To fill out a quitclaim deed, write in the grantor’s and grantee’s full legal names and current addresses, copy the property’s legal description word-for-word from the existing recorded deed, state a consideration amount, specify how multiple grantees will hold title, and then have the grantor sign in front of a notary before recording the original with the county land records office. The signing itself can happen in a single afternoon once your paperwork is ready, though the county may take a few weeks to index and mail the recorded original back.
Gather the Names and Addresses First
The two central names are the grantor, the person giving up an interest, and the grantee, the person receiving it. The grantor’s full legal name has to match exactly what appears on the current recorded deed. A missing middle name or an old maiden name can break the chain of title and cause problems years later when the grantee tries to sell or refinance.
If the grantor’s legal name has changed since the last deed was recorded, list the current legal name followed by “formerly known as” and the prior name. That single phrase keeps the title chain intact.
Both parties need current mailing addresses on the deed so tax bills and legal notices reach the right person after the transfer. The grantee’s address matters especially, because the county assessor will use it to send property tax statements.
Copy the Legal Description Exactly
Every deed needs a legal description, the precise boundary language that identifies the property in the public records. A street address alone is not enough. The two common formats are metes and bounds, which use compass directions and distances to trace the perimeter, and lot-and-block descriptions, which reference a specific parcel on a recorded subdivision map.
The safest approach is to copy this language word-for-word from the existing deed. One transposed number in a boundary call can describe a completely different piece of land, and the recording office will not catch the error for you.
State the Consideration
The deed must state a consideration, meaning the value exchanged for the property interest. In family transfers, transfers into a trust, and divorce-related conveyances, this is often a nominal amount like $10. You’ll commonly see language such as “ten dollars and other good and valuable consideration,” which satisfies the legal requirement without disclosing a full purchase price. If money is actually changing hands, list the real amount. Some jurisdictions calculate their transfer tax based on this figure.
Decide How Multiple Grantees Will Hold Title
When two or more grantees are receiving the property, the deed needs to specify how they will hold title together. The two common options are joint tenancy with right of survivorship and tenancy in common.
Joint tenancy means each owner holds an equal share, and when one dies, that share automatically passes to the surviving owner without going through probate. Tenancy in common allows owners to hold unequal shares, and each owner can leave their share to anyone they choose in a will. There is no automatic survivorship.
If the deed does not specify a vesting type, most jurisdictions default to tenancy in common. That default catches people off guard. A married couple who intended the surviving spouse to inherit automatically could end up in probate if the deed does not say “joint tenancy with right of survivorship” in clear terms. Get this right on the front end.
Use a Form That Matches Your State
Quitclaim deed forms are not interchangeable across jurisdictions. Each state has its own requirements for granting language, formatting, font size, margin widths, and even the location of the notary block on the page. A generic form downloaded from the internet may lack required language or violate formatting rules, and the recording office will reject it. A deed with defective granting language can also cloud the title in ways that require a court action to fix.
Look for a form published or approved by your state’s bar association, or use one provided by a title company in your area. The granting clause, the sentence that actually transfers the interest, should use language recognized in your state. Many states accept phrasing along the lines of “hereby quitclaims all right, title, and interest,” but the exact wording matters. Spending $20 on a jurisdiction-specific form is far cheaper than hiring an attorney to fix a rejected or ambiguous deed later.
Sign in Front of a Notary
Only the grantor needs to sign a quitclaim deed. The grantee’s signature is not required in most states. That grantor signature must be notarized. The notary verifies the grantor’s identity using government-issued photo identification, confirms the grantor is signing voluntarily, and completes a notarial certificate that includes the notary’s signature, seal, and the date of the acknowledgment. Without this notarization, the county recording office will reject the deed outright.
A handful of states also require witnesses. Florida, for example, requires two witnesses in addition to the notary. If your state mandates witnesses, they must sign in a designated area on the deed, and their names and addresses are usually printed below their signatures. Check your recording office’s requirements before signing day. Showing up without witnesses in a state that requires them means starting over.
Remote Online Notarization
You don’t necessarily need to sit across a desk from a notary. As of 2026, at least 47 states and the District of Columbia have laws authorizing remote online notarization, which lets you complete the process over a live video call using identity verification technology. Availability varies. Some states still limit which documents qualify, and some recording offices are slow to accept remotely notarized deeds. Confirm with your county recorder before going this route.
Record the Deed With the County
Once the deed is signed and notarized, recording it with the county is the step that protects the grantee against the rest of the world. Until the deed is recorded, the transfer is invisible in the public records. Submit the original notarized deed to the office that handles land records in the county where the property is located, usually called the County Recorder, Register of Deeds, or County Clerk. Most offices accept documents in person or by certified mail, and a growing number now accept electronic submissions.
