Washington Quitclaim Deed Instructions

Step 1: Find the County Auditor and the County Treasurer for the County Where the Property Is Located

Two county offices handle a Washington deed, both in the county where the property is located. The county treasurer collects the real estate excise tax as the state's agent and must stamp the deed with a verification of payment, or a notation that no tax is due, before the auditor may accept it. The county auditor is the recording officer. A conveyance "may be recorded in the office of the recording officer of the county where the property is situated." The Department of Revenue keeps a list of every county's assessor and treasurer websites. The auditor's recording office is a department of the same county government.

Recording is what protects the grantee. A conveyance that is not recorded "is void as against any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee in good faith and for a valuable consideration" from the same grantor whose own conveyance is recorded first. An instrument is recorded the minute it is filed. A deed recorded with a defect in its execution or acknowledgment still gives notice to third parties from the date of recording. So a recorded deed with a flawed notary certificate is not a nullity. A deed left in a drawer protects no one.

Step 2: Set Up the Deed, and Lay Out the First Page

Washington's statute gives the quitclaim deed its own form: "The grantor (name and place of residence), for and in consideration of (the consideration) conveys and quitclaims to (grantee) all interest in the following described real estate (description), situated in the county of ___, state of Washington. Dated this ___ day of ___." A deed "in substance in the above form" conveys, releases, and quitclaims all of the grantor's then-existing legal and equitable rights in the property. It does not carry title the grantor acquires later unless words are added saying so. Title the deed "Quitclaim Deed" at the top.

The recording statute dictates the first page, and the auditor's staff check it before anything else. The first page must have a top margin of at least three inches and one-inch margins on the other sides. At the top left goes the name and address the deed is to be returned to. Just below the three-inch margin comes the title of the document. Then come the names of the grantor and grantee, an abbreviated legal description (lot, block, and plat, or section, township, range, and quarter section), and the assessor's property tax parcel number, set out separately. Reference numbers of any documents being assigned or released go there too. Every page must be no larger than eight and a half by fourteen inches, in type of at least eight points, with one-inch margins. Nothing may be stapled or taped to it except a bar code or address label.

If the first page of a deed does not carry all of that, the person recording it must attach a cover sheet in the form the statute prints. The cover sheet is recorded as part of the deed and costs one more page. The cover sheet need not be signed or acknowledged, and its errors do not affect the deed, but the names and description in the deed itself control the chain of title. The deed may not contain a Social Security number, a date of birth tied to a person, or a parent's maiden name.

Step 3: Fill In the Grantor, and Decide Whether Both Spouses Sign

The grantor is the party giving up whatever interest they hold: a person, a married couple, a trustee, or a company. The statutory form asks for the grantor's name and place of residence. Give the name exactly as it appears on the deed the grantor received, because the auditor 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 company, an officer signs with their title.

Washington is a community property state, and the question is not whose name is on the title but whether the property is community property. Property acquired by either spouse during the marriage is community property unless it came by gift or inheritance or was owned before the marriage. Interests held in the names of both spouses are presumed to be community property. Neither spouse may "sell, convey, or encumber the community real property without the other spouse ... joining in the execution of the deed," and the deed "must be acknowledged by both spouses." So a deed of real estate bought during the marriage needs both signatures and both acknowledgments even if only one spouse is on the title. The same rule applies to state registered domestic partners. A spouse may deed their community interest directly to the other spouse, and that deed makes the property the grantee's separate property. Property that is one spouse's separate property is conveyed by that spouse alone.

Step 4: Fill In the Grantee, 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 roll, with the grantee's mailing address. 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 Secretary of State record.

Two or more grantees need one more phrase saying how they hold title. Every interest created in favor of two or more persons "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, with the right of survivorship, "shall be created only by written instrument, which instrument shall expressly declare the interest created to be a joint tenancy." So write "as joint tenants with right of survivorship" after the names if that is what you mean. Spouses are a special case. Interests in common held in both spouses' names are presumed community property. A joint tenancy held by both spouses is presumed community property too, though it still passes to the survivor. A married couple who want the survivor to take the whole can use a joint tenancy or a community property agreement, and an attorney can say which suits them.

Step 5: Add the Legal Description and the Parcel Number

Copy the full legal description word for word from the current deed. Washington descriptions run by lot, block, and the recorded plat's name and volume and page, or by section, township, and range with the quarter section, and often by a metes-and-bounds course. The statutory form asks for the county as well. A street address is not a legal description, and the first page carries only the abbreviated version, with a note of the page where the full description appears. Add the assessor's property tax parcel number, which the first page must show separately from the description; it is on the property tax statement and on the county assessor's website. The auditor's staff do not read the deed to verify the description, so an error goes on record, and a deed with the wrong description or parcel number can leave the transfer in doubt.

