Maine Quitclaim Deed Instructions

Step 1: Find the Right Registry of Deeds

Your deed must be recorded where the property is located, not necessarily where you live.

If the property is in one Maine county, use that county's registry of deeds. If the property crosses a county line, the deed should be recorded in both counties.

Maine has 16 counties, but there is one wrinkle to watch for: Aroostook County has two registry districts, one in Fort Kent and one in Houlton.

If your property is in Aroostook County, make sure you know which district covers the town where the property is located.

Maine Revenue Services lists every registry of deeds, with street addresses, mailing addresses, telephone numbers and websites. Both Aroostook County districts are there. That is a good place to start.

Step 2: Choose the Deed: With Covenant or Without

This step is about making the choice and writing it into the deed.

Most family transfers use the deed without covenant — a gift to a relative, a transfer into your own trust, a divorce settlement, or releasing an interest you may have. Choose with covenant when the grantee wants the grantor to stand behind the title for the years the grantor owned the property.

For a deed with covenant, the title and the words that actually transfer the property should identify the deed as a Quitclaim Deed With Covenant and use the "with quitclaim covenant" wording.

For a deed without covenant, use the Quitclaim Deed Without Covenant or release-deed wording.

Simply calling the document a "Quitclaim Deed" without making clear which version you intend can create an unnecessary question. Maine spells out separate wording for each version for a reason.

What the Wording Looks Like

Maine's statutes print the wording for each version. Here it is with plain labels in place of the letters the statute uses. Fill in each blank in brackets and leave the other words exactly as they are.

Quitclaim Deed With Covenant

[Grantor's full name] of [town], [county] County, [state], (being unmarried) for consideration paid, grant to [grantee's full name] of [street address, town], [county] County, [state], with quitclaim covenant the land in [town], [county] County, Maine.

[Legal description, copied from the current deed, and anything the property remains subject to, such as a mortgage or right of way]

[Spouse's full name], spouse of the grantor, releases all rights in the premises being conveyed.

Witness my hand and seal this [day] day of [month], [year].

Quitclaim Deed Without Covenant (Release Deed)

[Grantor's full name] of [town], [county] County, [state], (being unmarried) for consideration paid, release to [grantee's full name] of [street address, town], [county] County, [state], the land in [town], [county] County, Maine.

[Legal description, copied from the current deed]

[Spouse's full name], spouse of the grantor, releases all rights in the premises being conveyed.

Witness my hand and seal this [day] day of [month], [year].

The highlighted words are the ones that make the difference between the two.

A few words about the blanks:

• Keep "(being unmarried)" only if the grantor is not married, and then leave out the spouse's line. If the grantor is married, leave out "(being unmarried)" and fill in the spouse's line.
• "The premises" means the property.
• "Witness my hand and seal" is old wording for "I sign this." It does not mean you need a witness, and Maine does not require a seal.
• Below this go the signatures with printed names beneath them, then the notary's acknowledgment.

Step 3: Fill In the Grantor's Information

The grantor is the person transferring the property.

Use the grantor's full legal name, exactly as it appears on the deed by which the grantor acquired the property.

Then give where the grantor lives:

• town;
• county; and
• state.

If the grantor is unmarried, add "(being unmarried)" after the name. A married grantor's name goes in without those words.

Take your time with names. Small differences involving middle initials, suffixes or spelling can create questions later when someone searches the title.

Step 4: Fill In the Grantee's Information and Address

The grantee is the person receiving the property.

Use the grantee's full legal name and include the address Maine requires:

• street and number;
• municipality; and
• state.

Don't stop with just the town.

Leaving out the address does not by itself invalidate the deed, and Maine law says the registry cannot reject a deed solely for that reason. Even so, there is little reason to leave the address out.

The address is used for important purposes, such as mailing the recorded deed and sending property-tax bills to the new owner. You will also need the address for the transfer tax declaration.

If the property is being transferred to a company, trust or estate, use its correct legal name and give the address for receiving the tax bill and other property-related mail.

