Arkansas Quitclaim Deed: Requirements, Recording and Transfer Tax

An Arkansas quitclaim deed transfers whatever interest the grantor holds in a property without promising that the title is good. To be recorded, it must be acknowledged or otherwise executed as Arkansas law permits (Ark. Code 14-15-402), show who prepared it, carry a signed transfer-tax statement and, under Act 752 of 2025, come with the grantor's photo ID when it is filed in person or by mail. The circuit clerk, who serves as the county recorder, records it. For other states, see our guide to quitclaim deed rules by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-10. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Arkansas law on recording a quitclaim deed: the recording standards in Ark. Code 14-15-402 and 14-15-403 (including the photo ID rule added by Act 752 of 2025), recording fees, the state real property transfer tax in Title 26, chapter 60, the homestead signature rule as the Arkansas Supreme Court described it, spousal dower and curtesy rights, and state property tax effects, with federal mortgage and gift-tax points where they affect a family transfer. It does not cover title insurance, a lender's own underwriting rules, local fees or taxes beyond those named, or other states' laws.

What a quitclaim deed does in Arkansas

A quitclaim deed passes whatever interest the grantor has, if any, and makes no promise that the title is good or free of claims. That is the difference from a warranty deed, which carries promises about the title. For how the two compare, see quitclaim vs. warranty deeds.

People use a quitclaim to add or remove a spouse, give a home to a child, move a home into a trust, or clear up title after a divorce. Each of those has its own transfer-tax, property-tax and mortgage points, covered below.

Arkansas has no official state quitclaim deed form. The Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) publishes the transfer-tax affidavit, not a deed form, and county circuit clerks publish recording checklists. A circuit clerk can explain local recording requirements but cannot give legal advice; a lawyer licensed in Arkansas can prepare the deed.

Arkansas quitclaim deed requirements for recording

Arkansas sets statewide recording standards in Ark. Code 14-15-402 and 14-15-403. Fulton County's circuit clerk reproduces them on its recording-standards page, and the circuit clerk returns a deed that does not meet them.

The top-right area of the first page is reserved for the recorder's file mark. The recorder may waive the format rules for good cause, or for an electronic document that complies with the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act. Documents executed before January 1, 2004, surveys and plats are exempt from them. A good-cause waiver adds a $25 fee (Ark. Code 21-6-306(a)(2)).

These are the requirements for getting a deed recorded. Whether a particular deed also meets every requirement for validity, such as how it is witnessed or how the property is described, is a question for a lawyer licensed in Arkansas.

The transfer-tax statement on every deed

Arkansas deeds carry a signed tax statement even when no tax is due. Under 26-60-110, as rewritten by Act 656 of 2017, the deed must carry this statement signed by the grantee or the grantee's agent, with the grantee's address clearly shown on the deed: "I certify under penalty of false swearing that documentary stamps or a documentary symbol in the legally correct amount has been placed on this instrument." A deed exempt from the tax may instead carry the statement "This instrument is exempt from the real property transfer tax," or a substantially similar statement, acknowledged in the same manner. Fulton County's circuit clerk says the requirement has no exceptions.

Act 752: photo ID for deeds filed in person or by mail

Act 752 of 2025 (SB406, approved April 17, 2025) added subsection (f) to Ark. Code 14-15-403. The Pulaski County Circuit Clerk gives its effective date as August 5, 2025. It matters most for a do-it-yourself quitclaim, because it applies to the grantor directly.

Under the act, a deed to real estate presented for recording in person or by mail "shall not be received for record or filing by the recorder unless the grantor named in the deed to real estate or an individual signing the deed on behalf of the grantor named in the deed to real estate appears in person at the office of the recorder and presents a valid photo identification card or driver's license." For a deed sent by mail, the grantor must include a photocopy of the ID. The copy is attached to the recorded deed, and an unredacted copy is filed under seal.

The ID rule does not apply when the deed is presented by:

• an attorney;
• a real estate broker or agent;
• a representative of a bank, mortgage company or other lender;
• a title insurance agent or agency;
• the Commissioner of State Lands;
• a representative of the state or a political subdivision, or the state, a municipality, a county or another political subdivision itself.

