Maryland's recording statute says every deed presented for recording shall be accompanied by a complete intake sheet, on the form that the Administrative Office of the Courts provides. The form is the State of Maryland Land Instrument Intake Sheet, one legal-size page that the clerk, the State Department of Assessments and Taxation and the county finance office all read. The clerk may refuse a deed that changes ownership without it.
This page explains what the sheet is for, what the statute says it must contain, how to complete each of its eleven sections, what goes in with it, and what happens to it after recording.
What the Sheet Is For
Three offices handle a Maryland deed. The Judiciary's instructions say the sheet's purpose is to give the 24 circuit court clerk offices one form that expedites accurate processing, recording and indexing, designed to meet the needs of the State Department of Assessments and Taxation, which transfers the property on the assessment records, and the local finance offices, which certify the taxes and collect the recordation and transfer taxes.
The clerk indexes the property identifiers from the sheet, up to forty characters, in a fixed order of priority: the tax account number first, then the street address, then lot and block. The assessment office uses Sections 2, 6 and 11 to record the transfer and decide whether the sale was at arm's length. The finance office uses Sections 3, 4 and 5 to check the taxes. The instructions say those sections are meant to reduce the rejection of instruments for miscalculated charges, because a clerk cannot check a figure without knowing what it was computed from.
What the Statute Requires It to Contain
The recording statute lists what makes an intake sheet complete:
- The property, identified by at least one of: the property tax account number, or in Montgomery County the parcel identifier; the street address; the lot and block of a subdivided lot, or in Baltimore City the land record block number; the address or acreage of an informally divided tract; or "various lots of ground" for multiple parcels.
- The name of each grantor and each grantee.
- The type of instrument.
- The consideration payable, including any mortgage or deed of trust the grantee assumes, or the debt secured.
- The recording charges due, including the land records surcharge and any transfer and recordation taxes.
- Each claimed exemption from recording taxes, identified by citation or explanation.
- For a deed that changes ownership, a tax bill mailing address.
- The person to whom the deed is to be returned.
The Administrative Office of the Courts may ask for more, and the form does. The statute adds that a clerk may not charge a fee for the sheet, that it is recorded immediately after the deed but is not part of it and gives no constructive notice, and that the lack of one does not affect the validity of a recorded conveyance. A clerk may not refuse an instrument that does not change ownership for want of a sheet; a clerk may refuse one that does.
The Sheet, Section by Section
The form is numbered 1 to 11 down the left edge. The instructions say Sections 1, 3 through 5, and 7 through 10 are completed for every instrument, and Sections 2, 6 and 11 for every deed. Type or print in black ink.
- County or Baltimore City. Check the Baltimore City box or write the county name at the top.
- 1. Type of instrument. Mark "Deed". If a deed of trust is recorded in the same transaction, number them 1 and 2 in the order they are to be recorded; each deed gets its own sheet.
- 2. Conveyance type. For a deed the assessment office will process: improved or unimproved arm's-length sale, multiple accounts, or not an arm's-length sale. A gift, a transfer between related parties, a foreclosure and a confirmatory deed are not arm's length, so a family quitclaim deed checks that box.
- 3. Tax exemptions. Three lines, for recordation, State transfer and county transfer tax. Cite or briefly explain the authority for each exemption claimed, for example "Tax-Property § 12-108(d), transfer between spouses". Our Maryland quitclaim deed tax exemptions page gives the citations.
- 4. Consideration and tax calculations. The purchase price or cash consideration; the amount of any new mortgage; the balance of any existing mortgage being assumed; other consideration such as a debt forgiven; and the full cash value where property is exchanged. For a gift the price line is zero. The shaded area to the right is for the finance office.
- 5. Fees. The recording charge, the $40 surcharge, the State recordation tax, the State transfer tax and the county transfer tax, itemized for each document. Enter the net amounts owed.
- 6. Description of property. The election district, the property tax account number, the liber and folio of the deed by which the grantor took title, the assessment map and parcel, the subdivision name and lot, block and section, the plat reference, square footage or acreage, and the street address. Baltimore City filers enter the block and lot in the account field, the mortgage company, the water meter account, and fee simple or ground rent; Montgomery County requires the condominium unit number and residential or non-residential; a partial conveyance is flagged with the acreage conveyed.
- 7. Transferred from. Each grantor, last name first, and any owner of record who is not a grantor.
- 8. Transferred to. Each grantee, last name first, and the new owner's mailing address, which is where the assessment notice will go.
- 9. Other names to be indexed. Optional; for parties such as trustees on a deed of trust.
- 10. Contact and mail information. Who to call with a question, and whether the recorded deed is to be mailed to that person, held for pickup, or mailed to the address on the deed.
