New Mexico Quitclaim Deed Instructions

Step 1: Find the County Clerk for the County Where the Property Is Located

In New Mexico the county clerk is the recorder, and a deed is recorded in the county where the real estate is located, which need not be the county where you live. New Mexico has 33 counties, and the Secretary of State's County Clerk Information page lists every clerk with the office's address, telephone number, and a link to its website. The clerk's site says whether the office takes documents at the counter, by mail, or through electronic recording, which New Mexico has allowed since 2007.

Recording is what protects the grantee. A deed counts as recorded from the day the clerk receives it, and from then on the record is notice to all the world of what the deed says. A deed that is never recorded does not affect the rights of a later buyer, a lender acting in good faith, or a judgment creditor who had no knowledge of it. So a quitclaim deed left in a drawer binds the grantor, but it does not protect the person it was given to against a later buyer, lender, or creditor who knew nothing of it.

Step 2: Set Up the Deed, Using the Words the Statute Gives You

New Mexico prescribes the words of a quitclaim deed, not the paper. The statute sets out a short form, and a deed that follows it in substance passes, without warranty, whatever interest the grantor owns. The form reads: the grantor, "for consideration paid, quitclaims to" the grantee, "whose address is" the grantee's address, "the following described real estate in" the county, "New Mexico," and then the legal description. Below that come the date, the grantor's signature, and the notary's acknowledgment. The word "quitclaim" is what tells a reader that no warranty comes with the deed. The form is not the only one allowed, but there is no reason to write around it.

No seal is needed, and words such as "heirs and assigns" are not needed either: New Mexico reads a deed as passing full ownership of whatever interest the grantor has, unless the deed clearly says otherwise. New Mexico has no statute setting margins, type size, or paper for a deed. Each county clerk publishes its own requirements for what it will record, so check the clerk's website before you print. Leave room at the top of the first page for the recording stamp.

Step 3: Fill In the Grantor, and Say Whether a Spouse Joins

The grantor is the party giving up whatever interest they hold: a person, a married couple, a trustee, or a company. Give the full legal name exactly as it appears on the deed the grantor received, because the clerk indexes by name and the next title search has to match the two. Where the grantor is a trust, the trustee signs as trustee; where it is a company, an officer signs with their title. A deed must be signed by the person transferring the interest or by their agent, and an agent signing under a power of attorney needs that power recorded with the clerk.

New Mexico does not require the deed to state whether the grantor is married. It does something stronger. A deed of community real property signed by one spouse alone is void. So a married grantor's deed needs a second signature line, unless the property is that spouse's separate property or the deed runs to the other spouse. Step 6 explains how to tell. Some grantors add "a married man" or "a single woman" after the name, so that a later reader knows why one signature was enough. The statute does not ask for it, but it does no harm.

Step 4: Fill In the Grantee, With an Address, and Say How Co-Owners Take Title

Name the grantee, the party taking the interest, by the full legal name that should appear on the next deed and on the tax bill. The statutory form has the grantee's address in it, right after the name, so fill it in. A trust takes title through its trustee, so write "Jane Doe, Trustee of the Doe Family Trust"; a company takes it under the exact name on its state filing.

Two or more grantees need one more phrase saying how they hold title, and in New Mexico the default is not always what a family wants. A deed to two or more people creates a tenancy in common, separate shares that pass by will or inheritance, unless the deed clearly expresses that they take together. The statute has a joint-tenancy version of the quitclaim form, and naming the grantees "as joint tenants" means the survivor takes the whole. A joint tenancy can be created by a deed from a sole owner to themselves and others, or from a couple holding community property to themselves, as long as the deed expressly declares it. For a married couple the two sets of rules meet. Property a husband and wife take by any written instrument, joint tenancy included, is presumed to be community property. But the community property law keeps the joint tenancy's right of survivorship, and the probate code says community property held that way is not subject to the deceased spouse's will, so it passes to the survivor. So a couple who want survivorship write "as joint tenants," and a couple who leave the words out own the home as community property with no survivorship. New Mexico has no tenancy by the entirety and no separate "community property with right of survivorship" form of title.

Step 5: Add the Legal Description

Copy the legal description word for word from the current deed: the lot and block and the subdivision plat, or the metes and bounds, or the section, township, and range. A street address is not a legal description. New Mexico lets a deed describe the land by reference to a recorded plat or deed instead of repeating the whole description. The deed must then show where that instrument is recorded, its book and page or its recording number, so that a reader can find it.

