To fill out a quitclaim deed, you need to identify the grantor and grantee by full legal name, copy the property’s legal description and assessor’s parcel number exactly from the current deed, state the consideration, have the grantor sign in front of a notary, and record the finished document with the county recorder where the property sits. The form itself is short. The work is in the details around it, because a single typo in the legal description or a missing marital-status line is enough to get the deed rejected at the counter.
A quitclaim deed transfers whatever interest the grantor currently holds, with no promise that the title is clear or that the grantor owns anything at all. That is why it shows up most often between family members, divorcing spouses, and people moving property into a living trust, and why you should think carefully about the tax and mortgage consequences before you sign.
Gather the Information You Need First
Before you touch a blank form, pull together four things: the parties’ full legal names and current mailing addresses, the property’s legal description, the assessor’s parcel number, and the consideration amount.
Names and Addresses
The grantor is the person giving up their interest. The grantee is the person receiving it. Both names must match government-issued identification exactly. A nickname, a dropped middle name, or a misspelled surname creates a gap in the chain of title that can complicate every future sale or refinance of the property. Include a current mailing address for each party.
Legal Description
The legal description is not the street address. It identifies the land through lot and block numbers in a subdivision, metes and bounds in a narrative of distances and directions, or section, township, and range in rural areas. Copy it exactly from the most recent recorded deed. Transposing two digits in a lot number is enough for the recorder to reject the filing. You can usually find the description on your existing deed, on the last title insurance policy, or through your county recorder’s online records.
Assessor’s Parcel Number
The assessor’s parcel number, or APN, is a unique identifier the county tax assessor assigns to the property. You can find it on your annual property tax bill or on the county assessor’s website. Many recorder offices will not accept a deed that leaves this number blank.
Consideration
Consideration is what the grantee gives in exchange for the transfer. In a sale, that is the purchase price. In a family gift or a transfer into a trust, grantors typically write a nominal amount such as “ten dollars and other good and valuable consideration.” The figure you list can affect transfer taxes and may prompt the assessor to look at whether the property should be reassessed.
Complete the Form
Blank quitclaim deed forms are available from your county recorder’s office, and most counties post downloadable versions on their websites. A legal document preparation service is another option. Whichever form you use, confirm it meets your state’s formatting rules. Margins, font size, and a return-address block are commonly regulated, and a form that does not comply gets rejected at recording.
Fill in the grantor’s and grantee’s full legal names, the legal description, the APN, the consideration, and the date. Some states also require the grantor to state marital status. If your state wants a “prepared by” or “drafted by” statement identifying who created the document, complete that line too. Leaving it blank is a frequent reason for rejection.
Notarization
The grantor signs in front of a notary public. The notary checks the grantor’s photo identification, confirms the signature is voluntary, and completes an acknowledgment section on the deed. This step is what protects the record against forgery. Notary fees for a single acknowledgment generally run from $2 to $25, though some states set no cap.
Witnesses
A few states want witnesses in addition to the notary. Florida requires two witnesses on a quitclaim deed. Georgia and Louisiana each require two witnesses who cannot also be the notary. Check your state’s rule before the signing appointment, because a deed missing a required witness signature will not be accepted for recording.
Record the Deed With Your County
Recording puts the transfer into the public record. Until the deed is recorded, future buyers, lenders, and other third parties have no official notice that ownership changed.
How to Submit
Most counties accept deeds in person at the recorder’s office or by mail. If you mail it, include a self-addressed stamped envelope for the return of the original. A growing number of counties also accept electronic submissions through e-recording vendors. You scan the signed, notarized deed and upload it through the vendor’s portal, and the county typically returns a stamped digital copy within hours instead of weeks.
Recording Fees
Recording fees are due when you submit. They vary widely: some counties charge per page, others charge a flat fee per document. A typical range is $10 to $50 for the first page, with additional pages costing less. Check your county recorder’s website for the current schedule before you file.
Common Reasons Deeds Get Rejected
- The notary acknowledgment is missing, incomplete, or has an illegible stamp.
- The grantor’s name on the new deed does not match the name on the prior recorded deed.
- The legal description has a typo or does not match existing records.
- The grantor’s marital status is not stated where the state requires it.
- The document does not meet margin, font, or page-size rules.
- The recording fee is wrong, or a required transfer tax form or payment is missing.
- The deed omits the name and address of the person who prepared it.
If the recorder rejects your deed, the office returns it with an explanation. You can correct and resubmit, but you may need to have the deed re-notarized if the correction touches the signed portion.
After the Deed Is Accepted
Once accepted, the recorder assigns the deed a unique instrument number or a book-and-page reference, scans the original into its digital records, and mails the original back to the grantee or to the return address on the deed. Some offices return documents within days, others take several weeks.
