Ohio Quitclaim Deed: Requirements, Recording and Conveyance Fees

An Ohio quit-claim deed passes the grantor's interest in real estate "without covenants of any kind on the part of the grantor," and Ohio law supplies its own short form for it in Revised Code 5302.11. To count, the deed must be signed by the grantor and acknowledged before a notary public or another officer named in R.C. 5301.01, then taken first to the county auditor and recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county where the property sits (R.C. 5301.25).

This page walks through the statutory form, the signing rules, a married grantor's spouse and dower, the auditor's conveyance fee and its gift, family, trust and divorce exemptions, the DTE 100EX form, recorder fees, property tax effects, 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 Ohio law on quit-claim deeds: the statutory form and its effect (R.C. 5302.01, 5302.11), execution and acknowledgment (R.C. 5301.01), dower (R.C. 2103.02), recording (R.C. 5301.25, 317.111, 317.32, 317.114), the auditor's conveyance fee and county transfer tax (R.C. 319.54, 319.202, 322.02), the DTE 100 and DTE 100EX statements, and the transfer on death designation affidavit (R.C. 5302.22), 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 fees or forms beyond the examples named, federal estate or income tax, or the law of other states.

What an Ohio quit-claim deed does and does not do

Ohio is one of the states that writes the quit-claim deed into its code. R.C. 5302.01 lists the statutory forms in Chapter 5302, including the quit-claim form in R.C. 5302.11, and says they "may be used and shall be sufficient for their respective purposes." Ohio spells the deed "quit-claim."

R.C. 5302.11 sets out the effect. A deed in substance following that form, executed under Chapter 5301, "has the force and effect of a deed in fee simple to the grantee, the grantee's heirs, assigns, and successors, and to the grantee's and the grantee's heirs', assigns', and successors' own use, but without covenants of any kind on the part of the grantor."

That last phrase is the whole difference from a warranty deed. The grantor makes no promise that the title is good or free of other claims. If the grantor owned nothing, the grantee receives nothing, and there is no covenant to sue on. For how this compares with the deeds a buyer usually gets, see quitclaim vs. warranty deed.

A quit-claim deed also leaves the mortgage where it was. The deed changes who owns the house, not who owes the loan. The mortgage section below explains the federal rules on release and due-on-sale clauses.

What the statutory form contains

The R.C. 5302.11 form is headed QUIT-CLAIM DEED. It names the grantor with marital status and county, states that the grantor, "for valuable consideration paid, grant(s) to" the grantee, gives the grantee's tax-mailing address, and then sets out the real property. Its other parts are:

• a description of the land or interest "and encumbrances, reservations, and exceptions, if any";
• a "Prior Instrument Reference: Volume ___, Page ___" line pointing to the deed by which the grantor took title;
• a line on which the grantor's spouse "releases all rights of dower therein"; and
• the date and the signature, executed in accordance with Chapter 5301.

This page does not reproduce the form for you to fill in. The text is on the official Ohio Revised Code site at R.C. 5302.11. No state agency publishes a separate quit-claim form, and county recorders cannot give legal advice. A lawyer can prepare the deed if you are unsure how to describe the property or which deed fits.

Signing and notarizing a quit-claim deed in Ohio

R.C. 5301.01(A) requires a deed to "be signed by the grantor." The signing must then be acknowledged before one of the officers the statute names, who certifies the acknowledgment.

Ohio dropped the witness requirement for new deeds. R.C. 5301.01(B)(1) now speaks only of an instrument that "was executed prior to February 1, 2002, and was not acknowledged in the presence of, or was not attested by, two witnesses as required by this section prior to that date," and treats such older instruments as validly executed.

The format rules in R.C. 317.114 also call for 1-inch side and bottom margins, a 1.5-inch top margin on later pages, and no highlighting, with the right half of the first page's top margin reserved for the recorder. A recorder still accepts a deed that misses these rules, but charges an additional $10 base fee plus a $10 housing trust fund fee.

The recorder will not accept the deed unless the name of the person who prepared it appears on it, printed, typed, stamped or signed legibly (R.C. 317.111). A statement in the form "This instrument was prepared by (name)" satisfies the rule. The rule does not apply to a deed executed or acknowledged outside Ohio.

