Maryland Quitclaim Deed Instructions

Step 1: Find the Right Land Records Office

A Maryland deed is recorded in the land records kept by the clerk of the circuit court for the county where the property lies, which is not necessarily the county you live in. Baltimore City has its own circuit court and clerk, so there are 24 land records offices for 23 counties and the city. The statute says no estate passes unless the deed is executed and recorded, so the office matters.

The Maryland Judiciary keeps a list of every circuit court clerk, with the courthouse address and phone number for all 24. Before the deed reaches the clerk, though, it goes to the county finance office, or in Baltimore City the Department of Finance, for the tax certification in Step 9; the finance office is a county office, separate from the courthouse, and the county's website gives its location.

Step 2: Lay Out the Deed the Way the Recording Statute Requires

Maryland's recording statute sets the paper rules, and since October 1, 2025, it sets the margins too. A printed deed is in type of at least 8 points, in black on white paper heavy enough to be clearly readable, with a margin of at least 3 inches at the top of the first page and 1 inch on the left and right of every page for the clerk's use. A deed that does not meet those rules is charged three times the normal recording fee, and one that cannot be scanned is refused. No rider may be attached in a way that covers any part of a page.

Two more things go on the deed. The name of each person who signs is typed or printed directly above or below the signature, and the clerk indexes from those names. And the deed carries a certification of preparation: either a statement by an attorney admitted in Maryland that the attorney prepared the deed or supervised its preparation, or a certification by a party named in the deed that the party prepared it. A deed with neither cannot be recorded. If you fill in the deed yourself, you are the party who prepared it, and you sign a line saying so.

Step 3: Fill In the Grantor's Information

The grantor is the person giving up whatever interest they hold. Maryland's statutory form opens "This deed, made this day of, in the year, by me, [grantor], witnesseth", so give the grantor's full legal name exactly as it appears on the deed the grantor received. Maryland deeds customarily recite how the grantor got the property, "being the same property conveyed to the grantor by deed dated and recorded at Liber, folio", and the intake sheet asks for that liber and folio, so have the old deed at hand.

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

The grantee is the person receiving the interest. Give the full legal name. The intake sheet requires, for any deed that changes ownership, a mailing address for the property tax bill, and the assessment office sends the new assessment notice to the grantee's address on that sheet, so put the grantee's mailing address in the deed as well. Where a company, a trust or an estate receives the property, name it as it is legally named, and give the address of the person who should receive the tax bill.

Step 5: State the Consideration, and What Interest Is Granted

Maryland's tax law requires the consideration payable, including any mortgage the grantee assumes, to be stated in the deed's recitals or acknowledgment, or in an affidavit signed by a party that goes in with the deed. The finance office computes the recordation and transfer taxes from that figure, so it has to be true. For a sale, state the price. For a gift, say so: "for no consideration" or "in consideration of love and affection", and the intake sheet's consideration line reads zero. If the grantee is taking over a mortgage, state the balance, because that balance is consideration.

A Maryland deed is sufficient if it names the grantor and grantee, describes the property well enough to identify it, and states the interest intended to be granted, and is executed, acknowledged and recorded. The statutory form says "do grant unto"; a quitclaim adds that the grantor conveys and quitclaims whatever right, title and interest the grantor has, without warranty. Maryland has no separate statutory quitclaim form, and the words "quitclaim" and "without warranty" are what tell a reader the deed carries no covenants.

Step 6: Add the Legal Description and Decide How Co-Owners Will Hold Title

Copy the legal description word for word from the current deed, and add the election district and, in Baltimore City, the block and lot, because the intake sheet and the assessment office index the property that way. Include the property tax account number.

If two or more people will own the property, say how. Maryland's statute is blunt: no deed creates a joint tenancy unless it expressly provides that the property is to be held in joint tenancy. Without those words, co-owners take as tenants in common, with separate shares that pass by will or inheritance. For a married couple the common law supplies a third form, the tenancy by the entirety, under which both own the whole and the survivor takes it; a deed to spouses that says nothing else creates it. An owner may deed to themselves and another as joint tenants, tenants in common or tenants by the entirety in one step, and spouses may reshape an entireties title between themselves, without a straw man.

