Arizona Quitclaim Deed Instructions

Step 1: Know Which Recorder Will Take It

Arizona deeds are recorded by the county recorder in the county where the property is located, which is not always the county where you live. Each of Arizona's 15 counties has its own recorder's office, and each keeps the land records for its own county only.

That same office holds the recorded copy of the current deed, so it is also where you get one if yours has gone missing.

Step 2: Set Up the First Page

A county recorder can reject a deed if the document does not meet Arizona's recording requirements. These are the requirements the law lists:

• A title at the top that says what the document is, such as Quitclaim Deed
• Paper no wider than 8½ inches and no longer than 14
• Type no smaller than 10 point
• The original, with original signatures, not a copy

Leave the top 2 inches of the first page empty for the recorder's stamp, with one exception: the left 3½ inches of that strip is where the law lets you put the name of the person asking for the recording and the address the deed should go back to afterward. That is the spot for your return address.

Keep at least a half inch of margin on every other edge. A narrow margin is not a reason to reject the deed, but anything written inside it may not count once the deed is recorded. If your first page cannot leave the 2 inches, you can attach a separate cover sheet that does, with the document's title on it.

Step 3: Fill In Your Name

As the grantor, you are the owner who is signing the property away. Write your full legal name the way it appears on the current deed.

If you are married and the property is community property, your spouse is a grantor too, even if only your name is on the title. Step 7 explains how to tell.

Step 4: Name the Grantee

Next comes the person receiving the property. Give the grantee's full legal name and a mailing address, spelled exactly right, since that name is the one the county's records will show from here on.

Deeding to a trust? Arizona asks more when the grantee is a trustee. The deed must give the names and addresses of the trust's beneficiaries and identify the trust, or point to a document already on record in that county that does. A deed that leaves this out can be undone by the other party to it within two years of recording.

Step 5: Use Arizona's Quitclaim Wording

Arizona's law spells out the sentence that does the transferring, and any wording to the same effect works. Here it is with plain labels in the blanks:

Quitclaim Deed

For the consideration of [what the grantee gives in return], I hereby quit claim to [grantee's name] all my interest in the following real property: [legal description].

A few words about that wording:

• “Quit claim” are the working words. Arizona's law writes it as two words; “quitclaim” as one word means the same. Stay away from “grant” and “convey.” In Arizona, either of those words quietly adds two promises: that you have not already transferred the property to someone else, and that it is free of liens, taxes and assessments.
• A warranty deed adds one more clause, “and I warrant the title against all persons whomsoever.” A quitclaim deed leaves it out.
• Consideration is whatever the grantee gives in exchange. When nothing changes hands, say it is a gift. Step 9 shows why that matters.

Step 6: Add the Legal Description

The legal description identifies the exact property being transferred. Take it straight from the current recorded deed, letter for letter. A street address will not do.

If your new deed corrects or changes a deed that is already on record, it must also give the date that earlier deed was recorded and its docket and page.

Step 7: Find Out Whether Your Spouse Signs Too

Single owners can move on to Step 8.

Arizona is a community property state. Property either spouse acquired during the marriage belongs to both of them, whoever's name is on the title, unless it came as a gift or an inheritance, or was acquired after divorce papers were served. A deed of community property is not valid unless both spouses sign it and acknowledge it before a notary.

There is no grace period, and recording the deed does not cure a missing spouse's signature. The recorder has no way to know whether property is community property, so a deed signed by one spouse alone may be recorded and still fail later, when the title is examined for a sale or a loan.

Property that is your separate property, owned before the marriage or received as a gift or an inheritance, is yours to sign over alone. If you are not sure which kind you have, having both spouses sign settles the question.

Step 8: Decide How Co-Owners Will Hold Title

If only one person is receiving the property, skip this step.

When two or more people receive property together, Arizona makes them tenants in common unless the deed says otherwise. Each owns a share, and when one dies, that share passes through the owner's estate rather than to the other owners.

If you want the surviving owner to receive the whole property, the deed must say so:

• “Joint tenants with right of survivorship” works for anyone, including a parent and a grown child. You can also create it by deeding the property to yourself and another person together.
• “Community property with right of survivorship” is for a married couple. The surviving spouse takes the whole property, and it keeps its community property character.