Take care here, because a mistake in a recorded description is not easy to fix. New Mexico allows a scrivener's-error affidavit to correct a minor slip: a missing word in a description, a misspelled name, an omitted address. Only an attorney or a title-company professional may sign one. Anything more than a minor slip needs a corrective deed, signed and acknowledged all over again by the grantor.

Step 6: If You Are Married, Decide Whether Your Spouse Signs

New Mexico is a community property state, and the rule for real estate is plain. Both spouses must join in any deed of community real property, and in any deed of separate real property the spouses hold together as joint tenants or tenants in common. A deed of such property signed by one spouse alone is void and of no effect. It is not merely voidable, or good until challenged; the courts have said that "join in" means sign, and that a deed without both signatures transfers nothing. A spouse who did not sign can cure it later by a written ratification, and one spouse can sign for the other under a recorded power of attorney. Without either, the deed is void from the start.

Community property is what either spouse acquired during the marriage, other than by gift, inheritance, or a written agreement making it separate. Anything acquired during the marriage is presumed community until shown otherwise. A home bought before the marriage, or inherited by one spouse, is that spouse's separate property and may be deeded by that spouse alone. And either spouse may deed any interest directly to the other without the other joining, which is why a deed adding a spouse to the title needs only the owning spouse's signature. New Mexico's homestead exemption, which shields up to $150,000 of a home from creditors, is not a signing rule and adds nothing to this. If you are not sure whether the property is community or separate, that question is worth an attorney's view before anyone signs.

Step 7: Sign the Deed Before a Notary, in Person or Online

A deed must be acknowledged before the county clerk may record it, and in New Mexico that means notarized by someone authorized under the state's notary law. No witnesses are required. You sign, or acknowledge a signature already made, in the notary's presence. The notary completes a certificate and applies the official stamp, which New Mexico requires. A deed signed in another state is acknowledged before a notary that state authorizes, and New Mexico gives it the same effect. An instrument that is not acknowledged may not be recorded, and if a clerk records it anyway it is not considered of record.

New Mexico allows remote notarization, and it has since the start of 2022. A notary located in New Mexico may take your acknowledgment while you are somewhere else, over communication technology that lets you see and hear each other at the same time. The notary first confirms who you are, by personal knowledge, by a credible witness, or by two different identity-proofing methods. The notary then makes an audio-visual recording of the act and keeps it for ten years. The certificate must say that communication technology was used. You may be in New Mexico, in another state, or, for New Mexico property, abroad. The notary must have registered with the Secretary of State to perform remote acts, so ask before you book. Our Remote Online Notarization by State page compares the states.

Step 8: File the Transfer Affidavit With the County Assessor Within 30 Days, Unless Your Transfer Is Exempt

New Mexico has no transfer tax, but for residential property it has a reporting form. Whoever presents a deed of property classed as residential for recording must file an affidavit with the county assessor within 30 days of the recording. The affidavit gives the names and mailing addresses of everyone on both sides of the deed, the legal description as it appears in the deed, the full consideration paid and the terms of the sale, and the value of any personal property included. The Taxation and Revenue Department's form is the Residential Property Transfer Declaration Affidavit, sworn before a notary. The assessor stamps a copy with the date received and hands it back as proof of filing. The original is kept as a confidential record, and the figures are used only for appraisal statistics; they do not become part of the public record or of the property's valuation record.

The statute lists seventeen transfers that need no affidavit, and they cover most of the deeds described on this page. Among them:

• a deed between husband and wife, or between parent and child, for only nominal consideration;
• a deed from a person to a trustee, or from a trustee to a beneficiary, for nominal consideration;
• a deed delivered to make a gift, or to distribute an estate or trust;
• a deed that confirms or corrects an earlier one;
• a quitclaim deed given to quiet title or settle a boundary;
• a deed made under a court order; and
• a deed of nonresidential property.

A deed to a grandchild or a sibling is exempt only if it is a gift. Intentionally refusing to file, or knowingly putting a false statement on the form, is a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $1,000.

Step 9: Record the Deed, Then Deal With the Property Tax

Take or mail the signed and acknowledged deed to the county clerk for the county where the property is located, with the $25 recording fee, which the clerk must have before receiving the deed. The fee is set by state statute and is the same in every county. A deed with more than ten names to index costs $25 more for each further block of ten or fewer. There is no transfer tax and no stamp to buy. Include a stamped envelope or the return address for the recorded deed, and keep it with the property's papers. Then file the assessor's affidavit from Step 8 within 30 days, if one is needed.

