Grant (law)

[1] Historically, a grant was a transfer by deed of that which could not be passed by livery,[2] an act evidenced by letters patent under the Great Seal, granting something from the king to a subject,[3] and a technical term made use of in deeds of conveyance of lands to import a transfer.

[4] Though the word "grant" was originally made use of, in treating of conveyances of interests in lands, to denote a transfer by deed of that which could not be passed by livery, and was applied only to incorporeal hereditaments, it became a generic term, applicable to the transfer of all classes of real property.

[5] As distinguished from a mere license, a grant passes some estate or interest, corporeal or incorporeal, in the lands which it embraces; can only he made by an instrument in writing, under seal; and is irrevocable, when made, unless an express power of revocation is reserved.

A license is a mere authority; passes no estate or interest whatever; may be made by parol; is revocable at will; and, when revoked, the protection which it gave ceases to exist.

[6] In legal conveyancing, the grant is the means by which a party conveys title or encumbrance.