Rhode Island Quitclaim Deed: Requirements, Recording and Conveyance Tax

A Rhode Island quitclaim deed is a deed on the statutory "Quitclaim Deed" form in R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-12(2), and unlike the usual meaning of the term elsewhere, it carries a limited warranty: the grantor promises to defend title against anyone claiming "by, through, or under the grantor" (R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-17). It must be signed, acknowledged and delivered, and it is recorded in the land evidence records of the city or town where the land lies, not with a county (R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-1). 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 Rhode Island law on quitclaim deeds: the conveyance provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 34-11 (including 34-11-1, 34-11-1.1, 34-11-1.2, 34-11-3, 34-11-11, 34-11-12, 34-11-17, 34-11-18 and 34-11-35), acknowledgment under 34-12-1, recording and fees under chapter 34-13, electronic recording under chapter 34-13.2, the surviving spouse's life estate in 33-25-2, the real estate conveyance tax in chapter 44-25, and the 2026 deed-theft act, 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, municipal property tax programs, town fees or forms beyond those named, federal tax advice, or other states' laws.

A Rhode Island quitclaim deed is not a no-warranty deed

In most states, "quitclaim" means a deed that makes no promise about title. Rhode Island is different, because its General Laws define the quitclaim deed and give it covenants. R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-12(2) prints the statutory form, headed "QUITCLAIM DEED," in which the grantor, "for consideration paid, grant to .. of .. with quitclaim covenants." The words of conveyance are "grant to" followed by "with quitclaim covenants."

Under R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-17, a deed substantially following that form "shall, when duly executed, have the force and effect of a deed in fee simple to the grantee and his or her heirs and assigns." It also carries covenants by the grantor, for the grantor and the grantor's heirs, executors and administrators, to "warrant and defend the granted premises to the grantee and his or her heirs and assigns forever against the lawful claims and demands of all persons claiming by, through, or under the grantor." R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-18 gives the words "with quitclaim covenants" the same meaning.

That is a warranty against claims arising from the grantor's own ownership, not against everyone. A Rhode Island quitclaim does not promise that title was good before the grantor owned it. By contrast, the words "give," "grant" or "exchange" alone imply no covenant (R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-7). When a guide written for other states says a quitclaim "carries no warranty," that is not how Rhode Island's statute reads. For the general difference between deed types, see quitclaim vs. warranty deeds, keeping in mind that Rhode Island's statutory quitclaim sits closer to a limited warranty deed.

The statutory forms "may be used, and shall be sufficient for their respective purposes" (R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-11). The same section lets them be altered as circumstances require and does not rule out other forms. The form itself is the official Rhode Island quitclaim form; a city or town clerk can explain recording requirements but cannot give legal advice, and a lawyer licensed in Rhode Island can prepare the deed.

Rhode Island quitclaim deed requirements

Signing, acknowledgment and delivery

R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-1 makes a conveyance void unless it is "made in writing duly signed, acknowledged as hereinafter provided, delivered, and recorded," subject to an important proviso covered under recording below. Under R.I. Gen. Laws 34-12-1, "Acknowledgment of any instrument hereafter made need not be in any set form, but shall be made by all the parties executing the instrument." The certificate must show that each party was known to the officer taking the acknowledgment and acknowledged the deed to be their free act and deed.

The names of the signers and the notary must be typed or printed beneath their signatures. Leaving them off does not invalidate the deed, but the recording fee rises by $2 (R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-1.1). Once a duly signed and acknowledged deed has been of record for six years, that is "conclusive evidence, in favor of purchasers and encumbrancers for value without notice claiming thereunder, that such instrument was in fact duly delivered" (R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-35).

Witnesses

No subscribing witness is called for by 34-11-1, the statutory form in 34-11-12, or the acknowledgment rule in 34-12-1. The form ends "Witness .. hand this .. day of .. (Here add acknowledgment.)," a traditional closing phrase followed by the notary's acknowledgment rather than a line for a separate witness.