Two property tax consequences follow a deed of a home. New Mexico holds the taxable value of residential property to a rise of 3 percent a year, or 6.1 percent over two years. The cap does not apply in the year after a change of ownership: the assessor then values the property at its full current value. A gift to a grandchild, a sibling, or a friend is a change of ownership. The statute excepts several transfers, and these are the ones a family deed meets. A transfer between spouses. A transfer to a child of the grantor who lives in the property as their principal residence. A transfer into a revocable trust for the grantor, the grantor's spouse, or a child, and back out again. And a deed that corrects an earlier one, quiets title, or settles a boundary. The child's exception lasts only while the child qualifies for the head-of-family exemption on that home. The other consequence is that exemption itself. It takes $2,000 off the taxable value of a home owned by a New Mexico resident who is a head of family, and the assessor carries it forward from year to year until the ownership changes. The new owner claims it by filing with the assessor within 30 days after the notice of valuation is mailed. An owner who is 65 or older or disabled, with income under the state's limit, may apply for a freeze on the home's valuation. That freeze too is lost on a change of ownership.

Where do I record a New Mexico quitclaim deed?

With the county clerk for the county where the property is located, whether or not you live there. New Mexico's county clerks are the recorders, and the Secretary of State's County Clerk Information page lists all 33 with addresses, telephone numbers, and website links. A deed is treated as recorded from the day the clerk receives it. An unrecorded deed does not affect the rights of a later buyer, good-faith lender, or judgment creditor who did not know about it.

Does my spouse have to sign a New Mexico quitclaim deed?

If the property is community property, yes, and a deed signed by one spouse alone is void. New Mexico requires both spouses to join in any deed of community real property, and of separate real property the two hold together as joint tenants or tenants in common. Property acquired during the marriage is presumed community. A spouse may deed their own separate property alone. Either spouse may deed directly to the other without the other signing, so a deed that adds your spouse to the title needs only your signature. A spouse who was left off can validate the deed later by a written ratification.

Does New Mexico charge a transfer tax on a quitclaim deed?

No. New Mexico has no real estate transfer tax and no documentary stamp tax, whatever the value of the property or the relationship between grantor and grantee. The only charge for recording a deed is the county clerk's $25 fee. What New Mexico has instead is a reporting form. A deed of residential property is followed within 30 days by an affidavit to the county assessor stating the consideration, unless the transfer is exempt, and the figures on it are confidential.

Do I have to file anything with the county assessor after recording a New Mexico deed?

For residential property, usually yes: the Residential Property Transfer Declaration Affidavit, filed with the county assessor within 30 days of recording, giving the parties' names and addresses, the legal description, and the consideration paid. The statute exempts a deed between spouses or between parent and child for nominal consideration, a deed to or from a trustee for nominal consideration, a gift, and a distribution from an estate or trust. It also exempts a corrective deed and a quitclaim deed given to quiet title or settle a boundary, among others. Intentionally refusing to file is a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $1,000.

Will a quitclaim deed to my child raise the property taxes in New Mexico?

It can, unless the child lives there. New Mexico caps the yearly rise in a home's taxable value at 3 percent, but a change of ownership lifts the cap for the next tax year and the assessor values the property at its full current value. A transfer to a child of the grantor who occupies the property as their principal residence is not a change of ownership. Neither is a transfer between spouses, or into a revocable trust for the grantor, the spouse, or a child. A transfer to a child who lives elsewhere, or to a grandchild or sibling, is. The child also has to claim the head-of-family exemption in their own name, because a change of ownership ends the previous owner's claim.

Can I get a New Mexico quitclaim deed notarized online?

Yes. Since January 1, 2022, a notary located in New Mexico may take an acknowledgment from a signer who is somewhere else, over communication technology that lets both see and hear each other at the same time. The notary first confirms the signer's identity by personal knowledge, a credible witness, or two identity-proofing methods. The notary records the session and keeps the recording for ten years, and the certificate states that communication technology was used. The notary must have registered with the Secretary of State for remote work, and the county clerk must be able to record the resulting document, so confirm both before you book.

Where do I get a New Mexico quitclaim deed form?

New Mexico writes a quitclaim form into its statute, and any form that follows it in substance has the statutory effect. The problem with a form written for no particular state is not the form but what it leaves out. It has one signature line, and a deed of community property with one spouse's signature is void. It may not say "as joint tenants," without which two grantees hold as tenants in common. And it will not come with the affidavit the county assessor needs within 30 days. If you would rather start from something built for this state, our Quitclaim Deed Help page lists prepared forms and deed preparation services.