The Pulaski County Circuit Clerk also says "Deeds that are electronically recorded through the county's e-recording system" are not covered. According to the clerk, the law "was enacted to help protect property owners from fraudulent activity and ensure that all deed recordings are traceable to an identifiable person."

Does a spouse have to sign an Arkansas quitclaim deed?

For a married person's homestead, a spouse's signature matters. In Graham v. Inlow, 296 Ark. 165 (1988), the Arkansas Supreme Court described the homestead conveyance statute (now Ark. Code 18-12-403) this way: "It provides basically that no conveyance affecting the homestead of a married person shall be valid unless his or her spouse joins in the execution of it."

The same case shows the rule has limits. The court held valid a deed of the homestead to the wife and children, though she did not join in it, because she approved and accepted the deed. Because the effect of a missing spouse's signature depends on the facts, ask a lawyer licensed in Arkansas before one spouse deeds the family home. If the deed is part of a divorce, see our guide to Arkansas divorce laws.

The homestead rule is not the only spousal interest. Ark. Code 28-11-301 gives a spouse a dower or curtesy right in lands sold during the marriage without the spouse's consent in legal form, so the question can arise even for property that is not the homestead. A lawyer licensed in Arkansas can say whether your spouse needs to sign.

Recording a quitclaim deed with the circuit clerk

Record the deed with the circuit clerk of the county where the property is located; in Arkansas the circuit clerk serves as the county recorder. Recording puts the deed into the county's public land records, where later buyers, lenders and title searchers look for it. To search those records, see our guide to Arkansas property records. How an unrecorded deed fares against a later buyer or creditor is governed by Arkansas's recording statutes, and a lawyer licensed in Arkansas can explain how they apply to a particular transfer.

Recording fees

Arkansas sets a uniform recording fee for deeds by statute: $15 for the first page and $5 for each additional page (Ark. Code 21-6-306(a)(1)(A)). The Clark County Circuit Clerk's published schedule lists the same amounts: "$15.00 First page, $5.00 each additional page." If the recorder waives the format rules for good cause, add $25 (21-6-306(a)(2)).

E-recording

Arkansas law provides for electronic recording under the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act (Ark. Code 14-2-301 and following) and 14-15-407, and the recorder may waive the paper format rules for compliant electronic documents. Availability varies by county, so ask the circuit clerk whether the county accepts e-recorded deeds.

Arkansas real property transfer tax on a quitclaim deed

Arkansas levies its Real Property Transfer Tax "on each deed, instrument, or writing by which any lands, tenements, or other realty sold shall be granted, assigned, transferred, or otherwise conveyed" (Ark. Code 26-60-101 and following). The DFA's Miscellaneous Tax Section administers it. In DFA's words, "The tax rate is $3.30 per $1,000 of actual consideration on transactions that exceed $100." The tax is paid by buying documentary stamps (DFA posts a stamp purchase form), and Ark. Code 26-60-105 and 26-60-106 set how the tax is computed and who pays it; DFA's Miscellaneous Tax Section can say how they apply to a particular deed.

DFA publishes a Real Property Transfer Tax Affidavit of Compliance. It asks for the grantee's and grantor's names and addresses, the date of transfer, the county, the full consideration and any exemption claimed, and it carries the certification language. For a deed on which no tax is due but that is not clearly exempt, Ark. Code 26-60-107 provides for this affidavit to be presented with the deed to the recorder, so confirm with the circuit clerk before filing.

Exemptions that fit common quitclaim situations

The affidavit lists other exemptions as well, including transfers to or from government, instruments given only as security, tax-sale conveyances, leasehold-only transfers, timber deeds for up to 24 months, foreclosures and deeds in lieu to the secured party, FHA, VA and USDA home sales of $60,000 or less with the buyer's sworn statement, and transfers in a business entity's organization or reorganization.

The DFA sources do not say whether a gift of a valuable home with no price paid counts as "consideration of $100 or less," or whether a no-consideration transfer into a trust does. Ask DFA's Miscellaneous Tax Section or a tax professional before relying on either.