Grantee address and sale price

R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-1.2 provides: "Every deed presented for record shall contain or have endorsed upon it the name, residence and/or post office address of the grantee and that address shall be recorded as part of the deed." Leaving it off does not affect the deed's validity, but the city or town clerk may decline to accept it. A deed given on a sale must also state the total dollar amount of the sale (R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-1.4).

Ask your city or town clerk about paper, margin or cover-sheet rules before you sign.

Does a spouse have to sign a Rhode Island quitclaim deed?

Rhode Island's deed and acknowledgment statutes (34-11-1 and 34-12-1) call for signature and acknowledgment by the parties executing the deed, and do not name a spouse who is not on title. Dower and curtesy have been abolished (R.I. Gen. Laws 33-25-1). Whether a non-owner spouse should join in your deed is a question for a Rhode Island lawyer.

A spouse's rights at death still make recording matter. R.I. Gen. Laws 33-25-2(a) gives a surviving spouse a life estate in real estate the deceased spouse owned in fee simple at death. Under 33-25-2(b), "any real estate conveyed by the decedent prior to his or her death, with or without monetary consideration, shall not be subject to the life estate granted in subsection (a) if the instrument or instruments evidencing such conveyance were recorded in the records of land evidence in the city or town where the real estate is located prior to the death of the decedent." A quitclaim that sits unrecorded when the grantor dies can leave the property exposed to that life estate.

Rhode Island's $500,000 homestead estate (R.I. Gen. Laws 9-26-4.1) arises automatically by operation of law, with no declaration. It protects a home from creditors; the text of that section is not a rule about who must sign a deed.

To add a spouse or another person, R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-3 lets an owner convey to himself or herself "jointly with another person by the like means by which it might be conveyed by him or her to another person," and lets a spouse convey to the other spouse or to both as tenants by the entirety. If the quitclaim is part of a divorce, see our guide to Rhode Island divorce laws.

Recording a quitclaim deed with the city or town clerk

Rhode Island has no county recorders. A deed is recorded "in the records of land evidence in the town or city where the lands, tenements or hereditaments are situated" (R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-1), by the town clerk or recorder of deeds (R.I. Gen. Laws 34-13-1). Once recorded, the deed becomes part of the land evidence records; see our guide to Rhode Island property records for how to search them.

What recording does

Recording is not what makes the deed work between the parties. The proviso in R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-1 states that "the conveyance, if delivered, as between the parties and their heirs, and as against those taking by gift or devise, or those having notice thereof, shall be valid and binding though not acknowledged or recorded."

Against a later purchaser for value without notice, an unrecorded deed is void under the main clause of 34-11-1. Recording gives notice to everyone: R.I. Gen. Laws 34-13-2 makes recorded instruments notice to all persons "so far as they are genuine." Recording before the grantor's death also takes the property out of the surviving spouse's life estate (33-25-2(b)).

Recording fees

R.I. Gen. Laws 34-13-7(a) sets the recording fee for a quitclaim deed at $80.00, the same as a warranty deed, and 34-13-7(b) adds "a rate of one dollar ($1.00) for each additional page or fraction over." Ten percent of recording fees goes to each city or town for document preservation and technology (34-13-7(c)), and the fee rises by $2 if signers' and the notary's names are not typed or printed (34-11-1.1). Confirm the current total with your city or town clerk before you record.

Electronic recording

Rhode Island has adopted the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act (R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 34-13.2). Under 34-13.2-3, "If a law requires, as a condition for recording, that a document be an original, be on paper or another tangible medium, or be in writing, the requirement is satisfied by an electronic document satisfying this chapter." Whether your city or town accepts e-recording is up to that office. Starting September 1, 2027, the 2026 deed-theft act limits remote electronic filings (see deed fraud protections below).

Rhode Island real estate conveyance tax on a quitclaim deed

Rhode Island's real estate conveyance tax (R.I. Gen. Laws chapter 44-25) applies to a deed by which sold realty is conveyed when the consideration "exceeds one hundred dollars ($100)." The rate is "three dollars and seventy-five cents ($3.75) for each five hundred dollars ($500), or fractional part of it" (R.I. Gen. Laws 44-25-1). Consideration includes the value of any liens or encumbrances that remain on the property.