If what you really want is for someone to receive the property only when you die, Arizona's beneficiary deed does that. You keep full ownership while you are alive, you can revoke it, and it has to be recorded before your death.

Step 9: Note the Affidavit of Property Value or Its Exemption

Arizona asks for an Affidavit of Property Value with nearly every deed. It is a Department of Revenue form that reports the price and terms of a sale, and the recorder will not record a deed without it unless the deed shows the transfer is exempt.

Most family quitclaim deeds are exempt, and you show that with one short line typed on the deed, beneath the legal description. The state gives each exemption a label made of a letter and a number. You do not need to memorize the exemption codes. Find the transfer that matches your situation and use the line shown below:

• You are giving the property as a gift.
  Write: “A.R.S. 11-1134 A7”
• A home is passing within the family for no more than a token amount, between spouses, parent and child, grandparent and grandchild, or brothers and sisters.
  Write: “A.R.S. 11-1134 B3”
• You are putting the property into a trust, or a trustee is handing it to a beneficiary, for no more than a token amount.
  Write: “A.R.S. 11-1134 B8”
• The deed only corrects or confirms one that is already recorded.
  Write: “A.R.S. 11-1134 B2”
• You and your spouse are deeding the property to yourselves as community property with right of survivorship.
  Write: “A.R.S. 11-1134 B10”
• Co-owners are deeding the property to themselves as joint tenants with right of survivorship.
  Write: “A.R.S. 11-1134 B11”

If none of those fits, fill out the Affidavit of Property Value instead and send it with the deed. The grantor and the grantee both sign it, and knowingly giving false information on it is a misdemeanor.

Step 10: Sign in Front of a Notary

Arizona does not use witnesses for deeds. What it does require is a notary: you sign where the notary can see you, and the notary attaches a certificate confirming it. That is called an acknowledgment, and a deed without one is not properly recorded.

At the Notary's Office

• Sign in the notary's presence, or confirm to the notary that the signature already on the deed is your own.
• Bring unexpired photo identification, such as a driver's license or passport, unless the notary knows you personally.
• From September 12, 2026, expect to press your right thumbprint into the notary's journal. Arizona now requires it for deeds, quitclaim deeds included. If that thumb is not available, the notary uses another finger and notes it in the journal.
• If this is community property, your spouse signs in front of the notary too.
• A judge, a court clerk, a justice of the peace or a county recorder can also take an acknowledgment.
• Signing in another state? Use a notary there. Arizona gives that notarization the same effect as one done here.

The Notary's Certificate

The notary completes the acknowledgment certificate. Arizona's short form for an individual reads:

Acknowledgment in an Individual Capacity

State of [state]
(County) of [county]

This record was acknowledged before me on [date] by [your name].

[notary's signature]
Stamp
[title of office]
(My commission expires: [date])

A few words about the certificate:

• “Record” means the deed. The county named is the one where you signed, not necessarily the one where the property is located.
• On a paper deed, the notary's official stamp must be on the certificate, along with the date the notary's commission expires.
• If your spouse signs too, the certificate names both of you.

Signing Over Video

Arizona allows remote online notarization. You meet an Arizona notary by live video, the notary confirms who you are, usually through two separate online identity checks, and the session is recorded. The certificate then says the notarization used communication technology.

The notary must be in Arizona and must have told the Secretary of State before doing the first one, naming the technology to be used. You can be anywhere, even in another country, since the property is in the United States.

A video notarization is excused from the new thumbprint rule, as long as the notary keeps a record of your identification and keeps the recording for at least seven years.

If the deed is signed electronically, the county recorder must accept a paper copy of it, as long as the notary certifies that the copy is accurate.

Our Remote Online Notarization by State page compares the rules in every state.

Step 11: Record the Deed Within 60 Days

Take or mail the signed original to the county recorder, with the recording fee and either the exemption notation on the deed or the completed affidavit.

From September 12, 2026, if you record in person at the recorder's office or at a recording kiosk, bring photo identification. The recorder notes it but does not keep a copy. Title companies, escrow offices, banks and credit unions, Arizona lawyers and government offices are exempt when they are the ones recording.

Why the 60 Days Matter

Arizona puts a clock on recording. The person transferring the property is expected to record the deed in that county within 60 days of the transfer. A deed transfers the property when it is signed and handed to the grantee, so the 60 days start on the day the grantee receives the signed deed. A grantor who skips it has to cover the grantee's losses if the grantee's ownership is ever challenged in court, including legal fees and even punitive damages.