Step 6: State the Consideration, and Complete the Real Estate Excise Tax Affidavit

The statutory form recites the consideration. For a sale, that is the price. For a gift, write "for no consideration" or "as a gift," and for a transfer between spouses, say so. The figure that matters is the one on the Real Estate Excise Tax Affidavit. The Department of Revenue prescribes the form, and it is "verified by both the seller and the buyer, or agents of each." The affidavit goes to the county treasurer with the deed. It states the selling price, the parcel number, the parties, the land use, and, for an exempt transfer, the exemption claimed with its rule number. The Department's excise tax forms page carries the current affidavit, and its commonly used exemptions page explains the codes.

The affidavit is required for nearly every transfer of title, exempt or not. The Department's rule lists gifts, transfers between spouses or under a divorce settlement, transfers to an heir, transfers to secure a debt, and corrective re-recordings among the transfers that need one. It is not required for recording a transfer on death deed, a mortgage or deed of trust, or a community property agreement. A gift claim carries an added supplemental statement, signed by both grantor and grantee. It says whether there is a debt on the property, whether the grantee has made or will make payments on it, and whether a refinance has happened or is planned. Step 8 explains why that matters.

Step 7: Sign Before a Notary, in Person or by Remote Notarization

Every deed "shall be in writing, signed by the party bound thereby, and acknowledged by the party before some person authorized" to take acknowledgments, and a conveyance is recorded "when acknowledged by the person executing the same." No witnesses are required. You appear before a notary public with the deed and acknowledge your signature. The notary identifies you by personal knowledge or by satisfactory evidence. That means a passport, driver's license, or government-issued nondriver ID card, current or expired within the last three years, or another government ID with your signature or photograph that satisfies the notary, or the oath of a credible witness the notary knows who shows ID. The notary may ask for more. The certificate states the date, the county and state, the notary's title and commission expiration, and carries the official stamp. The statute prints a short form that reads "This record was acknowledged before me on (date) by (name)."

Washington allows remote notarization by an electronic records notary public who holds a remote notary endorsement from the Department of Licensing. A notary located in Washington may take your acknowledgment by communication technology, live sight and sound, while you are somewhere else. The notary identifies you by personal knowledge, by a credible witness, or by at least two different types of identity proofing, and the session is recorded. The certificate says the act was performed using communication technology. The Department of Licensing's notary resources page explains the endorsement. Ask the auditor whether it accepts the paper copy of an electronically notarized deed before you book; the recording statute lets the auditor accept a tangible copy that the notary certifies as accurate. Our Remote Online Notarization by State page compares the states.

Step 8: Work Out the Real Estate Excise Tax

Washington's real estate excise tax is imposed on "each sale of real property," and the seller owes it. The state rate is graduated on the selling price: 1.1 percent of the portion up to $525,000, 1.28 percent of the portion from there to $1,525,000, 2.75 percent of the portion to $3,025,000, and 3 percent above that. Those thresholds rise to $551,000, $1,551,000, and $3,051,000 for sales on and after January 1, 2027. A city or county may add a local tax of up to 0.25 percent, and one that plans under the Growth Management Act may add a second 0.25 percent. The Department publishes the local rate for every location. The selling price is the true and fair value of the property, and consideration includes the amount of any mortgage or other debt that stays on the property. The tax is due at the time of sale and draws interest and a penalty if it is not paid within a month.

A transfer that is not a "sale" pays no tax. The statute's list includes a transfer by gift, devise, or inheritance; a transfer by transfer on death deed; a partition among tenants in common; a transfer between spouses or domestic partners under a divorce decree or property settlement; a transfer merely to secure a debt; and a change in the form of ownership with no change in who benefits, such as a transfer to an entity wholly owned by the transferor's family. The gift exemption has a trap. If the property carries a mortgage and the grantee takes over the payments or refinances, the debt is consideration. The tax is due on the amount of the debt even though no cash changes hands. The Department's rule gives the examples: a parent who deeds a house to a child and keeps paying the mortgage has made a gift; a child who starts paying it owes tax on the debt. A refinance by the grantee within six months of the transfer is presumed to make it a sale. The treasurer charges a $5 fee on every transfer with no tax due, and the Department's page adds a $5 technology fee on every affidavit.