Recording Fees and Transfer Taxes
Every recording office charges a fee to file the deed, and the amount varies widely by jurisdiction. Expect to pay somewhere between $15 and $50 for a standard deed, with additional per-page charges if the document runs long. Call the office or check its website for the current fee schedule and accepted payment methods before you go. Showing up with a personal check when the office only takes cashier’s checks or money orders wastes a trip.
Many jurisdictions also impose a documentary transfer tax based on the property’s value or the consideration stated on the deed. Rates range from roughly $0.50 to $7.00 per $1,000 of value depending on the location. Transfers that involve no actual sale, such as gifts, transfers into a revocable trust, or conveyances between spouses in a divorce, are often exempt from this tax. You typically need to claim the exemption on the deed itself or on a separate affidavit filed at the same time. Missing the exemption claim means paying a tax you didn’t owe.
Supplemental Forms
The deed alone may not be everything the recording office needs. Many jurisdictions require a supplemental form that reports the transfer details to the county tax assessor. In some areas, failing to include this form triggers an additional recording surcharge or delays processing. Other common requirements include a transfer tax declaration or a real estate excise tax affidavit. Your county recorder’s office can tell you exactly which forms must accompany the deed. Ask before you submit.
What You Get Back
The recording office assigns the deed a unique identifier, either a book-and-page number or an instrument number, stamps the original document, and enters it into the public index. The office then returns the stamped original to the grantee or whoever submitted it for filing. Keep that stamped original in a safe place. It is the primary evidence that the transfer happened and that the grantee’s interest is on the public record.
Why Recording Cannot Wait
A quitclaim deed is technically valid between the grantor and grantee the moment the grantor signs and delivers it. But without recording, nobody else knows the transfer happened. The grantor could turn around and sell or mortgage the same property to someone else, and if that second buyer records their deed first, the grantee who failed to record could lose the property entirely. Most states follow a race-notice or notice system that protects later buyers who had no knowledge of the earlier unrecorded transfer.
Recording also protects the grantee from the grantor’s creditors. If a judgment lien attaches to the grantor after the deed was signed but before it was recorded, the grantee’s unrecorded interest may be subordinate to that lien. Record the deed immediately. Every day it sits in a drawer is a day the grantee’s ownership is vulnerable.
Know What Signing Does Not Do
A completed quitclaim deed transfers whatever interest the grantor has and nothing more. Three points regularly surprise people after they sign, and each deserves a look before you fill out the form.
A quitclaim does not remove the grantor from the mortgage. The deed transfers an ownership interest in the property; the mortgage is a separate contract between the borrower and the lender. After a quitclaim, the grantor still owes the full mortgage balance, and the lender can still pursue the grantor personally if payments stop. Most mortgage contracts also contain a due-on-sale clause that lets the lender demand full repayment when ownership changes hands. Federal law prohibits lenders from enforcing that clause for certain residential transfers involving fewer than five dwelling units, including conveyances to a spouse or children of the borrower, transfers resulting from a divorce decree, and transfers into a living trust where the borrower remains a beneficiary.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 1701j-3 – Preemption of Due-on-Sale Prohibitions Transfers outside those categories can trigger acceleration. If there is still a mortgage on the property, contact the lender before recording.
A quitclaim can trigger federal gift tax reporting and reset property basis. When you transfer property for less than its fair market value, including a nominal $10 transfer, the IRS treats the difference as a gift. For 2026, each person can give up to $19,000 per recipient per year without reporting.2Internal Revenue Service. What’s New — Estate and Gift Tax3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 7094Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1015 – Basis of Property Acquired by Gifts and Transfers in Trust5Internal Revenue Service. Property (Basis, Sale of Home, Etc.) Talk to a tax professional before signing. Recording a new deed can also trigger a property tax reassessment; some states exempt parent-to-child transfers, spousal transfers, or conveyances into a revocable trust, but the exemption usually requires filing a claim form with the county assessor by a deadline.
A quitclaim gives the grantee no title guarantees. Unlike a warranty deed, it makes no promises that the grantor actually owns the property, that the title is free of liens, or that no one else has a competing claim. Unpaid property taxes, contractor liens, and judgment liens attached before the transfer all survive a quitclaim and become the grantee’s problem. Many title insurance companies are reluctant to issue a policy on property acquired by quitclaim deed, and existing title insurance held by the grantor does not automatically transfer to the grantee. A title search before the transfer is inexpensive compared to dealing with a lien after the fact.