New Jersey Quitclaim Deed: Requirements, Recording and Transfer Fee

A New Jersey quitclaim deed transfers whatever interest the grantor has without promising anything about the title, and New Jersey's statutes deal with it by name: N.J.S.A. 46:5-1 construes the words "the grantor does remise, release and forever quitclaim unto the said grantee," and N.J.S.A. 46:5-3 gives a quitclaim the effect of a bargain and sale deed. It must be acknowledged before an authorized officer and recorded with the county clerk or, in counties that have one, the register of deeds and mortgages, to protect the new owner against later judgment creditors, purchasers and mortgagees (N.J.S.A. 46:5-6).

A quitclaim is also not a way around New Jersey's realty transfer fee. The Division of Taxation treats quitclaim transfers as taxable unless an exemption applies, and an exemption has to be claimed on a sworn form. This page covers the recording prerequisites, the fee and its exemptions for spouses, children, divorce and corrections, the RTF-1 and GIT/REP forms, the mortgage, and deed fraud. For other states, see quitclaim deed rules by state.

Information last verified on 2026-10-09. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers New Jersey law on quitclaim deeds: quitclaim conveyances (N.J.S.A. 46:5-1 to 46:5-6), acknowledgment (N.J.S.A. 46:14-2.1), recording prerequisites and effect (N.J.S.A. 46:26A-3, 46:26A-5, 46:26A-12), the spouse's right of joint possession (N.J.S.A. 3B:28-3), the realty transfer fee and Graduated Percent Fee (N.J.S.A. 46:15-5 and following), and the GIT/REP seller residency forms, plus the federal mortgage and gift-tax points that apply in every state. It does not cover title insurance, a lender's own loan terms, county recording fees beyond the examples named, property tax relief programs, federal estate or income tax, or the law of other states.

What a quitclaim deed does in New Jersey

New Jersey's code has a chapter on quitclaims. N.J.S.A. 46:5-1, titled "Certain words in quitclaim deeds construed," addresses deeds that use the words "the grantor does remise, release and forever quitclaim unto the said grantee." N.J.S.A. 46:5-3 covers a quitclaim made without a reservation in the grantor's favor and gives it the effect of a conveyance by deed of bargain and sale. Under that section, the grantee "shall be presumed to be a bona fide purchaser to the same extent as would be the grantee in a deed of bargain and sale."

What a quitclaim does not do is promise good title. The Division of Taxation puts it plainly: "This deed is called a Quitclaim Deed. The Grantor makes no promises as to the ownership of title, but simply transfers whatever interest the Grantor has to the Grantee." The Division adds that, to be treated as a true quitclaim for realty transfer fee purposes, the deed should say Quitclaim Deed and use that kind of no-warranty language.

So a quitclaim is not worthless: it passes the interest the grantor actually holds. It just comes with no promise that the interest is complete or free of other claims. For how that compares with the deeds buyers usually receive, see quitclaim vs. warranty deed.

A quitclaim also leaves the mortgage where it was. The mortgage section below explains the federal rules.

What a New Jersey quitclaim deed must include to be recorded

N.J.S.A. 46:26A-3, "Prerequisites for recording," sets out what a deed needs before the county will record it. The requirements for a deed conveying title include:

New Jersey does not require witnesses on a deed the grantor acknowledges. Proof by a subscribing witness, who swears before an authorized officer that they saw the maker sign, is an alternative to acknowledgment, not an added step (N.J.S.A. 46:14-2.1, 46:26A-3(a)(3)).

A cover sheet or electronic synopsis listing the nature and date of the document, the parties, the lot and block, the consideration and the grantee's mailing address may accompany the deed. Without one, the recording office charges $20 more for indexing (N.J.S.A. 46:26A-5(b), (c)). Check your own county's requirements before you file.

This page does not draft deed language, and New Jersey does not publish an official statewide quitclaim form. A New Jersey lawyer can prepare the deed. County clerks can explain their recording requirements but cannot give legal advice.

Does a spouse have to sign? The right of joint possession

New Jersey protects a married person's right to live in the marital home. N.J.S.A. 3B:28-3, titled "Right of joint possession of principal matrimonial residence where no dower or curtesy applies; alienation," provides that one who acquires an interest in real property from an individual "whose spouse is entitled to joint possession thereof does so subject to such right of possession."

In practice, a quitclaim of the marital home signed by only one spouse can leave the new owner taking subject to the other spouse's right of possession. If you are married and deeding a home you live in, ask a New Jersey lawyer whether your spouse needs to sign. If the deed is part of a divorce, see New Jersey divorce laws for the larger process.

