To change the name on a house deed, you prepare and record a brand-new deed that transfers ownership from the current owner to whoever should appear on title. You cannot cross out a name, and the county will not edit the existing document. The core steps are the same in every state: pick the right type of deed, fill in the grantor and grantee information along with the property’s legal description, have the current owner sign in front of a notary (and witnesses in a few states), and file the original with the county land records office along with any required transfer forms and fees. What varies, and what catches people off guard, is what the transfer triggers afterward: gift tax filings, a property tax reassessment, mortgage clauses, title insurance gaps, and Medicaid penalties.
Pick the Right Type of Deed
The deed you use controls what the new owner is actually receiving, and how much recourse they have if a title problem shows up later.
Quitclaim Deed
A quitclaim deed transfers whatever ownership interest the current owner holds, without any promise that the interest is valid or that the property is free of liens. If a title defect surfaces later, the new owner has no claim against the person who signed. Quitclaim deeds work when the parties trust each other: spouses adding each other to title, parents deeding to adult children, or an owner moving property into their own trust.
Warranty Deed
A warranty deed carries legal guarantees about the title itself. A general warranty deed is the broadest form: the signer promises the title is clean and agrees to defend the new owner against any future dispute, including problems that predate their own ownership. A special warranty deed is narrower, covering only issues that arose while the current owner held the property. Warranty deeds are standard in sales between unrelated parties, where the buyer needs formal assurance the title is clean.
Decide How the Owners Will Hold Title
If the new deed puts more than one name on title, it has to say how those owners hold their interests. This choice controls what happens when one of them dies, and the default rules vary by state, so the deed should spell it out.
- Joint tenancy with right of survivorship: Equal shares, and when one owner dies, that share automatically passes to the surviving owner without probate.
- Tenancy in common: Shares can be unequal, and there is no automatic survivorship. A deceased owner’s share passes through their will or estate.
- Tenancy by the entirety: Available in roughly half the states and limited to married couples. It includes survivorship and adds protection against one spouse’s individual creditors.
- Community property: Recognized in nine states. Property acquired during marriage is treated as equally owned by both spouses.
Two siblings inheriting a house and taking title as tenants in common can each leave their share to a different heir. If the intent was for the survivor to end up with the whole property, they needed joint tenancy. Getting this wrong is easy and expensive to unwind.
Prepare, Sign, and Record the New Deed
You need the full legal names and current mailing addresses of the current owner (the grantor) and the new owner (the grantee). Names must match your other legal documents exactly; a small mismatch between the deed and a driver’s license can create problems years later.
You also need the property’s legal description. This is the formal boundary description used in land records, not a street address, and it appears on the current deed. If you do not have a copy, the county recorder’s office or its online portal can provide one.
Blank deed forms are available from the county recorder’s website, office supply stores, or a real estate attorney. The form asks for the grantor and grantee, the legal description, and the language conveying the interest. Many jurisdictions require additional documents at the time of filing, such as a change-of-ownership report for the county assessor. Check the recorder’s website for the full list before you go.
Once the deed is drafted, the grantor signs it in front of a notary public, who verifies identity and applies the official seal. A handful of states also require witnesses: Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina require two, and Georgia requires one. The witness rule is based on the state where the property sits, not where the signing happens. Notary fees for standard in-person notarizations are capped between $5 and $25 per signature in most states. Remote online notarization, available in a growing number of states, generally costs more.
A signed and notarized deed is not legally effective against third parties until it is recorded. You file the original with the county office that keeps land records — the County Recorder, Register of Deeds, or Clerk of Court, depending on where you are. Recording fees are typically charged per page, with a higher fee for the first page. Plan on somewhere between $30 and $150 for a typical deed, though some counties charge more. Many counties now accept e-recording, which speeds up processing.
On top of the recording fee, many jurisdictions charge a separate transfer tax based on the property’s sale price or assessed value. About 14 states impose no transfer tax at all; the rest range from a fraction of a percent up to several percent. Transfers between spouses, transfers under a divorce decree, and transfers into certain trusts are often exempt, but the exemptions differ by state. Ask the recorder’s office what applies before you file.
After processing, the office assigns a recording number and returns the original deed to the new owner. That recorded deed is the proof of ownership. Keep it somewhere safe.
When You Only Need to Fix a Typo
If the current deed has a misspelling or another minor error, you may not need a full new deed. Many states allow a corrective affidavit or corrective deed to fix an obvious mistake on a previously recorded document. The corrective instrument is recorded alongside the original and relates back to the original recording date. An attorney familiar with your state’s rules can tell you whether a correction is enough or a full new deed is required.