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

Take the acknowledged deed and the completed affidavit, with the supplemental statement for a gift and any inheritance documents, to the county treasurer, and pay the tax and fees. The treasurer stamps the deed with the verification of payment, or with the notation that no tax is due. Then take it to the county auditor with the recording fee. The statute says "no instrument of sale or conveyance evidencing a sale subject to the tax may be accepted by the county auditor for filing or recording until the tax is paid and the verification of payment affixed." An instrument on which no tax is due may not be accepted "until suitable notation of such fact has been made on the instrument by the treasurer." The recording fee is set by state statute and is the same in every county: $303.50 for the first page and $1 for each additional page, including a cover sheet. That total is the auditor's $5 fee plus the state's library, historical preservation, archives, growth management, housing, and covenant homeownership surcharges. The auditor records the deed and returns it to the address on the first page.

Washington also has a transfer on death deed. Under the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act, an owner may record a revocable deed that names a beneficiary and takes effect only at the owner's death. It must meet the formalities of an ordinary deed, state that the transfer occurs at the owner's death, and be recorded before the owner dies in the auditor's office of the county where the property is located. It is not a sale, and no affidavit is needed to record it. That deed, not a quitclaim deed, is the one Washington provides for passing property at death outside a will, and an attorney can say whether it suits the estate plan.

Where do I record a Washington quitclaim deed?

With the county auditor of the county where the property is located, after the county treasurer has processed the real estate excise tax affidavit and stamped the deed. The auditor may not accept a deed without the treasurer's stamp, even when no tax is due. The Department of Revenue's list of county assessor and treasurer websites leads to each county's site, and the auditor's recording office is part of the same county government.

Does my spouse have to sign a Washington quitclaim deed?

If the property is community property, yes, whichever name is on the title. Washington law says neither spouse may sell, convey, or encumber community real property without the other spouse joining in the deed, and the deed must be acknowledged by both. Property acquired during the marriage is community property unless it came by gift or inheritance or was owned before the marriage. A spouse may deed their community interest to the other spouse alone. Separate property is conveyed by the spouse who owns it.

Do I owe Washington real estate excise tax on a quitclaim deed to a family member?

Not on a true gift. A transfer by gift, devise, or inheritance is not a "sale," and neither is a transfer between spouses under a divorce decree or a transfer by transfer on death deed. You still file the real estate excise tax affidavit, with a supplemental statement signed by both of you about any debt on the property, and pay the treasurer's $5 fee. If the grantee takes over the mortgage payments or refinances the debt, the debt is consideration. The tax is then due on that amount, at 1.1 percent of the first $525,000 for the state plus the local rate.

What is the Real Estate Excise Tax Affidavit?

The form the Department of Revenue prescribes for every transfer of title to Washington real property, signed by both the seller and the buyer or their agents. It states the selling price or the exemption claimed, the parcel number, and the parties. The county treasurer will not process a deed without it, and the auditor will not record a deed the treasurer has not stamped. It is required for gifts, transfers between spouses, transfers to heirs, and corrective deeds, but not for recording a transfer on death deed or a mortgage. The Department publishes the current form and a guide to the exemption codes.

How do two owners get survivorship on a Washington deed?

By declaring a joint tenancy in the deed. Every interest created in favor of two or more persons is an interest in common, with separate shares, unless the deed expressly declares it to be a joint tenancy, which carries the right of survivorship. Write "as joint tenants with right of survivorship" after the names. A joint tenancy held by both spouses passes to the survivor but is otherwise treated as community property.

Can I get a Washington quitclaim deed notarized online?

Yes. A Washington electronic records notary public who holds a remote notary endorsement from the Department of Licensing may take your acknowledgment by live audio and video while the notary is in Washington and you are somewhere else. The notary identifies you by personal knowledge, a credible witness, or two types of identity proofing, records the session, and notes on the certificate that communication technology was used. Ask the county auditor whether it will accept the paper copy of the electronically notarized deed before you book.

Where do I get a Washington quitclaim deed form?

The statute itself prints one, and any deed in substance in that form, signed and acknowledged, gets the core wording right. What a form written for no particular state gets wrong is the first page. Washington's recording statute requires a three-inch top margin, a return address at top left, the title, the names, an abbreviated legal description, and the assessor's parcel number, and a deed without them needs a cover sheet. A generic form also has no place for both spouses on community property and no excise tax affidavit. If you would rather start from something built for this state, our Quitclaim Deed Help page lists prepared forms and deed preparation services.