North Dakota Quitclaim Deed Instructions

Step 1: Find the County Recorder, and Plan the Stop at the Auditor's Office First

A North Dakota deed is recorded by the county recorder for the county where the real property is situated, which need not be the county where you live. North Dakota has no state directory of its recorders, so search for the county's name and "recorder." The office is usually in the courthouse, and its page says whether it takes documents at the counter, by mail, or through electronic recording. Plan on two offices, not one. Before the recorder may receive any deed, the county auditor must enter the transfer and certify on the deed that the current and delinquent taxes and special assessments are paid. The auditor's office is usually in the same building. Step 9 walks through it.

Recording is what protects the grantee. A deed is deemed recorded from the moment it is deposited with the recorder, and from then on the record is notice of its contents to everyone. An unrecorded deed is void against a later buyer of the same land who pays value in good faith and records first. It is void, too, against an attachment or judgment entered against the owner of record before the deed is recorded. The statute adds that it makes no difference that the later buyer's deed is a quitclaim, and that a quitclaim deed on the record is not by itself notice of an earlier unrecorded deed. So a quitclaim deed left in a drawer binds the grantor, but it does not protect the person it was given to against the grantor's later buyers or creditors.

Step 2: Set Up the Deed, and Keep the Word "Grant" Out of a Quitclaim

North Dakota prints a short form of grant in its statutes, an "indenture" in which the party of the first part "hereby grants" the described property to the party of the second part for a stated consideration. A quitclaim deed does not use it, and the reason is a rule worth knowing. Whenever the word "grant" is used in a conveyance of a fee simple estate, the statute implies two covenants unless the deed expressly restrains them. The first is that the grantor has not already conveyed the same estate, or any interest in it, to anyone else. The second is that the estate is free of encumbrances made or suffered by the grantor or anyone claiming under the grantor. Those covenants can be sued on as if written into the deed. A quitclaim deed, by design, promises nothing. So it says the grantor does "quitclaim and release," or "remise, release, and quitclaim," the property, or it uses the word grant and then says in terms that no covenants are implied.

The deed states each grantee's post office address, and any street address inside a city, because the recorder may not receive a deed without them. Where the legal description is by metes and bounds and was written on or after January 1, 2000, the deed must also carry, legibly, the name and address of the person who drafted it. A statement that the description was "obtained from a previously recorded instrument" serves instead. No seal is needed. The recorder's own standards, set by state statute, are in Step 9: legal size or smaller, 10-point type, three inches clear across the top of the first page, and a one-inch margin on every page.

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 recorder indexes by name and a title examiner has to match the two. Where the grantor is a trust, the trustee signs as trustee; where it is a corporation or a limited liability company, an officer or manager signs and is presumed by statute to have the authority.

North Dakota does not require the deed to state whether the grantor is married, but the answer decides whether there is a second signature. If the property is the homestead, the home a married grantor lives in, both spouses must sign and acknowledge the deed, whatever the home is worth and whichever name is on the title. If it is not, a spouse who is not on the title has no interest in the other's property under North Dakota law and does not sign. Step 6 explains. Many grantors add "a married person" or "a single person" after the name, so that a later reader knows why there is one signature or two; the statute does not ask for it.

Step 4: Fill In the Grantee, With a Post Office 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 statement. Give each grantee's post office address, and the street address if the property is inside a city. The recorder may not receive a deed that leaves either out, though an omission does not undo the notice a recorded deed gives. A trust takes title through its trustee, so write "Jane Doe, Trustee of the Doe Family Trust"; the statute says a deed naming the trust itself is not void if the grantee can be identified, but the trustee's name is the safe course. A company takes title under the exact name on its Secretary of State filing.

Two or more grantees need one more phrase saying how they hold title. Under North Dakota's property code, an interest created in favor of several people is an interest in common, separate shares that pass by will or inheritance, unless the deed declares it to be a joint tenancy. A joint tenancy is one owned in equal shares under a single transfer that expressly declares it, and the survivor takes the whole. Write "as joint tenants with right of survivorship." An owner may create one in a single deed to themselves and another person, including a spouse, without passing the title through a third person first. North Dakota has no tenancy by the entirety and no community property, so a married couple who want survivorship must say so like anyone else. When a joint tenant dies, a certified death certificate with the legal description attached is recorded to show the survivor holds alone.

Step 5: Add the Legal Description and State the Consideration

Copy the legal description word for word from the current deed: the lot and block and the recorded plat, the section, township, and range with the quarter, or the metes and bounds. A street address is not a legal description, and the recorder must find the description adequate before accepting the deed. A metes-and-bounds description written since 2000 carries the drafter's name and address from Step 2. Where a grantor's name is spelled differently from one deed to the next, North Dakota lets anyone with knowledge record an affidavit explaining the variation, and the same affidavit can explain why a spouse did not join.