Step 5: Add the Legal Description and Decide How Co-Owners Will Hold Title

This is an area where accuracy matters.

The safest starting point for the legal description is the current recorded deed. Copy the legal description carefully. Do not substitute the street address for the legal description. Also include the book and page where the current deed is recorded.

If you cannot find the deed, you can get a copy.

Start with your own papers. After a deed is recorded, the registry mails it back to the new owner, so the deed is often in the closing file.

If not, the registry of deeds for the county keeps the deed as a public record and will sell you a copy.

A mortgage lender, or the title company that handled the purchase, often has a copy as well.

If the deed refers to an exception — for example, a right of way held by someone else — Maine has a specific rule worth knowing. To give notice of the interest being excepted, the deed should identify the book and page where that interest is recorded or describe the land affected by that interest.

A vague phrase such as "subject to any easements of record" does not do the same thing, although it can still affect the covenant when the deed contains one.

If More Than One Person Will Own the Property

Don't overlook this part. When you put two or more people on a Maine deed, you should state how they will own the property together.

If the deed does not say otherwise, Maine treats two or more grantees as tenants in common. Each owner has a separate interest that can pass through a will or inheritance.

If you want the surviving owner to receive the other owner's interest automatically, the deed needs joint-tenancy or survivorship wording. Examples include:

• "as joint tenants";
• "with right of survivorship"; or
• "as tenants by the entirety."

Maine treats tenancy-by-the-entirety wording as joint-tenancy wording for this purpose.

Maine also allows an existing owner to deed the property directly to themselves and another person as joint tenants. You do not have to transfer the property to a third person and then have it transferred back.

Decide this before you write the deed rather than after. Changing how co-owners hold title later means preparing and recording another deed.

Step 6: Have Your Spouse Sign the Release Line

If the grantor is married, the deed will have a line for the grantor's spouse to release any rights the spouse may have in the property.

The spouse does not become a grantor or transfer ownership by signing this line. The spouse is simply releasing any rights they may have in the property being conveyed.

Use the spouse's full legal name on the release line. The spouse should sign when the deed is acknowledged before the notary or other authorized official.

Practical point: If you are married and the deed includes a spouse's release line, have your spouse complete and sign it. This helps prevent a possible claim involving the spouse's rights from affecting the property after the transfer.

Step 7: Type or Print Every Name Under Its Signature

This is easy to do and just as easy to overlook.

Under each signature, type or clearly print the person's name. That includes the grantor and the notary, as well as the grantee if the grantee signs the document.

The registry uses those printed names when indexing the deed. A deed can be rejected if the required names are missing.

If someone notices the omission before the deed is officially recorded, the missing name may be printed on the document at the registry counter. It is much better to catch the omission before you arrive.

The registry can also reject a document that is too difficult to read, reproduce or archive.

One more practical detail: leave enough blank space on the first page for the registry's recording stamp. It shows the book and page and the date and time of recording. If you leave no room for it, the register can add a page and charge another $2.

Step 8: Sign the Deed Before a Notary

Don't sign the deed ahead of time if the notary needs to witness your signature.

The grantor must acknowledge the deed. Depending on the circumstances, that means signing in front of the notary or acknowledging that the signature already on the document is theirs. Bring photo ID with you.

If your spouse is signing the release line, arrange for that signature to be properly handled at the same time.

In Maine, the acknowledgment may be taken by a notary public or a Maine attorney. If you are signing outside Maine, other authorized officials may be able to take the acknowledgment: a notary, clerk of a court of record or commissioner.

Maine does not require witnesses for the deed.

Before leaving the notary, look at the acknowledgment section and make sure it has actually been completed. An improperly acknowledged deed can be rejected for recording.

Can You Sign a Maine Quitclaim Deed Online?

Yes, Maine allows remote notarization, but there are rules.

You cannot simply call any notary on Zoom or FaceTime.