How to record a quitclaim deed in New Jersey

The deed is recorded with the county recording officer. N.J.S.A. 54A:8-8 defines that officer as "the register of deeds and mortgages in counties having such an officer and the county clerk in the other counties." Once recorded, the deed becomes part of the county's public land records; to search them, see New Jersey property records.

Recording protects the new owner rather than making the deed work. For quitclaims in particular, N.J.S.A. 46:5-6 provides that "every such conveyance or instrument shall be valid and operative, although not recorded, except as against such judgment creditors, purchasers and mortgagees," meaning the subsequent judgment creditors, purchasers and mortgagees named in the section's title. The general recording section, N.J.S.A. 46:26A-12, "Effect of recording," likewise protects "subsequent judgment creditors without notice." A grantee who does not record risks losing out to them.

New Jersey's State Commission of Investigation, in its 2026 deed-fraud report, notes that "Clerks are not charged with investigating the substantive validity of documents presented for recording." A recorded deed is not proof that it is genuine; the fraud section below covers what that means for owners.

Recording fees

The statutory fee for recording a deed is $30 for the first page and $10 for each additional page, plus $10 for the abstract of the deed sent to the tax assessor (N.J.S.A. 22A:4-4.1). A deed submitted without a cover sheet or electronic synopsis costs $20 more (N.J.S.A. 46:26A-5(c)).

Your county's total may include other charges. Camden County, for example, lists a $5 Homeless Trust Fund charge and a $55 minimum fee for a deed. Confirm the total with your county clerk or register of deeds before you file.

E-recording

Some New Jersey counties accept deeds electronically. Camden County, for example, offers e-recording through njcountyrecording.com and describes it as the "Same interface as 11 other New Jersey Counties." No statewide e-recording rule is cited here, so ask your county.

The realty transfer fee on a New Jersey quitclaim deed

New Jersey's deed charge is the realty transfer fee (RTF). In the Division of Taxation's words, "The State imposes a Realty Transfer Fee (RTF) on the seller of real property for recording a deed for the sale." It is computed on the consideration, and it applies to quitclaims too: "Attorneys often transfer freehold interest in Quitclaim Deed format. Those transfers are taxable transactions for Realty Transfer fee purposes."

Consideration is not just cash. According to the RTF-1 instructions, it includes the remaining balance of any mortgage the property is subject to or that the new owner assumes. So a quitclaim of a mortgaged home for a token price may not be a nominal transfer.

Standard RTF rates

The Division of Taxation's realty transfer fee page lists these rates for the standard fee, each per $500 of consideration:

When the total consideration is not over $350,000:

When the total consideration is over $350,000:

Check the Division's page for the current schedule before you rely on a figure.

Graduated Percent Fee on transfers over $1 million

For consideration over $1,000,000 on Class 2 property and certain Class 3A, 4A and 4C property, a Graduated Percent Fee also applies, figured on the total consideration: 1 percent above $1,000,000 up to $2,000,000; 2 percent up to $2,500,000; 2.5 percent up to $3,000,000; 3 percent up to $3,500,000; and 3.5 percent above that. The Division explains that P.L. 2025, c. 69 took effect on July 10, 2025, and that this fee "is legally imposed on the grantor instead of the grantee." Form RTF-1EE "must be annexed to every deed for consideration over $1,000,000 and with every commercial property transfer." The fee does not apply where the grantee is an organization "determined by the federal Internal Revenue Service to be exempt from federal income taxation" (N.J.S.A. 46:15-7.2).

Exemptions that fit common quitclaim situations

The Division of Taxation lists full exemptions from the fee under N.J.S.A. 46:15-10. Those that most often fit a quitclaim are deeds:

• "For a consideration of less than $100";
• "Between husband and wife, or parent and child";
• "Recorded within 90 days following the entry of a divorce decree which dissolves the marriage between grantor and grantee"; and
• "Which confirms or corrects a deed previously recorded."

The Division's Form RTF-1 lists the family exemption as "Between husband and wife/civil union partners, or parent and child," and the divorce exemption as covering a decree that dissolves a marriage or civil union partnership.

A partial exemption applies when a senior citizen (62 or over), blind person or disabled person sells a one- or two-family home they own and occupy. N.J.S.A. 46:15-10.1 exempts the State portion of the basic fee, and Form RTF-1, where the exemption is claimed, describes it as covering the State portions of the basic, supplemental and general purpose fees, as applicable. Jointly owned property does not qualify if any owner is outside those groups, except for a married couple.