Transfer Taxes and Change-of-Ownership Reports
Most states impose a transfer tax when real property changes hands, calculated as a rate applied to the consideration or the property’s value. It goes by different names: documentary stamp tax, conveyance tax, excise tax. Common exemptions cover transfers between spouses, transfers ordered by a divorce decree, gifts with only nominal consideration, and transfers into a living trust where the grantor remains a beneficiary. If you claim an exemption, you generally have to note it on the deed or on a separate form and attach supporting paperwork such as a divorce decree or trust document.
Many jurisdictions also require a change-of-ownership form, sometimes called a property transfer affidavit or preliminary change of ownership report, filed at the same time as the deed. This tells the tax assessor whether the transfer should trigger a reassessment. Skipping the form when it is required can bring an added fee, and the assessor may reassess the property at a higher value by default if you do not submit it. Ask your county recorder or assessor whether the form is required and whether it goes in with the deed.
Watch the Mortgage
A quitclaim deed transfers ownership. It does not transfer the loan. If the grantor’s name is on the mortgage, the grantor stays personally responsible for the payments after the deed is signed. A missed payment by the new owner damages the original borrower’s credit and can lead to foreclosure.
Nearly all residential mortgages contain a due-on-sale clause, which lets the lender demand full repayment if the property is transferred without approval. Federal law blocks the lender from using that clause in several common quitclaim situations. Under the Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act, a lender on a residential property with fewer than five units cannot accelerate the loan for a transfer to a spouse or child, a transfer to a spouse or former spouse under a divorce decree or separation agreement, a transfer into a revocable trust where the borrower remains a beneficiary and the occupancy does not change, or a transfer to a relative after the borrower’s death.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 U.S. Code 1701j-3 – Preemption of Due-on-Sale Prohibitions Transfers outside those categories, such as a quitclaim to an unrelated friend or a business partner, are not protected, and the lender can demand full repayment.
Gift Tax and the Carryover Basis Problem
When you transfer property by quitclaim deed for little or no payment, the IRS may treat the transfer as a gift. Two tax questions follow: whether the grantor has to file a gift tax return now, and what tax basis the grantee carries into a future sale.
For 2026, you can give up to $19,000 per recipient per year without any gift tax filing requirement.2Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026 Most real property is worth well above that. If the fair market value of the transferred interest is more than $19,000, the grantor must file IRS Form 709 for that year. Filing does not necessarily mean tax is owed; the excess is applied against the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption. But the return itself is required. Married couples can elect to split a gift so each spouse uses their own $19,000 exclusion, and both must file a Form 709 to make that election.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 709
The bigger long-term issue is carryover basis. When someone receives property as a gift, including through a quitclaim deed, their tax basis is the same as the grantor’s original basis.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1015 – Basis of Property Acquired by Gifts and Transfers in Trust If a parent bought a home for $80,000 decades ago and quitclaims it to a child when the home is worth $400,000, the child’s basis is $80,000. A later sale at $400,000 produces $320,000 of taxable capital gain.
Inherited property is treated differently. It receives a stepped-up basis equal to its fair market value on the date of death.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1014 – Basis of Property Acquired From a Decedent The same child inheriting the $400,000 home would take a $400,000 basis and owe no capital gains tax on a sale at that price. For property with a large built-in gain, using a quitclaim deed as an estate planning shortcut can cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars that inheriting would not.
Medicaid and the Five-Year Lookback
A quitclaim transfer can also affect Medicaid long-term care eligibility. Federal law requires states to review asset transfers made within 60 months before a Medicaid application.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 1396p – Liens, Adjustments and Recoveries, and Transfers of Assets If you gave away property for less than fair market value during that window, Medicaid imposes a penalty period of ineligibility.
The penalty is not a fine. It is a stretch of time you must wait before Medicaid will pay for nursing home or other long-term care costs. Its length is the value of the transferred assets divided by the average monthly cost of private nursing home care in your state.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 1396p – Liens, Adjustments and Recoveries, and Transfers of Assets Quitclaim a $300,000 home in a state where the average monthly nursing home cost is $10,000, and you face 30 months of ineligibility during which you would have to pay privately. Exceptions exist for transfers to a spouse, a disabled child, or a child who lived in the home and provided care that delayed institutionalization, but the rules vary by state, and anyone who may need long-term care within the next five years should talk to an elder law attorney before signing.
Title Insurance and Resale
Because a quitclaim deed makes no warranty of title, it can create problems years after the transfer. An owner’s title insurance policy generally covers the insured only while they hold an interest in the property, so a quitclaim can end existing coverage. Title companies may decline to write a new policy, or charge more, when a quitclaim sits in the recent chain of title. Mortgage lenders often will not finance a purchase where the most recent transfer was by quitclaim alone, and a future buyer’s title company may require a title search or a new warranty deed before issuing insurance. The grantee also takes the property subject to any existing liens, encumbrances, or third-party claims, including ones neither party knew about.
If the grantee is anyone other than a close family member, ordering a title search before the transfer is a reasonable precaution. If the property is likely to be sold or refinanced, having the grantor sign a warranty deed instead avoids most of these complications.