State the consideration, or that there is none. The deed itself need not recite a price, but the grantee's certification in Step 8 turns on it. One North Dakota rule catches families: a transfer of real property between spouses is conclusively presumed to be for consideration and not a gift, unless the deed or another writing made at the time says otherwise. So a deed that adds or releases a spouse as a gift should say, in the deed, that it is a gift.

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

North Dakota is not a community property state. Neither spouse has any interest in the property of the other, dower and curtesy are extinguished by statute, and a married person can deal with their own separate property as if unmarried. The one exception is the homestead, and it is a firm one. The homestead of a married person, without regard to its value, cannot be conveyed or encumbered unless the instrument is executed and acknowledged by both husband and wife. For the creditor exemption, the homestead is the land the claimant lives on and the dwelling on it, with its improvements, up to $150,000 in value above liens. The signature rule applies to the whole of it and ignores the value entirely.

So a deed of the house you live in needs your spouse's signature and acknowledgment even if the title is in your name alone, and a deed with one signature conveys nothing. A rental house, a lake lot, or farmland you do not live on is not the homestead, and the owning spouse may deed it alone. A married couple may choose the homestead from the separate property of either spouse, with the other's consent. If you are not sure whether a property is the homestead, that question is worth an attorney's view before anyone signs, because the answer decides whether the deed works at all.

Step 7: Sign Before a Notary, With an Original Signature, in Person or Online

A deed must be acknowledged by the person who signs it before it can be recorded, or the signature proved by a subscribing witness, and no witnesses are otherwise required. The statute also says the deed and its acknowledgment must carry an original signature before the recorder may take them, unless the law of the state where it was signed provides otherwise. The notary must know you or have satisfactory evidence of who you are, and applies an official stamp with the notary's name, jurisdiction, and commission expiration date. A deed signed in another state is acknowledged before that state's notary, and North Dakota accepts it.

North Dakota allows remote notarization. A notary located in North Dakota who has first notified the Secretary of State 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, a credible witness, or two different identity-proofing methods. The notary makes an audio-visual recording of the act and keeps it for ten years, and the certificate states that communication technology was used. For a paper deed there is one more step: you sign the deed and a short declaration on camera, mail both to the notary within three days, and the notary then completes the certificate. You may be in another state, or abroad if the deed concerns North Dakota property. Our Remote Online Notarization by State page compares the states.

Step 8: Certify the Consideration on the Face of the Deed, or the Exemption a Quitclaim Carries

North Dakota has no transfer tax and no separate transfer form. What it has is a statement of full consideration, and it lives on the deed. Whoever presents the deed for recording, the grantee or the grantee's agent, must certify on the face of the deed one of two things. One is the full consideration paid for the property. The other is the exemption from the statute that the grantee believes applies. The recorder may not record a deed that carries neither. The State Board of Equalization prescribes the wording, and the certification carries a space to explain any special circumstance behind the price. Willfully falsifying the consideration is a class B misdemeanor.

The exemptions are what make this simple for a family deed. The statute lists, among others, a sale between members of the same family, a sale that settles an estate, and a sale to or from a religious, charitable, or nonprofit organization. It also lists, in its own words, "all transfer of ownership of property for which is given a quitclaim deed." So a quitclaim deed carries its own exemption, and the grantee certifies that one rather than a price. Because a deed between spouses is conclusively presumed to be for consideration unless the writing says it is a gift, a spouse-to-spouse deed that is a gift should say so as well, and Step 5 covers that.

Step 9: Take the Deed to the County Auditor, Then Record It With the Fee

The recorder shall refuse any deed that does not bear the county auditor's certificate. The certificate says that a transfer of the land has been entered and that the delinquent and current taxes and special assessments on it are paid, or that the deed is one entitled to record without regard to taxes. So the signed and acknowledged deed goes first to the auditor's office, which enters the transfer on the tax rolls and stamps the certificate on the deed, and then to the recorder. A few instruments skip the certificate, among them a personal representative's deed, a document ending a joint tenancy, and a transfer on death deed. The statute still routes most of them past the auditor so the rolls can be corrected. The recorder may not record a deed for property on which the auditor has found an unsatisfied lien for a homestead special-assessment credit.