Step 7: Check Whether Your Spouse Signs

Maryland abolished dower and curtesy, so a spouse who is not on the title does not have to sign for the deed to convey the grantor's interest. If the property is held by a married couple as tenants by the entirety, both own all of it, and both sign.

One thing to know before leaving a spouse off a gift deed. A surviving spouse in Maryland may elect to take a third of the deceased spouse's "estate subject to election", or half if there are no descendants, and that estate includes lifetime gifts made within two years of death, other than sales for fair value. The statute excludes a gift the surviving spouse consented to in writing. A spouse who joins the deed, or signs a consent, takes the property out of that reckoning; otherwise the gift counts toward the elective share if the grantor dies within two years.

Step 8: Sign the Deed Before a Notary

The grantor, and any co-owning spouse, sign the deed and acknowledge it before a notary public. Maryland requires no witnesses. Under Maryland's notary law the certificate must be signed and dated, name the state and county where the act took place, give the notary's title, show the expiration date of the notary's commission, and carry the notary's official stamp, which is required on a paper deed. The statute's short form, "This record was acknowledged before me on the day of, 20, by", is enough.

Maryland allows remote online notarization by a Maryland notary who is physically in Maryland and has told the Secretary of State which technology the notary will use. You can be anywhere. The notary confirms who you are by knowing you, by a credible witness, or by an ID shown on camera and run through credential analysis and identity proofing, records the session, keeps the recording ten years, and writes on the certificate that the act involved a remotely located individual and communication technology. A deed is a paper record, so the statute adds a step: you sign the deed and a one-paragraph declaration while the camera runs and mail both to the notary within three days; the certificate is completed when they arrive. The law does not oblige anyone to accept a remotely notarized document, but the clerk records one like any other. Our Remote Online Notarization by State page explains how a session runs.

Step 9: Complete the Intake Sheet and Take the Deed to the Finance Office

Every deed presented for recording in Maryland is accompanied by a State of Maryland Land Instrument Intake Sheet, on the form the Administrative Office of the Courts publishes, and by a photocopy of the deed for the State Department of Assessments and Taxation. The sheet identifies the property by tax account number or address, names the grantor and grantee, states the type of instrument, the consideration including any assumed mortgage, the recording charges and taxes, each claimed tax exemption with its authority, the tax bill mailing address, and who gets the deed back. The clerk may refuse to record a deed that changes ownership without a complete sheet. There is no fee for it, it is printed on legal-size paper, and it is not part of the deed. Our Maryland land instrument intake sheet page goes through it section by section.

The deed and sheet go first to the county's finance office. The clerk may record a deed that changes ownership only if it is endorsed with the certificate of the county's collector of taxes that all property taxes, assessments and charges due on the property have been paid, and property may not be transferred on the assessment books until they are. The finance office checks the taxes, issues a lien certificate if you ask for one, for a fee of up to $55, computes and collects the recordation tax and any county transfer tax, and endorses the deed. Only then does the clerk take it.

If the grantor is not a Maryland resident and money is paid, one more form goes in: the Comptroller's nonresident withholding return, with a payment of 8.75 percent of the net proceeds for an individual seller or 8.25 percent for an entity, unless an exemption applies. A deed that states zero consideration is exempt, so a gift needs no withholding. Our Maryland nonresident seller withholding page explains the form and the exemptions.

Step 10: Pay the Taxes and Record the Deed

At the clerk's counter you pay the recording fee, $20 for a deed of nine pages or fewer or for a principal residence of any length and $75 otherwise, plus the $40 land records surcharge, and the State transfer tax of 0.5 percent of the consideration. The county's recordation tax and any county transfer tax were collected at the finance office. All three taxes are figured on the consideration stated in the deed, so a gift for no consideration, with no mortgage taken over, pays only the fee and surcharge. Unless you have agreed otherwise, Maryland presumes grantor and grantee share the taxes equally.

