To fill out and record a quitclaim deed, you prepare a form that names the grantor and grantee, includes the property’s exact legal description and parcel number, states how the new owners will hold title, has the grantor sign before a notary (and witnesses in a few states), and then you submit it with any required tax forms to the county recorder’s office where the property is located. The deed takes legal effect between the parties when it is signed and delivered, but it does not protect against competing claims until it is recorded in the public land records.
What to Gather Before You Touch the Form
Four pieces of information account for most of what a recorder will check. Missing any of them is the most common reason a filing gets sent back.
The first is the legal description of the property. A street address will not do. The deed must carry the exact legal description from the property’s current recorded deed, which comes in one of three formats: a metes-and-bounds description using distances and compass directions, a lot-and-block description referencing a recorded subdivision plat, or a government survey description using townships, ranges, and sections. Your county recorder or assessor can provide a copy of the existing deed, and you should transcribe the description word for word, including punctuation. A single transposed digit in a lot number can get the deed rejected or, worse, convey the wrong parcel.
The second is the parcel identification number. Most counties assign a tax parcel number or assessor’s parcel number to each piece of property, and nearly every recording office requires it either on the deed itself or on a supplementary form.
The third is the full legal names of everyone involved. The grantor’s name (the person giving up interest) must match the name on the existing deed exactly. The grantee’s name (the person receiving interest) must match their legal identification. Nicknames and misspellings are a frequent reason for rejection.
The fourth is a decision about how the grantee will hold title. If more than one person is receiving the property, you need to settle the ownership structure before filling anything out, because the vesting language goes into the deed and has real legal consequences.
Filling Out the Deed
Forms vary by jurisdiction. Some counties publish their own template; others accept any form that meets their recording requirements. Whatever source you use, the core elements are the same.
At the top, you will find header fields for the return address (where the county mails the deed after recording) and sometimes a line labeled “Recording Requested By.” Fill these in completely. A missing return address is one of the easiest ways to get a filing bounced. Leave the top portion of the first page blank for the recorder’s stamps and indexing data; the required margin is usually between two and three inches, and your local recorder’s website will specify the exact dimensions.
The body begins with the grantor’s full legal name, address, and in some states marital status. Next is the consideration statement. Most forms include a line for the amount paid. Even when the transfer is a gift, the standard practice is to recite a nominal amount such as “ten dollars and other good and valuable consideration.” Some jurisdictions require this language and others do not. If your form includes the line, fill it in. Leaving it blank invites questions from the recorder.
Then comes the granting clause. This is the operative language that actually executes the transfer. Traditional quitclaim language includes phrases like “remise, release, and forever quitclaim,” though the exact wording varies by state, and many states have statutory deed forms with prescribed language. Use the granting clause that comes with your form rather than improvising. The wrong phrasing could change the legal character of the deed entirely.
After the granting clause, insert the grantee’s full legal name, address, and the vesting language describing how they will hold title. Then paste in the full legal description and the parcel identification number. If the description is long, some forms place it on a separate exhibit page; attach it and reference it in the body (“as more particularly described in Exhibit A attached hereto”).
How the New Owners Will Hold Title
When the deed transfers property to more than one grantee, the vesting language controls what happens to each person’s share later on. Getting it wrong creates problems that are expensive to fix. The two most common options are:
- Joint tenancy with right of survivorship. Each owner holds an equal share. When one owner dies, the share automatically passes to the surviving owner or owners, outside of probate, and cannot be left to someone else in a will. This is popular between married couples.
- Tenancy in common. Owners can hold unequal shares (say, 60/40), and there is no automatic survivorship. When one owner dies, the share passes under their will or state intestacy laws. This is more flexible for business partners, unmarried co-owners, or investors.
Some states also recognize tenancy by the entirety, available only to married couples, which adds protection from one spouse’s individual creditors. Vesting language must appear on the deed itself. You cannot add it later without recording a new instrument. If you are unsure which structure fits, a brief conversation with a real estate attorney before signing is worth the cost.
Supplementary Tax and Disclosure Forms
A quitclaim deed rarely gets recorded without additional paperwork, and recording offices in many jurisdictions require one or more forms before they will accept the filing.