The notary must meet Maine's requirements for remote notarization, be located in Maine while performing the notarization, and use technology that satisfies the state's rules. The signer, however, can be somewhere else, including another country, as long as that country does not forbid it. Your identity is checked by one of the methods Maine allows, and the session is recorded and kept.

Maine also has a procedure for remotely notarizing a paper document. The signer signs the deed and a required declaration during the video session and then sends the documents to the notary within four days. The notary completes the certificate after receiving them.

For a straightforward family transfer, using a local notary at a bank, law office or town office may be easier. Remote notarization is most useful when distance is the problem — for example, when the signer lives in another state, cannot easily travel or is overseas.

Our Remote Online Notarization by State page explains how remote notarization differs from state to state.

Step 9: Complete the Transfer Tax Declaration

A Maine deed normally does not go to the registry by itself.

You will also need Form RETTD — the Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration.

Don't assume you can skip this form simply because the property is a gift or because you believe the transfer is exempt from tax. The declaration is also where an exemption is claimed.

Only certain types of deeds are excepted from the declaration requirement:

• government conveyances;
• mortgages and mortgage discharges;
• partial releases of mortgages;
• deeds correcting a previously recorded deed;
• deeds of distribution from an estate; and
• transfer-on-death deeds.

A family gift is not on that list. So even when no money changes hands and no transfer tax is due, you still complete the declaration and claim the exemption.

The form asks for:

• the county and town;
• names and addresses of the parties;
• the property's tax map and lot number;
• the location and type of property;
• the purchase price;
• the property's adjusted assessed value;
• the date of transfer; and
• the exemption code, if one applies.

For a gift, the purchase price is zero. You will still need the property's adjusted assessed value. That is the town's assessed value divided by its certified ratio, the percentage of full market value the town assesses at. The assessor can give you both figures, and many towns publish them online along with the property's tax map and lot number. If you are claiming an exemption, state the reason and use the right exemption code.

Don't guess on this form. It is signed under penalty of perjury, and knowingly providing false information can have serious consequences.

If you are recording a single deed yourself, you can use the paper form. Maine Revenue Services requires filing through its own online system for some professional preparers.

If you need help completing it, our Maine Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration page goes through the form line by line.

Step 10: Pay the Transfer Tax, or Claim the Exemption, and Record the Deed

You are now ready to record. Bring or mail these to the registry:

• the completed and acknowledged deed;
• the Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration;
• the recording fee; and
• any transfer tax that is due.

If the transfer qualifies for an exemption, make sure that exemption is properly shown on the declaration.

The registry calculates the transfer tax from the declaration and collects the amount due before accepting the deed for recording. See What Will Recording Cost? below for the current amounts and the family transfers that may qualify for an exemption.

When the registry receives and accepts the deed, it stamps the date and time the deed arrived. Once the register has accepted the document for recording, it cannot simply be altered or withdrawn while the recording process is being completed.

Don't Put Off Recording

Signing the deed is not the last step. Record it.

Recording gives public notice of the transfer and protects the new owner's interest against later claims.

Maine does not impose a general deadline requiring you to record within a particular number of days, but there is usually no advantage to leaving a signed deed unrecorded.

An unrecorded deed has much more limited protection. Maine law makes it effective only against the grantor, the grantor's heirs, anyone who inherits under the grantor's will, and people who actually know about the transfer.

One More Rule for Some Out-of-State Sellers

There is another rule to check if the seller is not a Maine resident and the sale price is $100,000 or more.

In that situation, the buyer withholds 2.5% of the purchase price for Maine income tax unless the seller qualifies for an exception or has obtained a waiver. The transfer tax declaration asks about this.

Where do I record a Maine quitclaim deed?

Record it with the registry of deeds for the county where the property is located.

Maine has 16 counties but 17 registry offices, because Aroostook County is divided into two registry districts: the Northern District at Fort Kent and the Southern District at Houlton. Maine Revenue Services lists every registry, with its address, telephone number and website.

When you are ready to record, you submit the deed, signed in front of a notary, along with the completed Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration, the recording fee and any transfer tax that is due.