That rate took effect October 1, 2025 (P.L. 2025, ch. 278, art. 5, sec. 10), raising it from $2.30 per $500. For residential property, an additional $3.75 per $500 applies to the part of the consideration over $800,000; that threshold is adjusted for inflation for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, and the statute does not print the adjusted figure, so ask the city or town clerk or the Division of Taxation for the current number. Unless the parties agree otherwise, the grantor pays the tax.

Gifts and family transfers

A deed for no consideration, or for $100 or less, is outside the tax by its own terms. The deed must say so: under 44-25-1(c), the instrument "shall contain a statement to the effect that the consideration is such that no documentary stamps are required."

The listed exemptions in R.I. Gen. Laws 44-25-2 do not cover spouses, divorces, family members or a transfer to your own trust. They are: instruments given to secure a debt; deeds where the United States, Rhode Island or a political subdivision is the grantor; a Providence capital center project; a qualified sale of a manufactured-home community to a resident-owned organization; certain acquisitions by the state or a political subdivision; and certain affordable-housing real estate company transfers. If a family or divorce transfer involves consideration over $100, ask the Division of Taxation or a lawyer how the tax applies.

The tax is a state tax collected by the city or town clerk, and after the state's share, "The balance of the tax shall be retained by the municipality collecting the tax" (44-25-1(d)(1)).

Some towns add their own land-trust transfer charge on top of the state tax. On Block Island (New Shoreham), the Block Island Land Trust "is funded by a 3% fee on the transfer of real property on Block Island," and the town says its forms "must be recorded with every deed." Little Compton imposes an additional tax for its Agricultural Conservancy Trust on the part of the purchase price above an exemption amount, which the town sets within limits in the trust's enabling act (P.L. 1985, ch. 16, as amended by P.L. 1999, ch. 12). Ask the town clerk whether a local fee applies and whether your transfer is exempt.

Property tax after a Rhode Island quitclaim deed

Ask your local tax assessor how a deed will affect any property tax exemption on your home before you record it.

Mortgages and quitclaim deeds

A Rhode Island quitclaim conveys the grantor's interest in the land and does not change who owes the loan, so this section rests on federal regulations. A deed does not remove anyone from a mortgage; only the lender can release a borrower. Under 12 CFR 191.5(b)(4), if, before the transfer, the lender and the new owner agree in writing 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 secured by 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 Rhode Island

In 2026 Rhode Island enacted a deed-theft law, 2026-H 7551 as amended and 2026-S 2715 Sub A. The General Assembly announced on June 18, 2026 that "Gov. Dan McKee has signed legislation introduced by House Speaker Pro Tempore Brian Patrick Kennedy and Senate President Valarie J. Lawson that criminalizes deed theft." The new provisions had not yet appeared in the published General Laws when checked, so this section describes the act itself. As passed, it:

• creates the crime of real estate title fraud, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $50,000, or both for a first offense, and up to 20 years, up to $100,000, or both for a pattern of offenses;
• gives an owner who is a victim a civil action for actual damages or $5,000, whichever is greater, plus costs and attorney fees;
• lets a recorder temporarily delay a suspicious document;
• provides that "On and after September 1, 2027, no municipality shall authorize or accept for filing any real estate deed, mortgage, or other instrument by electronic filing from a remote location" unless it comes with sufficient identification documentation or from a trusted submitter (a title insurer or agent, a licensed Rhode Island attorney, or a regulated financial institution); a court may void a filing that breaks this rule, and in-person filings are not affected;
• requires that "Not later than January 1, 2028, each municipality shall establish a property alert notification system that allows a person to enroll real property owned by the person in the system." Enrollment is free, and an enrolled owner is notified within ten business days of any recorded document affecting the property, by mail, text, call or email.