Why a signed, recorded deed is hard to undo

Once a deed is signed, acknowledged and accepted by the recorder, R.C. 5301.07 raises presumptions that it is valid and conveys the property. Those presumptions "may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence of fraud, undue influence, duress, forgery, incompetency, or incapacity." That standard matters both for a family member who signed under pressure and for an owner fighting a forged deed.

Does a spouse have to sign? Ohio dower

Ohio has not abolished dower. Under R.C. 2103.02, "A spouse who has not relinquished or been barred from it shall be endowed of an estate for life in one third of the real property of which the consort was seized as an estate of inheritance at any time during the marriage." Division (A) carries that right into property the other spouse conveyed during the marriage, where the surviving spouse had not relinquished or been barred from dower in it.

The practical effect is that a quit-claim deed from a married owner can leave the non-signing spouse with a dower claim. That is why the R.C. 5302.11 form includes a line for the grantor's spouse to release dower, and why the spouse commonly signs and acknowledges the deed even when the spouse is not on the title. R.C. 5301.071 adds a saving rule: a recorded conveyance is not defective because the spouse's dower "was not specifically released, but that spouse executed the instrument in the manner provided in section 5301.01."

If you are separating or divorcing, the deed is usually one piece of a larger property division. See Ohio divorce laws for that process.

How to record a quit-claim deed in Ohio

An Ohio deed is recorded "in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the premises are situated" (R.C. 5301.25(A)). Before the recorder takes it, the deed goes through the county auditor, who receives the statement of value or exemption statement and collects the conveyance fee (see the next section).

Recording is what protects the new owner. Under R.C. 5301.25(A), until a deed is recorded, it is "fraudulent insofar as they relate to a subsequent bona fide purchaser having, at the time of purchase, no knowledge of the existence of that former deed." The statute ties the protection to the later buyer's lack of knowledge. It does not say an unrecorded deed is void between the grantor and the grantee.

Once recorded, the deed becomes part of the county's public land records. To search those records or order copies, see Ohio property records.

Ohio recording fees

The recorder's fees are set by statute, R.C. 317.32(A)(1), and apply statewide:

So a two-page deed that meets the format rules costs $34 plus the county's preservation surcharge. Confirm the total with your county recorder before you file, since the surcharge is county-set.

Many Ohio counties accept deeds electronically. No statewide e-recording rule is cited here, so ask your county recorder whether it e-records and through which providers.

Conveyance fee and county transfer tax on an Ohio quit-claim deed

Ohio does not call its deed charge a transfer tax at the state level. The county auditor collects a real property conveyance fee for receiving statements of value under R.C. 319.54(G)(3), and a county may levy its own real property transfer tax under R.C. 322.02.

• State portion. The state conveyance fee is ten cents per $100 of value or fraction of $100, which is $1 per $1,000, with a $1 minimum (R.C. 319.54(G)(3)). Franklin County's auditor describes its total as "$1 per $1,000 fee set by the State of Ohio and a $2 per $1,000 fee set by the Franklin County Board of Commissioners."
• County portion. R.C. 322.02 lets a county levy a real property transfer tax "at a rate not to exceed thirty cents per hundred dollars." Whether your county levies it, and at what rate, is set county by county.
• Who pays. The grantor pays the conveyance fee and any county transfer tax (R.C. 319.202(D)), at the auditor's office before the deed is presented to the recorder (R.C. 322.02(A)).
• Franklin County example (not statewide). Franklin County's total is $3 per $1,000, and its auditor says that when a property is exempt from the conveyance fee, "only the $0.50 transfer tax is owed toward the property transfer."

Do not use Franklin County's $3 figure for another county. Ask your county auditor for its total rate.

Statement of value or exemption: DTE 100 and DTE 100EX

Every deed goes to the auditor with a statement. For a transfer that is not exempt, R.C. 319.202 requires the grantee or the grantee's representative to "submit, either electronically or three written copies of, a statement, in the form prescribed by the tax commissioner." That is the DTE 100 statement of value.

