Kentucky puts a sworn statement inside every deed. The statute calls it a sworn, notarized certificate signed by the grantor and the grantee, and it says one of two things: that the consideration in the deed is the full price paid, or that the transfer is a gift and the property's estimated fair cash value is a stated figure. The county clerk cannot record a deed without it.
This page explains what the certificate is for, who signs it, the words for a sale and for a gift, how the value in it sets the transfer tax, and the six kinds of deed that are excused.
What the Certificate Is For
Kentucky taxes the transfer of real estate on the value declared in the deed, and the certificate is how the declared value is made reliable. Instead of a bare recital of "$10 and other good and valuable consideration", the statute requires both parties to swear to the true figure, and it makes a willful false statement of price or value a Class D felony.
The certificate is one item on a list. The same statute says a deed to real property shall contain the full names of grantor and grantee, their mailing addresses, a statement of the full price, the in-care-of address for the tax bill, and the certificate, and it tells the clerk not to lodge for record a deed that does not comply. A deed missing it comes back, not recorded.
Two Versions, and No Third
The statute gives two forms of certificate and says which transfers get which.
- A transfer for a real price. The certificate states that the price shown in the deed is the full price paid for the property. The deed itself has already stated the price, so the certificate confirms it.
- A gift, or a transfer for a token sum or nothing. The certificate states that the transfer is by gift and sets out the estimated fair cash value of the property.
A family quitclaim deed that recites "$1.00 and love and affection" is the second kind. The dollar is a token sum, so the certificate says gift and gives a value. Writing $1 as the price does not make $1 the value; the transfer tax statute measures a gift by the price the property would bring in an open-market sale, and that is the figure the certificate has to carry.
Who Signs, and How
The grantor or the grantor's agent, and the grantee or the grantee's agent. Where a party is under eighteen, the parent or guardian signs for them. Each signature is sworn: the signer swears to the truth of the statement before a notary public or the county clerk, and the notary completes a jurat for each, which is the notary's own statement that the oath was taken. The certificate therefore has its own notary blocks, separate from the acknowledgment of the grantor's signature on the deed, though one notary can complete all of them at one sitting.
That makes Kentucky one of the states where the grantee signs the deed. A grantee who lives out of state, or who cannot come to the same signing, can sign it on their own before a notary where they are, and a Kentucky online notary can take either party's oath over audio-video. The clerk needs both sworn signatures on the document before it is recorded.
The Wording
The statute prescribes the substance, not the words. Deed forms and county clerks phrase it in slightly different ways, and any wording that says what the statute requires, under oath, is enough. For a sale:
The grantor and grantee named below certify under oath that the sum stated in this deed is the full price paid for the property.
For a gift or a token-sum transfer:
The grantor and grantee named below certify under oath that the transfer is by gift and that the estimated fair cash value of the property is $__________.
Below it come lines for grantor and grantee to sign and a notary block for each: "Subscribed and sworn to before me by [name] on [date]", followed by the notary's signature, name, title, commission number and expiration date, which Kentucky's notary law requires on every certificate. Where an agent signs, the deed says whom the agent acts for.
Fair Cash Value: Where the Figure Comes From
The transfer tax statute defines value for a gift as the estimated price the property would bring in an open market, under prevailing conditions, in a sale between a willing seller and a willing buyer who both know the property and the market. The certificate asks for an estimate, and the statute does not say how to reach it. The county's current assessment, set by the office Kentucky calls the property valuation administrator, is one figure already on record; a recent appraisal is another. What the statute forbids is a figure given willfully and fraudulently.
The figure is the base for the transfer tax where the deed is not exempt, at 50 cents per $500. Where the deed is exempt, the tax is nil whatever the figure, but the certificate still has to give one.
The Six Deeds That Are Excused
The statute lifts the price statement, the in-care-of address and the certificate from six kinds of deed:
- Deeds that only convey utility easements.
- Deeds that transfer property through a court action in a divorce proceeding.
- Deeds conveying rights-of-way that involve government agencies.
- Deeds conveying cemetery lots.
- Deeds that correct errors in a previous deed conveying the same property from the same grantor to the same grantee.
- Deeds conveying real property to a local airport board.
Two things about the list. A deed between divorcing spouses is excused only when it transfers the property through the court case; a deed the spouses sign on their own carries the certificate, though the transfer owes no tax. And a correction deed is excused only when it runs between the same parties for the same property; a deed that changes who owns what is a new transfer with a certificate of its own. Where property passes by will or by inheritance without a will, there is no deed and no certificate; instead the personal representative files an affidavit with the clerk listing who received each property and its value.
Kentucky Consideration Certificate — Common Questions
What is a Kentucky consideration certificate?
A sworn statement, taken before a notary, that Kentucky's deed statute requires in every deed to real property, signed by the grantor and the grantee or their agents. For a sale it certifies that the price stated in the deed is the full price paid for the property. For a gift, or a transfer for a token sum or nothing, it declares the transfer a gift and gives the property's estimated fair cash value. The county clerk is told by the same statute not to record a deed that lacks it.
Who signs the certificate?
Both sides of the transfer: the grantor and the grantee, or an agent for either of them. For a party under eighteen, the parent or guardian signs. Each is sworn before a notary, so the certificate carries its own notary blocks, apart from the one for the grantor's signing of the deed. The grantee's signature is the unusual part; in Kentucky the person receiving the property signs the deed too.
What do I write for a gift?
That the transfer is by gift, and the estimated fair cash value of the property, in substance: "The grantor and grantee certify under oath that the transfer is by gift and that the estimated fair cash value of the property is $______." Fair cash value means what the property would sell for on the open market, with a willing seller and a willing buyer. The county property valuation administrator's assessment is one reasonable source for the figure. The same words are used where the deed recites $1, or love and affection, or nothing at all.
Does the value in a gift certificate get taxed?
Yes, unless the deed is exempt. Kentucky's transfer tax is 50 cents per $500 of value, and for a gift the statute measures value by the property's open-market price, which is the figure the certificate gives. A gift between spouses, or between parent and child or grandparent and grandchild for a token sum, is exempt. A gift between siblings or to a niece or nephew is not, and the tax falls on the grantor. Our Kentucky transfer tax exemptions page goes through the list.
Which deeds do not need a certificate?
The statute excuses six: deeds that only convey utility easements; deeds that transfer property through a court action in a divorce; deeds conveying rights-of-way that involve government agencies; deeds conveying cemetery lots; deeds correcting errors in an earlier deed for the same property between the same grantor and grantee; and deeds conveying property to a local airport board. Those deeds are also excused from stating the price and the in-care-of tax address. Every other deed, including a quitclaim deed between family members, carries the certificate.
Official Sources
Kentucky's laws are collected in the Kentucky Revised Statutes, and a citation such as KRS 382.135 is an address: the chapter, then the section within it. Each links to the section on the Kentucky Legislature's website, where it opens as a PDF in a new tab.
- KRS 382.135 — what a deed must contain, the two forms of sworn certificate, who signs, the six excused deeds, the estate affidavit, and the clerk's duty to refuse a noncompliant deed.
- KRS 142.050 — the transfer tax, how value is measured for a sale and for a gift, and the exemptions.
- KRS 382.990 — the penalties, including the Class D felony for a willful false statement of consideration or value.
- KRS 423.360 — what a notary's certificate must contain, including the commission number and expiration date.
Checked against the Kentucky Revised Statutes on September 3, 2026.