Updated August 3, 2026. Quick answer: The District has had a transfer on death deed since D.C. Law 19-230 (2013). Its revocation rule is strict: a recorded deed can be undone only by recording something else.
Revocation by instrument only
Revocation by instrument authorized; revocation by act not permitted. Subject to subsection (b) of this section, an instrument is effective to revoke a recorded transfer on death deed, or any part of it, only if the instrument is one of the following: a transfer on death deed that revokes the deed or part of the deed…
— D.C. Code 19-604.01 et seq.
The heading says it plainly: revocation by act is not permitted. Destroying the document does nothing, and neither does a later will. The public record is what counts, and only a further recorded instrument changes it.
Who counts as a joint owner
The District’s definitions are worth knowing because they decide whether the deed can work at all. “Joint owner” includes a joint tenant and a tenancy by the entirety, but does not include a tenancy in common. For property held by spouses as tenants by the entirety, survivorship generally operates first — the transfer on death deed is not a way around that.
The three requirements, in the statute’s own words
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a transfer on death deed shall contain the essential elements and formalities of a properly recordable inter vivos deed. (b) A transfer on death deed shall state that the transfer to the designated beneficiary is to occur at the transferor’s death. (c) A transfer on death deed shall be recorded before the transferor’s death in the Office of Recorder of Deeds.
— D.C. Code § 19-604.09 (subsections joined for readability; no words added)
Note where it goes: the Office of the Recorder of Deeds. And note what subsection (a) does — it imports every formality of an ordinary recordable deed, so a transfer on death deed is not a lighter instrument than a normal conveyance. It is a normal conveyance that happens to take effect at death.
The rest of the subchapter
Sections 19-604.01 onwards cover authorisation, revocability, nontestamentary effect, capacity, requirements, and the effect of the deed during life and at death. The District follows the Uniform Act closely, so the general pattern will be familiar: fully revocable, no interest until death, recorded before death.
What a transfer on death deed does not do
- It moves one parcel, not an estate. It avoids probate on that property; everything else is untouched, so it is not a substitute for a will.
- It does not take effect until death — the owner keeps full control and can sell, mortgage or revoke without the beneficiary’s agreement.
- It does not clear debts. A mortgage, lien or judgment passes with the property.
- It does not override how the property is titled. Joint ownership and survivorship rights generally come first.
Honest gaps
We have quoted § 19-604.11 and the definitions in 19-604.02, and read several further sections of the subchapter. The requirements section and the provisions on creditor claims and beneficiary predecease are not reproduced here. This is the statute, not legal advice. Deed drafting, title and recording practice vary by county, and a property with a mortgage, co-owners or a disputed title is one to take to a lawyer in the state.
Source note. Read from https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/19-604.02 on 2026-08-04.
Related: transfer on death deeds by state · how it compares with a living trust · what it actually avoids.
General information drawn from state statutes and official state or court forms, not legal advice. These instruments are governed by the law of the state where the property sits or the document is signed, and formalities differ from state to state — execution, witnessing and recording requirements are the parts that void a document when they are missed. Your own state’s current statute governs.