The recording fee is set by state statute and is the same in every county: $20 for a deed of one to six pages, and $65 for a deed of more than six pages, plus $3 for each page beyond twenty-five. A page is one side of a sheet no larger than legal size, printed legibly in type no smaller than 10-point Calibri or its equivalent. Every page must carry a one-inch margin at the top, bottom, or side for the recorder's label, or the deed is recorded for $10 more. Three inches must be left clear across the top of the first page for the recording information; if they are not, the recorder adds a page and charges for it. The recorder endorses the fee on the deed, indexes it, and returns it. Include a stamped envelope or the return address, and keep the recorded deed with the property's papers.

Step 10: After Recording, Apply for the Primary Residence Credit

A new owner who will live in the home should know about North Dakota's primary residence credit, a property tax credit of up to $1,600 a year for a homeowner who lives in the home as a primary residence, with no age or income limit. It does not pass with the deed. The owner applies to the State Tax Commissioner each year between January 1 and April 1, online at tax.nd.gov/prc. Since 2025 a home held in a trust or a life estate qualifies as well. The county auditor's transfer entry from Step 9 is what puts the new owner on the tax rolls; the credit is a separate application.

And if your reason for the deed is to pass the house at your death, North Dakota offers a transfer on death deed. It is recorded now, takes effect only when you die, can be revoked at any time, and changes nothing while you live. It is not a quitclaim deed and it needs no auditor's certificate. For a lifetime transfer, a quitclaim deed is final once recorded.

Where do I record a North Dakota quitclaim deed?

With the county recorder for the county where the property is situated, whether or not you live there, after the county auditor has certified on the deed that the transfer is entered and the taxes are paid. North Dakota has no state directory of recorders; search the county's name and "recorder." An unrecorded deed is void against a later good-faith buyer for value who records first, and against a judgment entered against the owner of record before the deed is recorded. Record promptly.

Does my spouse have to sign a North Dakota quitclaim deed?

If the property is the homestead, the home you live in, yes. The homestead of a married person cannot be conveyed unless both husband and wife execute and acknowledge the deed, whatever it is worth and whichever name is on the title. A deed of the homestead with one signature conveys nothing. For any other property, North Dakota gives a spouse no interest in the other's property, dower and curtesy are abolished, and the owning spouse may deed it alone.

Does North Dakota charge a transfer tax on a quitclaim deed?

No. North Dakota has no real estate transfer tax and no transfer return. What it requires instead is a statement on the face of the deed, certified by the grantee, of either the full consideration paid or the exemption claimed. The statute lists a transfer for which a quitclaim deed is given as one of the exemptions. A family sale and a sale settling an estate are exempt too. Falsifying the consideration on purpose is a class B misdemeanor.

What is the county auditor's certificate, and why will the recorder not take my deed without it?

The recorder must refuse any deed that does not bear the county auditor's certificate that a transfer of the land has been entered and that current and delinquent taxes and special assessments are paid. The auditor keeps the tax rolls, so the certificate is how the new owner gets onto them and how the county makes sure nothing is owed before title changes. Take the acknowledged deed to the auditor first, then to the recorder; the two offices are usually in the same courthouse. A personal representative's deed, a document ending a joint tenancy, and a transfer on death deed are among the instruments that record without it.

Does a deed to my spouse and me give us survivorship in North Dakota?

Only if the deed says so. North Dakota has no tenancy by the entirety and no community property, and an interest created in favor of two or more people is an interest in common unless the deed expressly declares a joint tenancy. Write "as joint tenants with right of survivorship." An owner may deed the property to themselves and a spouse as joint tenants in one instrument, without a third person in between. And because a transfer between spouses is conclusively presumed to be for consideration unless the writing says it is a gift, say in the deed that it is a gift if that is what it is.

Can I get a North Dakota quitclaim deed notarized online?

Yes. A notary located in North Dakota who has notified the Secretary of State 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 confirms the signer's identity by personal knowledge, a credible witness, or two identity-proofing methods, records the session, and keeps the recording for ten years, and the certificate states that communication technology was used. For a paper deed, the signer signs the deed and a declaration on camera and sends the originals to the notary within three days, and the recorder still requires an original signature.

Where do I get a North Dakota quitclaim deed form?

North Dakota has no official quitclaim deed form; the statutes say what a recorded deed must carry and leave the words to the parties. A form written for no particular state can fail at the recorder's counter, or worse. It may use the word "grant," which in North Dakota implies two covenants of title unless the deed restrains them, the opposite of what a quitclaim is for. It has no line for the grantee's post office address, without which the recorder may not receive the deed. It has no line for the drafter of a metes-and-bounds description, no second signature line for the spouse a homestead deed needs, and no consideration certification. If you would rather start from something built for this state, our Quitclaim Deed Help page lists prepared forms and deed preparation services.