Watch out: An exempt or no-tax deed still needs a statement. Without the signed stamps certification or the exemption statement required by 26-60-110, the circuit clerk will not record it.

Property tax effects of a quitclaim in Arkansas

Arkansas fixes assessment status as of January 1. According to DFA, citing Ark. Code 26-26-1201, "The assessor records the new owner and the selling price, and the use of the property and on January 1st the following year the taxes are assessed consistent with the new status in the name of the new owner."

The homestead property tax credit is applied for with the county assessor. DFA says "Homeowners in Arkansas may receive a homestead property tax credit of up to $500 per year. Beginning with the 2026 tax bills the general assembly has authorized an increase up to $600." Only one credit is allowed per year. Points that matter for a quitclaim, per DFA:

• A homeowner, for the credit, includes a record owner, a buyer under a recorded sales contract, or a holder of a recorded life estate.
• A home owned by a revocable or irrevocable trust can qualify.
• A person who deeds the home away but keeps a recorded life estate may still qualify.

For owners 65 or older or disabled whose homestead value is frozen, DFA answers "No" to whether the freeze is removed when the owner conveys the homestead to a revocable or irrevocable trust he or she formed and keeps living there (citing 26-26-1122). Transferring the home while keeping a life estate and living there also does not remove the freeze (26-26-1123).

Mortgages and quitclaim deeds

A deed does not remove anyone from a mortgage; only the lender can release a borrower. Under 12 CFR 191.5(b)(4), if the lender and the new owner agree in writing, before the transfer, that the new owner will be obligated on the loan, then on that agreement "a lender shall release the existing borrower from all obligations under the loan instruments."

Federal law limits when a lender can call a home loan due because of a transfer. Under 12 U.S.C. 1701j-3(d), for a loan on residential property with fewer than five dwelling units, a lender may not use a due-on-sale clause for certain transfers, including a transfer where the borrower's spouse or children become an owner and a transfer on the death of a joint tenant or tenant by the entirety. The federal regulation, 12 CFR 191.5(b), applies these limits to a loan on a home occupied or to be occupied by the borrower, and covers:

• a transfer where the spouse or children become an owner, or a transfer from a divorce decree, legal separation agreement or property settlement by which the spouse becomes an owner, where the person taking title occupies or will occupy the property (12 CFR 191.5(b)(1)(v));
• a transfer into a living (inter vivos) trust in which the borrower is and remains the beneficiary and occupant, unless the borrower refuses to give the lender reasonable means of notice of later transfers (12 CFR 191.5(b)(1)(vi)).

These limits are conditional, and a lender keeps the right to enforce the clause if a later event disqualifies the transfer (12 CFR 191.5(b)(5)). Transfers outside the listed categories, such as to a sibling or friend, are not covered. Talk to the lender before signing. Federal servicing rules also recognize a "successor in interest," such as a spouse or child who receives an ownership interest from a borrower (12 CFR 1024.31).

Federal gift tax on a quitclaim to a family member

Giving property away by quitclaim can be a gift for federal tax purposes. The IRS says the gift tax "applies to the transfer by gift of any type of property." For 2026, "the annual exclusion for gifts remains at $19,000" per recipient. The IRS lists gifts to your spouse among gifts that are not taxable and says the donor is generally responsible for paying any gift tax. If your spouse is not a U.S. citizen, the IRS limits tax-free gifts to that spouse to an annual exclusion of $194,000 for 2026.

The IRS also says the recipient's basis in gifted property is generally the same as the donor's basis. Ask a tax professional before deeding a home as a gift; this page does not give tax advice.

Deed fraud protections in Arkansas

Act 752's photo ID rule is Arkansas's main recording-office safeguard against forged deeds: a deed filed in person or by mail now has to trace back to an identified grantor or signer, unless one of the act's listed professional or government filers presents it.

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center advises owners to "Check if your County Recorder, Register of Deeds, County Appraisal District, or County Clerk’s Office offer notification services and send an automated email or text when a legal document is recorded using your name" (IC3 PSA I-061626-PSA). Ask your circuit clerk whether the county offers one.