Between you and the grantee, the deed counts from the moment it is signed and handed over, recorded or not. The danger is everyone else. Until it is on record, the deed does not protect the grantee against your creditors, or against a later buyer or lender who pays for the property without knowing about it.

By January 1, 2027, every county assessor must offer an alert, by email, text or something similar, that tells owners who sign up when the ownership or mailing address on their parcel changes.

Where do I record an Arizona quitclaim deed?

With the county recorder in the county where the property is located. The recording fee is a flat $30 per document.

Record it within 60 days of handing the signed deed to the grantee. Arizona puts that job on the grantor, and a grantor who lets it slide can end up covering the grantee's losses if the ownership is later challenged.

Do I need ID to record a deed in Arizona?

Yes, if you record it in person. Since September 12, 2026, anyone who brings a document to an Arizona county recorder's office or a recording kiosk has to show valid photo identification. The recorder notes the type of ID, the name on it and its number, but doesn't keep a copy, and that note isn't a public record.

The rule is about recording in person, so it doesn't cover a deed you mail in. It also doesn't apply when a title company, escrow office, bank or credit union, Arizona lawyer or government office submits the deed.

How do I find my Arizona property deed online?

Start with the county recorder in the county where the property is located. Arizona has no statewide deed search; each of the 15 county recorders keeps the records for its own county.

The recorder holds the recorded original and can make a certified copy, at $1 a page plus $3 for the recorder's certificate and seal.

Do both spouses have to sign an Arizona quitclaim deed?

If the property is community property, yes. A deed of community property is not valid unless both spouses sign it before a notary, even when only one of them is on the title. The grantee does not sign at all.

Separate property, owned before the marriage or received as a gift or an inheritance, can be signed over by its owner alone.

What is the difference between a quitclaim deed and a warranty deed in Arizona?

One clause. Arizona's warranty deed adds “and I warrant the title against all persons whomsoever,” a promise the grantee can sue on if the title turns out to be bad. A quitclaim deed passes only “all my interest,” with no promise about what that interest is.

Watch the verbs as well. A deed that says “grant” or “convey” carries two promises about the title under Arizona law, which is why a quitclaim deed says “quit claim.”

Does an Arizona quitclaim deed need witnesses?

No. What it needs is a notary's acknowledgment of your signature, and without one the deed is not properly recorded.

From September 12, 2026, the notary also takes your right thumbprint in the notary's journal when the document is a deed.

Is there a transfer tax on an Arizona quitclaim deed?

No. Arizona's constitution bars any new tax on transferring real property, so the cost of recording is the county recorder's flat fee, which already includes the small fee on deeds.

The one piece of tax-office paperwork is the Affidavit of Property Value, and most family quitclaim deeds are exempt from it. The deed simply carries one line naming the exemption, such as “A.R.S. 11-1134 A7” for a gift, beneath the legal description.

Federal tax is a separate matter. Our Transferring Property to Family guide covers the federal side of a gift: the recipient's tax basis and the capital gains tax on a later sale.

Does a quitclaim deed avoid probate in Arizona?

Only by handing the property over now, during your lifetime. After the deed is signed and delivered, the grantee owns the property. It is no longer part of your estate, and you generally cannot take the transfer back.

To keep the property until your death and then pass it on without probate, Arizona offers the beneficiary deed. You can revoke it at any time, and it has to be recorded before you die.

Where do I get an Arizona quitclaim deed form?

Arizona does not publish a blank form, but its law gives the key sentence, and Step 5 shows it.

A generic form can miss what Arizona expects: the clear 2-inch strip at the top of the first page, a place for the affidavit exemption, room for both spouses to sign, and the beneficiary details a deed to a trust must carry. Any of those can get a deed turned away or cause trouble later.

If you would rather start from something built for Arizona, see our Quitclaim Deed Help page.

Can I get an Arizona quitclaim deed notarized online?

Yes. An Arizona notary who has notified the Secretary of State can notarize your deed over live video, even if you are out of state or abroad, and the session is recorded.

A deed signed that way can be recorded on paper: the county recorder must accept a paper copy the notary certifies as accurate.