For an exempt transfer, the form is DTE 100EX, the Statement of Reason for Exemption From Real Property Conveyance Fee. The grantee or a representative completes it and files it with the county auditor, checking "one of the exemptions (a)-(y) as appropriate." The Ohio Department of Taxation publishes the DTE 100EX, and county auditors host copies. The form warns that "Persons willfully failing to comply or falsifying information are guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree (R.C. section 319.99(B))."

Exemptions that fit common quit-claim situations

R.C. 319.54(G)(3) lists the exempt transfers. Those that most often fit a quit-claim deed are:

The family gift item is narrower than many people expect. It covers spouses and parent and child, or the spouse of either. A gift deed to a sibling, grandchild, friend or unmarried partner is not covered by that item and owes the conveyance fee unless another item applies.

Ohio has no exemption item written for divorce. A transfer under a divorce decree generally fits the court-order item (f), or the no-consideration item (m), and the auditor decides which applies; the DTE 100EX instructions let auditors ask for affidavits, decrees or other documents.

Trustees conveying: memorandum of trust (since June 16, 2026)

Senate Bill 101 of the 136th General Assembly amended R.C. 5301.255, effective June 16, 2026. When a trustee of a disclosed trust conveys any interest in real property, a memorandum of trust or other qualifying instrument "shall be of record." If a trustee is the one signing your quit-claim deed, ask the recorder or a lawyer whether that memorandum is already of record in the county.

Property tax effects after an Ohio quit-claim deed

The DTE 100EX form is also where property tax benefits are flagged, and none of them follows the deed automatically.

• Homestead exemption (senior, disabled or surviving spouse). If the grantor indicates the property is receiving the R.C. 323.152(A) homestead exemption, the form says the "grantor must complete DTE 101 or submit a statement that complies with the provisions of R.C. section 319.202(A)(2)." The new owner must be eligible in their own right.
• Owner-occupancy reduction. Line 8 of DTE 100EX is the grantee's application. The form warns that "Failure to complete this application prohibits the owner from receiving this reduction until another proper and timely application is filed," and says you must own and occupy the home as your principal residence on January 1, and that "A homeowner and spouse may receive this reduction on only one home in Ohio."
• Farmland (CAUV). If the land was valued for current agricultural use, the grantee files DTE 102 or a statement, and land that no longer qualifies is subject to a recoupment charge "equal to the tax savings in accordance with section 5713.34 of the Revised Code" (R.C. 319.202).

This guide does not cover how, or whether, a transfer changes an Ohio property's assessed value. Ask the county auditor.

Does a quit-claim deed remove you from the mortgage?

No. A deed transfers ownership; it does not release anyone from a loan. Under the federal regulation in 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; upon that agreement, the lender "shall release the existing borrower from all obligations under the loan instruments." The release comes from the lender, not from the deed.

Federal mortgage-servicing rules call a family member who receives an ownership interest in this way a "successor in interest" (12 CFR 1024.31). The mortgage lien stays on the property.

Most mortgages let the lender call the loan due if the property is transferred. Federal law limits that for some family transfers. For a loan "on the security of a home occupied or to be occupied by the borrower," 12 CFR 191.5(b) bars a lender from enforcing a due-on-sale clause on, among others:

• 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 a reasonable means of notice of later transfers or changes in occupancy.

A later event that disqualifies the transfer can bring back the lender's right to enforce the clause (12 CFR 191.5(b)(5)). Transfers to anyone else, such as a sibling, friend or business, are outside these exceptions. Talk to your lender before you sign.

Gift tax on a quit-claim deed to family

A quit-claim deed 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 IRS annual exclusion is $19,000 per recipient, and the donor generally pays any gift tax that is due. A recipient's tax basis in gifted property is generally the same as the donor's, which can matter when the property is later sold. Ask a tax professional about your situation.

Deed fraud: alerts and protections in Ohio

Deed fraud usually means someone forging an owner's signature on a deed, often a quitclaim, or impersonating the owner to sell. The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, in a June 2026 public service announcement, 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."