Beneficiary deeds and other alternatives

If the goal is to pass a home at death rather than now, Arkansas law provides for a beneficiary deed under Ark. Code 18-12-608, and the DFA affidavit lists a beneficiary deed as exempt from the transfer tax. A lawyer licensed in Arkansas can explain how one is made and recorded. For what happens when an owner dies without one, see our guide to Arkansas probate.

If the new owner wants the grantor to stand behind the title, a quitclaim is the wrong tool; a warranty deed carries promises about the title that a quitclaim does not.

Common myths about Arkansas quitclaim deeds

• "A gift deed needs no tax paperwork." It still needs the signed stamps certification or the exemption statement under 26-60-110, or the circuit clerk returns it.
• "Anyone can mail a deed in for recording." Since Act 752 of 2025, a grantor who files by mail must enclose a photocopy of a valid photo ID, unless a listed professional or government filer presents the deed.
• "A quitclaim takes me off the mortgage." No. Only the lender can release a borrower (12 CFR 191.5(b)(4)).
• "Moving my frozen homestead into my trust ends the freeze." Not if you formed the trust and keep living there, according to DFA (26-26-1122).

Related

• Quitclaim deed rules by state
• Arkansas property records
• Quitclaim vs. warranty deeds
• Arkansas divorce laws
• Arkansas probate

This article provides general legal information about Arkansas law on quitclaim deeds, verified on 2026-10-10. It is not legal or tax advice. For your situation, contact your county circuit clerk (who cannot give legal advice), a legal aid office, or a lawyer licensed in Arkansas.

Last updated: 2026-10-10.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I file a quitclaim deed in Arkansas?

Take or mail the signed, acknowledged deed to the circuit clerk of the county where the property is located, with the preparer's name and address on page one (Ark. Code 14-15-403) and the signed transfer-tax statement with the grantee's address shown on the deed (26-60-110). Under Act 752 of 2025, a grantor filing in person shows a valid photo ID, and a grantor filing by mail encloses a photocopy of it.

Does a quitclaim deed need to be notarized in Arkansas?

To be recorded, yes in practice: 14-15-402 requires the deed to be acknowledged or otherwise executed as Ark. Code 16-47-107 or 18-12-208 permits, and says the recorder shall not refuse a document executed that way.

How much does it cost to record a quitclaim deed in Arkansas?

The recording fee for a deed is $15 for the first page and $5 for each additional page. If the recorder waives the 14-15-402 format rules for good cause, an extra $25 applies (21-6-306(a)(2)).

Do you pay transfer tax on a quitclaim deed in Arkansas?

Only when there is consideration: the state tax is $3.30 per $1,000 of actual consideration on transactions over $100, and consideration of $100 or less is a line on the DFA affidavit. A divorce property division and a deed correcting an earlier taxed deed are exempt, but the deed still needs the signed stamps or exemption statement to be recorded (26-60-110).

Do I need to show ID to record a quitclaim deed in Arkansas?

If you file it in person or by mail, yes. Under Act 752 of 2025, the grantor or the person signing for the grantor must present a valid photo ID or driver's license in person, or include a photocopy by mail, unless an attorney, real estate broker or agent, lender, title agent or government filer presents the deed.

Does a quitclaim deed remove me from the mortgage?

No. Under 12 CFR 191.5(b)(4), a lender releases a borrower only when the lender and the new owner agree in writing, before the transfer, that the new owner is obligated on the loan.

Does my spouse have to sign a quitclaim deed for our Arkansas home?

For a homestead, the Arkansas Supreme Court in Graham v. Inlow (1988) described the homestead statute as making a conveyance affecting a married person's homestead invalid unless the spouse joins. Arkansas law also gives a spouse dower or curtesy rights in lands sold without the spouse's consent in legal form (Ark. Code 28-11-301), even if they are not the homestead. A lawyer licensed in Arkansas can say how these rules apply to your deed.

Will a quitclaim deed change my Arkansas property taxes?

Assessment status is fixed as of January 1, so the assessor assesses the property in the new owner's name the following January 1 (DFA, citing 26-26-1201). The new owner applies for the homestead tax credit with the county assessor, and a 65-or-older or disabled owner who moves a frozen homestead into his or her own trust and keeps living there does not lose the freeze.