The Division's answers on how those exemptions apply are narrower than many people expect:

• Stepchildren. "A parent-stepchild relationship does not satisfy the parent-child relationship requisite because a stepchild is not the legal child of the stepparent." An adopted child does qualify, per the Division.
• A child plus someone else. The Division treats a deed to a daughter and her unmarried partner as exempt only as to the daughter's half.
• Divorce outside 90 days. The Division says that incorporating a separation agreement into a divorce judgment does not by itself make a later transfer exempt, and it has taxed a buyout between former spouses on the cash paid plus half the mortgage.
• Trusts. "A transfer of realty to a grantee in trust to hold the property for the benefit of other beneficiaries is subject to an RTF." For a transfer from a senior citizen to a trust, the Division's FAQ names the exemption for a deed made "solely in order to provide or release security for a debt or obligation." It also says a trust is not entitled to the senior citizen partial exemption when the property is later sold. The FAQ does not say that every transfer into the grantor's own revocable trust is exempt, so confirm with the county recording officer before claiming an exemption on Form RTF-1.

The forms that go with the deed

• RTF-1, Affidavit of Consideration for Use by Seller. It "must be annexed to and recorded with all deeds when entire consideration is not recited in deed or the acknowledgement or proof of the execution, when the grantor claims a total or partial exemption from the fee." This is the sworn statement that N.J.S.A. 46:15-6 calls for when an exemption is claimed. The Division publishes Form RTF-1.
• RTF-1EE, Affidavit of Consideration for Graduated Percent Fee, for deeds over $1,000,000 and commercial transfers (Form RTF-1EE).
• GIT/REP seller residency forms. New Jersey's gross income tax forms go with the deed: GIT/REP-1 for a nonresident seller's estimated payment, GIT/REP-3 for a seller's residency certification or exemption, GIT/REP-4 for a waiver and GIT/REP-4A for corrective deeds. GIT/REP-3 warns that "If the form is not completed in its entirety, or if the settlement agent does not submit the original form with the deed, the county clerk will not record the deed," and box 6 of that form covers a total consideration of $1,000 or less, which needs no estimated payment (Form GIT/REP-3).

The sources cited here show no county or municipal transfer tax in New Jersey, but they do not cover every local option in the transfer fee statutes, so that is not a confirmed negative. County recording add-on charges are fees, not transfer taxes.

Property tax after a New Jersey quitclaim deed

This guide does not cover how a transfer affects New Jersey property tax relief programs or assessments. If the current owner receives a property tax benefit, ask the municipal tax assessor before you sign whether the new owner needs to apply in their own name.

Does a quitclaim deed remove you from the mortgage?

No. A deed transfers ownership; it does not release anyone from a loan. Under 12 CFR 191.5(b)(4), a borrower is released when the lender and the new owner agree in writing, before the transfer, that the new owner is obligated on the loan; on that agreement, the lender "shall release the existing borrower from all obligations under the loan instruments." The lien stays on the property, and federal servicing rules call a family member who receives the property this way a "successor in interest" (12 CFR 1024.31).

Most mortgages let the lender call the loan due on a transfer. For a loan "on the security of a home occupied or to be occupied by the borrower," 12 CFR 191.5(b) bars enforcing that clause on:

• a transfer where the borrower's spouse or children become an owner, or a transfer under a divorce decree, legal separation agreement or property settlement by which the spouse becomes an owner, where the new owner occupies or will occupy the property; and
• a transfer into an inter vivos trust "in which the borrower is and remains the beneficiary and occupant of the property," unless the borrower refuses to give the lender reasonable means of notice of later transfers.

A later disqualifying event can restore the lender's right (12 CFR 191.5(b)(5)). Transfers to siblings, friends or a business are outside these exceptions. And because the realty transfer fee counts the mortgage balance as consideration, a quitclaim of a mortgaged home can cost more than expected. Talk to your lender before you sign.

Gift tax on a quitclaim deed to family

A quitclaim for little or nothing can be a gift for federal tax purposes. The IRS says gift tax "applies to the transfer by gift of any type of property." For 2026 the annual exclusion is $19,000 per recipient, and the donor generally pays any gift tax due. The recipient's basis in gifted property is generally the donor's basis. Ask a tax professional about your situation.

Deed fraud and quitclaim deeds in New Jersey

New Jersey's State Commission of Investigation released a report on deed fraud in September 2026. It found that "19 out of 21 New Jersey counties have implemented a PAS," a property alert service, "but they are neither statutorily required, nor are they uniform in their operation." Among the counties the report lists are Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Somerset, Sussex and Union. The report also cites FBI data showing about 135 New Jersey incidents from 2020 through the beginning of March 2026.

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." Sign up with your county if it offers one.

If a forged deed is recorded, recording does not cure it. N.J.S.A. 46:2-2 provides that "Nothing in this title contained shall be construed to make good, valid or effectual any fraud or forgery, made or used in or about any powers of agency, letters of attorney, deeds, writings or records."