The exemptions a family quitclaim deed meets concern an assumed mortgage, because that debt is consideration. A transfer between spouses or former spouses, or between domestic partners, is exempt from the recordation and State transfer taxes altogether, though for domestic partners only for residential property, with an affidavit and proof of the partnership. A transfer to a child, stepchild, parent, stepparent, sibling, grandchild, grandparent, or the in-law equivalents is exempt on the mortgage debt the relative takes over. A corrective or supplemental deed with no new consideration is exempt. The exemption is claimed on the intake sheet, by citation; our Maryland quitclaim deed tax exemptions page gives the citations.

The clerk records and indexes the deed and sends the intake sheet and copy to the assessment office, which transfers the property on the assessment records as of the recording date. A deed's effective date is the date of delivery, presumed to be the later of the last acknowledgment and the date on the deed, and once recorded it takes effect from that date against the grantor, purchasers with notice, and the grantor's creditors. No estate passes until it is recorded, so there is no reason to wait.

Where do I record a Maryland quitclaim deed?

In the land records office of the clerk of the circuit court for the county where the property lies, or the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. The Maryland Judiciary lists all 24 clerks with addresses and phone numbers. Before the clerk will record a deed that changes ownership, the county finance office has to endorse it as having the property taxes paid and collect the recordation and county transfer taxes, so the finance office is the first stop.

What is the Maryland land instrument intake sheet?

A state form, published by the Administrative Office of the Courts, that accompanies every deed presented for recording. It identifies the property, names the parties, states the consideration and the taxes and fees due, cites any tax exemption claimed, gives the tax bill mailing address, and says who gets the recorded deed back. The clerk, the assessment office and the county finance office all work from it. There is no fee for it, and the clerk may refuse a deed that changes ownership without one.

Does my spouse have to sign a Maryland quitclaim deed?

Not unless your spouse is on the title. Maryland has no dower or curtesy. If you and your spouse own the property together, you hold it as tenants by the entirety unless the deed said otherwise, and both of you sign. One caution for a gift deed: a surviving spouse's elective share reaches gifts made within two years of death unless the spouse consented in writing, so a spouse who joins the deed or signs a consent closes that door.

Will I owe transfer or recordation tax on a gift to a family member?

Not on a plain gift. All three Maryland taxes are figured on the consideration stated in the deed, and a gift for no consideration has none. The exemptions matter when the relative takes over a mortgage, because assumed debt is consideration: a transfer between spouses or former spouses is fully exempt from recordation and State transfer tax, as is a transfer of residential property between domestic partners who can show proof of the partnership, and a transfer to a child, stepchild, parent, sibling, grandchild, grandparent or the in-law equivalents is exempt on the assumed debt. County transfer tax exemptions are set county by county.

Can I get a Maryland deed notarized online?

Yes, through a Maryland notary. The notary has to be physically in Maryland and registered with the Secretary of State for remote work; you can be anywhere. Identity is proved by the notary knowing you, by a credible witness, or by holding your ID up to the camera for credential analysis and identity proofing. The notary keeps a video of the session for ten years and notes on the certificate that you appeared remotely. Because a deed is a paper record, you also sign a one-paragraph declaration on camera and mail the signed deed and declaration to the notary within three days, and the certificate is completed when they arrive. No one on the other end has to accept a remotely notarized deed, though the clerk records one like any other.

Where do I get a Maryland quitclaim deed form?

Maryland's statutes print a general form of deed but no separate quitclaim form, and the words "quitclaim" and "without warranty" are what make it one. What a form written for no particular state will not have is the certification of preparation Maryland's clerks require, the statement of consideration, the recital of the prior deed's liber and folio, the three-inch top margin, or printed names under the signatures, and it will not come with the intake sheet. If you would rather start from something built for this state, our Quitclaim Deed Help page lists prepared forms and deed preparation services.