The act also lets a notary refuse a notarial act if the person "does not provide the notarial officer information sufficient to conduct identity proofing" or will not pay for it. Until the alert systems are in place, ask your city or town clerk whether it already offers one.

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center has warned about impersonators using fictitious deeds to sell vacant land. It 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). In Rhode Island, that office is the city or town clerk.

Transfer on death deeds

Rhode Island has no transfer on death deed statute in the General Laws as of 2026-10-10, though bills to create one have been introduced. Neither the chapters of Title 33 (Decedents' Estates) nor Title 34 (Property) include a transfer on death deed act. For estate planning around a home, talk to a Rhode Island lawyer, and see our guide to Rhode Island probate.

Common myths about Rhode Island quitclaim deeds

• "A Rhode Island quitclaim deed gives no warranty." The statutory quitclaim carries covenants to "warrant and defend the granted premises" against "all persons claiming by, through, or under the grantor" (R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-17), though not against the world.
• "The deed is not valid until it is recorded." A delivered deed is valid between the parties, their heirs, those taking by gift or devise, and those with notice, "though not acknowledged or recorded" (R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-1). It is void against a later purchaser for value without notice.
• "A gift deed needs nothing extra." A deed with no taxable consideration must state that no documentary stamps are required (R.I. Gen. Laws 44-25-1(c)).
• "A quitclaim takes me off the mortgage." No. Only the lender can release a borrower (12 CFR 191.5(b)(4)).

Related

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

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

Last updated: 2026-10-10.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I file a quitclaim deed in Rhode Island?

The grantor signs a written deed, acknowledges it before a notary (R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-1, 34-12-1) and delivers it. It is recorded in the land evidence records of the city or town where the land lies, with the grantee's name and address on it (34-11-1.2) and either the conveyance tax paid or a statement that no documentary stamps are required (44-25-1).

Does a quitclaim deed need to be notarized in Rhode Island?

Yes. R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-1 calls for a deed to be acknowledged, and 34-12-1 requires the acknowledgment to be made by all the parties executing it. The statutes and statutory form do not call for a separate witness.

Does a Rhode Island quitclaim deed have a warranty?

A limited one. A deed on the statutory quitclaim form carries covenants to warrant and defend the property against all persons claiming by, through or under the grantor (R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-17, 34-11-18), but not against claims from before the grantor's ownership.

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

R.I. Gen. Laws 34-13-7 sets $80.00 for a quitclaim deed plus $1.00 for each additional page, and 34-11-1.1 adds $2 if the signers' and notary's names are not typed or printed. Confirm the total with your city or town clerk.

Do you pay transfer tax on a quitclaim deed in Rhode Island?

Only if the consideration exceeds $100: the real estate conveyance tax is $3.75 per $500 or fraction (R.I. Gen. Laws 44-25-1), effective October 1, 2025. A deed with no taxable consideration must state that no documentary stamps are required (44-25-1(c)). Block Island and Little Compton add local land-trust transfer charges, so ask the town clerk there.

Does my spouse have to sign a quitclaim deed in Rhode Island?

The deed and acknowledgment statutes (34-11-1, 34-12-1) speak of the parties executing the deed and do not name a non-owner spouse; ask a Rhode Island lawyer about your situation. Recording before the grantor's death keeps the property out of a surviving spouse's life estate (R.I. Gen. Laws 33-25-2(b)).

Does a quitclaim deed remove me from the mortgage?

No. A deed conveys the grantor's interest in the land; under 12 CFR 191.5(b)(4), a lender releases a borrower only when, before the transfer, the lender and the new owner agree in writing that the new owner is obligated on the loan.

Is a quitclaim deed valid in Rhode Island if it is not recorded?

A delivered deed is valid between the parties, their heirs, those taking by gift or devise, and those with notice, even unrecorded (R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-1). It is void against a later purchaser for value without notice.

Does Rhode Island allow transfer on death deeds?

Not as of 2026-10-10. The General Laws have no transfer on death deed statute, though bills to create one have been introduced; talk to a Rhode Island lawyer about alternatives.