Pending, not law. The SCI report describes 2026 bills pending when it was released, including:

• A1846 and S1611, which would "authorize a property owner to request notification and a delay in recordation of a quitclaim deed that is submitted for recording on the owner's property";
• A2072 (reported from the Assembly Housing Committee on October 5, 2026 and referred to the Assembly State and Local Government Committee), an affidavit of title with recorded deeds plus notice from the clerk to the person transferring;
• S848, a statewide property alert within seven days; and
• LLC ownership disclosure bills (A4017/S399 and A4377/S401) and A5289.

None of these was law when this page was verified.

Is there a transfer-on-death deed in New Jersey?

Not yet. A full-text search of New Jersey's official statutes, updated through P.L. 2026, c. 30, found transfer-on-death provisions only for securities and accounts and for motor vehicles, not for real estate. Two 2026 bills would establish a "Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act": S3679, reported from Senate committee with amendments on May 11, 2026, and A1819, referred to the Assembly Housing Committee. Neither is law. For how a home passes at death today, see New Jersey probate.

Common myths about New Jersey quitclaim deeds

• "A quitclaim deed is exempt from the transfer fee." The Division of Taxation says quitclaim-format transfers are taxable unless a listed exemption applies.
• "A quitclaim is not valid until recorded." N.J.S.A. 46:5-6 makes it valid and operative unrecorded, except against later judgment creditors, purchasers and mortgagees.
• "A quitclaim gives the grantee nothing." It passes the interest the grantor has, and N.J.S.A. 46:5-3 presumes the grantee a bona fide purchaser to the same extent as under a bargain and sale deed. It just carries no promise about title.
• "Deeding to my stepchild is a parent-child transfer." Not for the fee: the Division says a stepchild is not the legal child of the stepparent.

Related

• Quitclaim deed rules by state
• New Jersey property records
• Quitclaim vs. warranty deed
• New Jersey divorce laws
• New Jersey probate

Disclaimer: This article is general legal information about New Jersey law (N.J.S.A. Titles 46, 3B and 54A and the Division of Taxation's published guidance) and the federal rules noted, verified on 2026-10-09. It is not legal or tax advice. For your specific situation, contact your county clerk or register of deeds and mortgages (who cannot give legal advice), a legal aid office, or a lawyer licensed in New Jersey.

Last updated: 2026-10-09.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I file a quitclaim deed in New Jersey?

Have the grantor acknowledge the deed before an officer authorized under R.S. 46:14-6.1, make sure it includes the lot and block, the preparer's name, the grantee's mailing address and the signers' names printed beneath their signatures (N.J.S.A. 46:26A-3), state the consideration or attach Form RTF-1 if claiming an exemption (N.J.S.A. 46:15-6), attach any GIT/REP form required, and record it with the county clerk or register of deeds and mortgages.

Does a quitclaim deed need to be notarized in New Jersey?

Yes, in practice. The deed must be acknowledged (or proved by a subscribing witness) before an authorized officer: in New Jersey, an attorney-at-law, a notary public, a county clerk or deputy, a register of deeds and mortgages or deputy, or a surrogate or deputy (N.J.S.A. 46:14-2.1, 46:14-6.1). The statute also allows appearing before the officer by communication technology.

Do you pay transfer tax on a quitclaim deed in New Jersey?

Usually, yes. The Division of Taxation says quitclaim-format transfers are taxable for realty transfer fee purposes unless an exemption applies, such as consideration under $100, a deed between spouses or civil union partners, or parent and child, or a deed recorded within 90 days after a divorce decree between the grantor and grantee.

Is a quitclaim deed to my child exempt from the New Jersey realty transfer fee?

A deed between parent and child is exempt under N.J.S.A. 46:15-10 as listed by the Division of Taxation, including an adopted child, but not a stepchild. Claim the exemption on Form RTF-1 recorded with the deed.

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

The statutory recording fee is $30 for the first page and $10 for each additional page, plus a $10 abstract fee (N.J.S.A. 22A:4-4.1), and $20 more if the deed is filed without a cover sheet or electronic synopsis (N.J.S.A. 46:26A-5(c)). Your county may add other charges, so ask the county clerk or register of deeds for the total. The realty transfer fee is separate.

Does my spouse have to sign a quitclaim deed in New Jersey?

Someone who acquires the marital home from one spouse takes subject to the other spouse's right of joint possession (N.J.S.A. 3B:28-3). Ask a New Jersey lawyer whether your spouse should sign.

Does a quitclaim deed remove me from the mortgage?

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

Does New Jersey allow transfer-on-death deeds?

Not for real estate. Bills S3679 and A1819 would create a Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act but were not law when this page was verified.