How do I find my Maine property deed online?

Search the county where the property is located. Every Maine registry of deeds is searchable online.

The Maine Registers of Deeds Association, made up of the officials who run the county registries, runs one portal that reaches all 16 counties.

On any county registry site, the first 400 pages you print or download in a calendar year are free. Charges apply after that.

If you would rather not search yourself, any registry will look up a deed and sell you a copy.

What is the difference between a Maine quitclaim deed with covenant and without covenant?

The difference is the promise made by the grantor.

A quitclaim deed with covenant includes a limited promise: the grantor will defend the grantee against claims that trace back to the grantor, such as a mortgage the grantor took out or a lien against the grantor. It does not protect the grantee against problems created by earlier owners.

A quitclaim deed without covenant, also called a release deed, makes no such promise. It simply transfers whatever ownership interest the grantor has and can convey. Both are set out in Maine's statutes.

For many gifts, trust transfers and divorce-related transfers, the without-covenant form more closely matches the purpose of the transaction.

Does my spouse have to sign a Maine quitclaim deed?

A spouse who is not on the title does not have to sign simply to make the grantor's transfer valid.

However, Maine's statutes still set out a line for the grantor's spouse to release all rights in the property being conveyed. There is a reason for that.

When a married person dies, the surviving spouse can claim a share of the estate even if the will leaves them less, and that claim can count some property given away during the two years before death. Separately, if a spouse does not sign the release line, Maine gives that spouse up to 20 years after the deed is recorded to file a notice at the registry that keeps alive a claim to inherit an interest in the property.

For the ordinary homeowner preparing a deed, the practical answer is straightforward: if you are married, have your spouse sign the spouse's release line.

Will I owe transfer tax if I give property to a family member?

It depends on which family member receives the property.

A transfer made without anything paid or given in return may qualify for Maine's family exemption when it is between spouses, parent and child, or grandparent and grandchild. Deeds between spouses as part of a divorce are also exempt.

You still complete the transfer tax declaration. For a gift, you report zero as the purchase price, give the property's adjusted assessed value and enter the right exemption code.

The family exemption does not cover every relative. For example, a gift to a brother, sister, niece or nephew is not included in the exemption described above. In that situation, the tax is figured on the property's value, which Maine Revenue Services ordinarily takes to be the adjusted assessed value: the town's assessed value, adjusted to full market value.

Does a Maine quitclaim deed need witnesses?

No. Maine does not require witnesses on a deed.

What it requires instead is that the grantor acknowledge the deed, meaning confirm the signature is theirs, in front of a notary or a Maine attorney before the deed is recorded.

Can I get a Maine deed notarized online?

Yes. Maine allows remote online notarization, but not with just any notary.

The notary has to be in Maine during the session, approved by the state for remote work, and using technology the state accepts. You can be anywhere in the United States. From another country it still works for a Maine deed, as long as that country does not forbid it.

Maine also allows a paper deed to be notarized over video. Under the procedure the statute sets out, you sign the paper deed on camera, sign a short statement that it is the document the notary watched you sign, and send both to the notary within four days.

Where do I get a Maine quitclaim deed form?

Maine does not publish a blank deed form for you to download and fill in. The state publishes the transfer tax declaration that goes with the deed, Form RETTD, but not the deed itself.

What Maine publishes instead is the wording. The Short Form Deeds Act prints model deeds in the statutes, one for a quitclaim deed with covenant and one for a release deed, showing the words each version uses. That is the pattern a Maine deed follows.

So you either write the deed from that statutory wording yourself, or start with a form written for Maine. Be careful with a generic quitclaim deed downloaded from anywhere on the Internet. A form made for no particular state may leave out the wording that separates a deed with quitclaim covenant from a release deed, and it may omit the grantee's address, the printed names beneath the signatures, or the spouse's release line.

If you would rather start with a form or a deed-preparation service made for this, see our Quitclaim Deed Help page.