A preliminary change of ownership report is required in several states so the county assessor can update tax records after the transfer. The form asks about the nature of the transaction (sale, gift, trust transfer, divorce-related conveyance) and whether any exclusions from reassessment apply. Skipping or leaving it incomplete gets the whole package returned.
Many states and some municipalities also impose a transfer tax, sometimes called a documentary stamp tax or real estate excise tax, when property changes hands. Rates vary widely but commonly fall between 0.1% and 0.4% of the property’s value. You will need to complete a transfer tax affidavit or declaration disclosing the sale price or, for non-sale transfers, the basis for claiming an exemption. Gift transfers between family members, transfers into a revocable trust where the grantor remains the beneficiary, and divorce-related transfers are exempt from transfer tax in many jurisdictions, but you still have to file the form and check the right exemption box. The recorder will reject the deed if the transfer tax form is missing or if the declared value does not match the deed.
A boundary case worth flagging: if the grantor is a foreign person (not a U.S. citizen or resident alien), the transferee generally must withhold 15% of the amount realized and remit it to the IRS under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act, with an exemption when the property will be used as the buyer’s residence and the amount realized is $300,000 or less.1Internal Revenue Service. FIRPTA Withholding This is uncommon in a family quitclaim, but missing the withholding obligation creates personal liability for the transferee.
Signing, Notarizing, and Witnesses
The grantor signs the quitclaim deed. The grantee’s signature is not required in most states, because the deed is a conveyance rather than a contract. The grantor signs in the physical presence of a notary public, who verifies identity through government-issued photo identification and attaches an official seal to the acknowledgment section. Without a proper notarial acknowledgment, no recording office will accept the document.
A handful of states also require witnesses at the signing, separate from the notary. Florida, Connecticut, and Louisiana require two witnesses; Georgia requires one. In some of these states the notary can serve as one of the witnesses, and in others not. Check your state’s rules before the appointment. Discovering you needed a witness after the fact means starting the notarization over.
Bring the deed and every supplementary form to the notary at the same time. Some tax disclosure forms also require notarization, and handling everything in one appointment avoids a return trip. Mobile notaries and online notarization are available in many states.
Recording the Deed
A signed and notarized quitclaim deed takes legal effect between the grantor and grantee upon delivery. Until you record it, however, the transfer is invisible to the rest of the world. Recording puts future buyers, lenders, and creditors on notice that the property has changed hands. Failing to record promptly can create serious problems if a competing claim surfaces later.
Bring the original notarized deed and all completed supplementary forms to the county recorder or register of deeds in the county where the property is located. Many counties now also accept electronic recording through third-party platforms, which is convenient if you do not live near the property. Recording fees for a standard deed generally run between $10 and $100 depending on the county and the number of pages, with additional per-page charges for longer documents. Some jurisdictions collect transfer taxes at the recording window as well.
After recording, the office stamps the deed with a recording number and date, scans it into the public land records, and mails the original back to the return address on the form. Turnaround times vary. Some offices return documents within two weeks, others take several. The recording date, not the return date, is what matters legally.
Why Deeds Get Rejected
Recording offices are strict and will return a defective filing rather than fix it for you. The frequent rejection reasons are worth checking against your package before you submit:
- Incomplete or illegible notary acknowledgment. The notary’s name on the acknowledgment does not match the stamp, the seal is smudged, or the wrong acknowledgment form was used for your state.
- Names that do not match. The grantor’s name on the deed does not match the name on the existing recorded deed, or the names in the notary acknowledgment do not match the names on the deed.
- Missing or incomplete supplementary forms. The preliminary change of ownership report is missing, the transfer tax affidavit is unsigned, or the declared value on the tax form conflicts with the deed.
- Missing legal description or exhibit. The deed references an exhibit for the legal description, but the exhibit page is missing or illegible.
- Formatting violations. The top margin is too small for recorder stamps, text is printed in colored ink instead of black, or both sides of a page are printed on.
- Missing return address. No mailing address appears for returning the recorded original.
A rejected deed means starting over and often paying to re-notarize. Double-check every field, every spelling, and every attachment before you walk in.