Gift Tax Return if You’re Not Being Paid
When you transfer property for less than fair market value, the IRS treats the difference as a gift. For 2026, the annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient, meaning gifts up to that amount to any one person in a calendar year do not require a filing.1Internal Revenue Service. Whats New Estate and Gift Tax Since most homes are worth well over $19,000, nearly every property gift requires a gift tax return (Form 709), due by April 15 of the year after the gift.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 709
Filing does not automatically mean you owe tax. The federal lifetime gift and estate tax exemption for 2026 is $15,000,000 per person.1Internal Revenue Service. Whats New Estate and Gift Tax Gifts above the annual exclusion reduce this lifetime exemption dollar for dollar. Unless you have already given away more than $15 million over your lifetime, no tax is due. You still have to file the return to document the transfer.
Cost Basis: Gifting Now vs. Inheriting Later
This is the most overlooked consequence of putting a family member on the deed during your lifetime, and it can be worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
When you gift property, the recipient takes your original cost basis. If you bought the house for $80,000 thirty years ago and gift it when it is worth $400,000, the recipient’s basis stays at $80,000. If they later sell for $420,000, they owe capital gains tax on $340,000 of gain.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1015 – Basis of Property Acquired by Gifts and Transfers in Trust
When property passes at death, the recipient’s basis is “stepped up” to the fair market value on the date of death. Same example: an heir who inherits the $400,000 house gets a $400,000 basis. Selling for $420,000 means only $20,000 in taxable gain.4Internal Revenue Service. Basis of Assets
For a highly appreciated home, keeping the property in your own name and letting it pass at death is often the better financial move for the family, even when deeding it now feels more proactive. Talk to a tax advisor before signing anything.
Property Tax Reassessment
Transferring a deed can trigger a reassessment of the property’s value for tax purposes, which can push annual property taxes up sharply. This matters most for homes owned for decades in states where assessed values are capped or frozen until ownership changes.
Many jurisdictions provide exemptions that block reassessment for certain transfers, particularly between spouses and from parents to children. Some also exempt transfers into a living trust where the original owner remains a beneficiary. These exemptions usually require you to file specific forms with the county assessor by a deadline. Missing the form can cost you the exemption entirely even if you would otherwise qualify. Contact the assessor’s office before recording, and again immediately after.
Mortgage Due-on-Sale Clause
If there is a mortgage on the property, the loan almost certainly contains a due-on-sale clause letting the lender demand full repayment when ownership changes. Federal law blocks the lender from enforcing that clause for several common transfers. Under 12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3, the lender cannot accelerate the loan when ownership passes to the borrower’s spouse or child, when the transfer results from a divorce decree or separation agreement, or when the property moves into a living trust where the borrower remains a beneficiary.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 1701j-3 Preemption of Due-on-Sale Prohibitions
Those protections cover most family transfers. A transfer outside the listed exceptions, such as deeding the property to an unrelated person or to a business entity, can give the lender grounds to call the loan. Talk to the lender before recording if there is any doubt about whether your transfer qualifies.
Title Insurance May Not Survive the Transfer
An existing owner’s title insurance policy may not carry over to a new owner. Most policies tie coverage to the named insured’s continued ownership interest. Transferring the deed to a new person, a trust, or an LLC can void the original policy because the insured no longer holds title. Some policies specifically exclude voluntary transfers to revocable trusts, so a routine estate planning move can wipe out coverage.
Read the policy before you transfer. If it does not contemplate the type of transfer you are making, you may need an endorsement naming the new owner or trust as an additional insured, or a new policy entirely. Losing coverage without knowing it leaves you exposed if a lien, boundary dispute, or other title defect surfaces later.
Medicaid Look-Back Period
Transferring a home to a family member can backfire if the original owner later needs Medicaid-funded long-term care. Federal law imposes a 60-month look-back: if you transferred assets for less than fair market value within five years before applying for Medicaid, you face a penalty period during which Medicaid will not pay for nursing home care.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 1396p – Liens, Adjustments and Recoveries, and Transfers of Assets
The penalty is the value of the transferred asset divided by the average monthly cost of nursing home care in your state. A $300,000 home in a state where the average monthly rate is $10,000 produces 30 months of ineligibility. You pay for that care yourself.
There are exceptions. No penalty applies when the home is transferred to a spouse; to a child who is under 21 or permanently disabled; to a sibling who already holds an equity interest and lived in the home for at least a year before institutionalization; or to a child who lived in the home for at least two years and provided care that let the owner avoid a nursing facility.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 1396p – Liens, Adjustments and Recoveries, and Transfers of Assets Outside those exceptions, gifting a home without planning around the look-back is one of the most expensive mistakes in elder law.
When to Bring in an Attorney
You are not legally required to use an attorney for most deed transfers. For a simple case, like adding a spouse to the title of a home with no mortgage wrinkles, handling it yourself is reasonable. The ways a transfer can go wrong multiply quickly once divorce, estate planning, Medicaid exposure, or capital gains enter the picture. A real estate attorney can confirm the deed is drafted correctly, the ownership form matches your intent, and the transfer is not quietly triggering a tax bill, voiding title insurance, or creating a Medicaid penalty. For a document that affects what is probably your largest asset, that cost is usually worth paying.