Some Ohio counties offer exactly that, free (county examples, not statewide):

• The Warren County Recorder's Property Fraud Alert "notifies individuals when transactions involving their property are recorded in the Warren County Recorder's Office" (free sign-up through the county website, or by phone at 513-695-1382).
• The Summit County Fiscal Office launched Property Record Alert on May 13, 2024, a free email alert when documents are recorded under a name; suspicious alerts can be reported at 330-643-2712.

Check whether your own county recorder offers a similar alert. If a forged deed is recorded, R.C. 5301.07 lets the presumption of validity be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence of forgery or fraud.

Pending, not law: House Bill 749 of the 136th General Assembly, on deed and title fraud, was in House committee when checked on 2026-10-09. Its sponsors say it would require photo identification in the deed recording process and set up a statewide owner-notification or waiting period system. None of that is in effect.

The alternative: Ohio's transfer on death designation affidavit

If the goal is to pass the property at death rather than now, Ohio uses a recorded affidavit instead of a deed. Under R.C. 5302.22, an owner may designate the property "as transferable on death to a designated beneficiary or beneficiaries by executing, together with the individual's spouse, if any, a transfer on death designation affidavit," which is recorded with the county recorder. After the owner's death, the beneficiary files an affidavit of confirmation (R.C. 5302.222).

Unlike a quit-claim deed, the affidavit gives the beneficiary nothing during the owner's life. For how property passes at death in Ohio more broadly, see Ohio probate.

Common myths about Ohio quit-claim deeds

• "A quit-claim deed is not valid until recorded." R.C. 5301.25 makes an unrecorded deed fraudulent as to a later bona fide purchaser without knowledge of it. Recording protects the grantee; it is not what makes the deed work between the parties.
• "A gift deed is always free." The conveyance fee exemption for gifts covers spouses and parent and child, or the spouse of either (R.C. 319.54(G)(3)(d)). Every deed still goes through the auditor and pays recorder fees.
• "Quitclaiming the house to my spouse takes me off the loan." It does not; only the lender can release a borrower (12 CFR 191.5(b)(4)).

Related

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

Disclaimer: This article is general legal information about Ohio law (Ohio Revised Code Chapters 5301, 5302, 317, 319, 322 and 2103) and the federal rules noted, verified on 2026-10-09. It is not legal or tax advice. For your specific situation, contact your county auditor or county recorder (who cannot give legal advice), a legal aid office, or a lawyer licensed in Ohio.

Last updated: 2026-10-09.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I file a quitclaim deed in Ohio?

Sign the deed and have the signing acknowledged before a notary public or another officer named in R.C. 5301.01, file a DTE 100 or DTE 100EX statement and pay the conveyance fee at the county auditor, then record the deed with the county recorder where the property is located (R.C. 5301.25).

Does a quitclaim deed need to be notarized in Ohio?

Yes. R.C. 5301.01 requires the grantor's signing to be acknowledged before a judge or clerk of a court of record in Ohio, a county auditor, county engineer, notary public or mayor, who certifies the acknowledgment.

Does an Ohio quitclaim deed need witnesses?

Not for a deed executed on or after February 1, 2002. R.C. 5301.01(B)(1) refers to the two-witness rule only for instruments executed before that date.

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

Under R.C. 317.32, the recorder charges $34 for the first two pages and $8 for each later page, plus a county-set document preservation surcharge of up to $5. A deed that misses the R.C. 317.114 format rules costs $20 more.

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

You pay the auditor's conveyance fee unless an exemption in R.C. 319.54(G)(3) applies, plus any county transfer tax levied under R.C. 322.02 (up to 30 cents per $100). Gifts between spouses or between parent and child or the spouse of either are exempt, claimed on DTE 100EX.

Does my spouse have to sign a quitclaim deed in Ohio?

Ohio keeps dower (R.C. 2103.02), so a married grantor's spouse who does not release dower can keep a claim to a life estate in one third of the property. The statutory form in R.C. 5302.11 has a dower-release line for the spouse to 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, so talk to the lender before you sign.

Does Ohio have a transfer-on-death deed?

Ohio uses a transfer on death designation affidavit instead (R.C. 5302.22), signed together with the owner's spouse, if any, and recorded with the county recorder; the beneficiary later records an affidavit of confirmation.