their recording requirements:

State	Trigger	What’s Required
Washington	Residential > 1 year	Landlord’s signature notarized, or lease treated as month-to-month
Ohio	All leases > 3 years	Notarization required, or term reduced to short tenancy
North Carolina	All leases > 3 years	Must record (with notarization) to bind future owners
Indiana	All leases > 3 years	Must record (with notarization) within 45 days
Maryland	All leases > 7 years	Must record (with notarization) to bind third parties
New Hampshire	All leases > 7 years	Must record (with notarization) to bind third parties
Florida	All leases > 1 year	Recording (with notarization) needed for priority against third parties
Louisiana	Any lease of immovables	Authentic act (notary + witnesses) for recording and third-party effect

What Is a Memorandum of Lease?

People signing memorandum of lease

A memorandum of lease is a short, recordable summary of the lease that includes:

Parties’ names
Property description
Lease term
Renewal rights

It omits sensitive details like rent amounts.

If you record it, it must be notarized (or proved by witnesses in some states) for the recorder’s office to accept it.

Key Takeaways

If your lease term is short (< 1 year), you probably don’t need notarization.
For long-term leases, especially commercial, check your state’s thresholds for notarization and recording.
Recording (with notarization) is about protecting rights against future owners or lenders—not about validating the lease between the original parties.
A memorandum of lease is the common way to record without revealing sensitive terms.