- 11. Assessment information. Whether the property will be the grantee's principal residence, which the instructions define as occupied more than six months a year and which affects the homestead credit, and whether personal property such as a mobile home or equipment is included.
An addendum form takes additional grantors, grantees or instruments and carries a space for special recording instructions.
What Goes In With It
The statute says the clerk may record a deed that changes ownership only if it is accompanied by the intake sheet and by a copy of the deed, and any survey, for submission to the Department of Assessments and Taxation. The form repeats it in capitals: both the original deed and a photocopy must accompany each transfer. The Judiciary's instructions were written for a four-part carbon set, white for the clerk, canary for the assessment office, pink for the finance office and goldenrod for the preparer, and say a preparer printing the fillable form should bring enough copies; the form itself says at least four.
The sheet is designed as an 8½ by 14 inch document, and the clerk accepts it only at that size, so print it on legal paper. The fillable version can be completed on a computer and printed, though it does not save the entries.
Where It Goes First
The finance office, not the clerk. 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 public 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 reads Sections 3 to 5, computes the recordation and county transfer taxes on the consideration in Section 4, collects them, fills in the shaded computation area, and endorses the deed. The county may issue a lien certificate listing what is due, for a fee of up to $55, and a collector presented with one within 45 days endorses the deed on payment of what it lists.
Then the clerk records the deed, records the sheet behind it, collects the recording fee, the surcharge and the State transfer tax, and sends the copy and the sheet to the assessment office, which transfers the property on the assessment records as of the recording date.
Maryland Land Instrument Intake Sheet — Common Questions
What is the Maryland land instrument intake sheet?
A one-page state form, published by the Administrative Office of the Courts, that goes in with every deed presented for recording in Maryland. The recording statute requires it and says what it must contain: the property identified by tax account number, address or lot and block; the names of grantor and grantee; the type of instrument; the consideration, including any assumed mortgage; the recording charges and taxes due; each claimed tax exemption with its authority; the tax bill mailing address; and who gets the deed back. Three offices read it: the clerk, the assessment office and the county finance office.
Is the intake sheet required for a quitclaim deed?
Yes. The statute exempts only assignments and releases of mortgages and deeds of trust, substitutions of trustees, powers of attorney, financing statements, and restrictive covenant modifications. Every deed needs one, and the clerk may refuse to record a deed that changes ownership without a complete sheet or an endorsement from the assessment office. The alternative the statute allows, delivering the same information to the assessment office and having the deed endorsed there, is not the route an individual takes; the sheet is.
Does Baltimore City use a different intake sheet?
No. The State form has a box for Baltimore City beside the county line, and the instructions tell a Baltimore City filer to enter the city's block and lot numbers in the tax account field, the mortgage company in the other-identifiers box, the water meter account number, and whether the property is fee simple or subject to ground rent. What differs in Baltimore City is the office: the Department of Finance certifies the taxes and collects the recordation and transfer taxes before the deed goes to the clerk of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City.
Is there a fee for the intake sheet?
No. The statute says a clerk may not charge any fee for recording an intake sheet. It is recorded immediately after the deed it accompanies, but it is not part of the deed and does not give constructive notice of anything in it, and the lack of one does not affect the validity of the deed once recorded. It is printed on legal-size paper, and the clerk will not take it on letter-size paper.
Who fills the intake sheet in?
Whoever prepares the deed. The instructions are written for attorneys and title companies, but the form is public and an individual completes the same boxes. The county finance office fills in the shaded tax-computation area on the right side of Section 4 when it endorses the deed, and the clerk fills in the recording validation box at the top. A photocopy of the deed goes in with the sheet, for the assessment office.
Official Sources
Maryland's laws are collected in the Maryland Code, arranged in named articles, and a citation such as Real Property § 3-104 is an address: the article, then the section. Each links to the section on the General Assembly's website, or to the Judiciary's own form, and opens in a new tab.
- Real Property § 3-104 — subsection (g) is the intake sheet: which instruments need one, what a complete sheet contains, no fee, the clerk's power to refuse, and its effect; subsections (a) and (b) are the copy for the assessment office and the collector's tax certificate.
- Tax-Property § 12-108 — the recordation tax exemptions, which the example citation on the sheet refers to; subsection (d) is the exemption for transfers between spouses and between domestic partners.
- Maryland Judiciary — State of Maryland Land Instrument Intake Sheet — the fillable form.
- Maryland Judiciary — Instructions for the Intake Sheet — the section-by-section guide, with the county-specific notes for Baltimore City, Montgomery and Baltimore counties.
- State Department of Assessments and Taxation — Forms — the assessment office that receives the sheet and the copy of the deed.
Checked against the Maryland Code and the Judiciary's form and instructions on September 3, 2026.