The Mortgage Does Not Transfer With the Deed
This is where most people get tripped up. A quitclaim deed transfers ownership, but a mortgage is a separate contract between the borrower and the lender. Signing over the deed does not remove the grantor’s name from the mortgage, and the grantor remains personally liable for the loan after the transfer. The only way for the grantor to get off the loan is for the grantee to refinance in their own name, or for the lender to formally release the grantor. Neither happens automatically when a deed is recorded. If the grantee stops paying, the lender will come after the grantor.
Most mortgage contracts also contain a due-on-sale clause that lets the lender demand full repayment when the property is transferred. Federal law bars lenders from enforcing a due-on-sale clause on several categories of transfers that commonly use quitclaim deeds, including transfers where a spouse or child becomes an owner, transfers resulting from a divorce decree or separation agreement, transfers to a relative after the borrower’s death, and transfers into a living trust where the borrower remains a beneficiary and occupant.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 U.S. Code 1701j-3 – Preemption of Due-on-Sale Prohibitions If your transfer does not fall into one of these protected categories, contact the lender before recording to avoid triggering acceleration of the loan balance.
Tax Consequences to Know Going In
A quitclaim deed that moves property for less than fair market value can trigger gift tax reporting and will affect the recipient’s tax bill when they eventually sell.
Gift Tax Reporting
If you transfer property to someone other than your spouse and receive less than fair market value, the IRS treats the difference as a taxable gift. For 2026, the annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient.3Internal Revenue Service. Gifts and Inheritances 1 Because most real estate is worth far more than that, a quitclaim gift of property almost always requires filing IRS Form 709 by April 15 of the following year.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 709
Filing Form 709 does not necessarily mean you owe gift tax. The lifetime basic exclusion amount for 2026 is $15,000,000, so the gift reduces your remaining lifetime exemption unless you have already used it up.5Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax The filing itself is still mandatory, and the IRS can assess penalties for late or missing returns.
Transfers between spouses, and transfers to a former spouse as part of a divorce, are exempt from gift tax. Federal law provides that no gain or loss is recognized on these transfers, and no Form 709 is required.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1041 – Transfers of Property Between Spouses or Incident to Divorce
Carryover Basis for the Recipient
When you receive property as a gift rather than buying it or inheriting it, your tax basis is the same basis the donor had, not the current market value. This is called a carryover basis.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1015 – Basis of Property Acquired by Gifts and Transfers in Trust The practical impact can be large. If your parent bought a house for $80,000 thirty years ago and quitclaims it to you when it is worth $400,000, your basis is $80,000. When you sell for $400,000, you owe capital gains tax on $320,000 of gain. Had you inherited the same property at death, you would have received a stepped-up basis equal to the market value, and the $320,000 of gain would have been erased.
The same carryover basis rule applies to transfers between spouses and transfers incident to divorce.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1041 – Transfers of Property Between Spouses or Incident to Divorce Those transfers do not trigger immediate tax, but the receiving spouse inherits the original cost basis, so the spouse who keeps the house may face a larger capital gains bill on eventual sale. In a divorce, that is worth factoring into settlement negotiations.
Two Side Effects Worth Knowing About
If the property had an existing owner’s title insurance policy, that coverage likely ends with a quitclaim transfer. Title policies typically include a continuation-of-coverage clause that keeps the policy in force only as long as the insured has liability through covenants or warranties in the deed used to transfer the property. A quitclaim contains no covenants or warranties, so the prior coverage terminates. Getting a new policy on property received by quitclaim can be more expensive than usual, because title companies are cautious about insuring these transfers. For a family transfer where you know the history, that may not matter. If you plan to sell or refinance soon, the absence of title insurance can complicate those transactions.
Quitclaiming property can also affect eligibility for Medicaid-funded long-term care. Federal law imposes a 60-month look-back: if you transfer assets for less than fair market value within five years before applying for Medicaid, the state calculates a penalty period during which you are ineligible for Medicaid-covered nursing home care.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 1396p – Liens, Adjustments and Recoveries, and Transfers of Assets The penalty period is calculated by dividing the uncompensated value of the transferred asset by the average monthly cost of private nursing home care in your state, which in many states means years of ineligibility. If you are over 55 or anticipate needing long-term care within the next several years, talk with an elder law attorney before using a quitclaim deed.