Updated October 11, 2026. Quick answer: The 1775 Act as published by the General Assembly says deeds shall be acknowledged by the grantor (or proved by a subscribing witness) before a listed officer such as a notary public, and Centre County’s recorder requires acknowledgment before a notary public to record; the Act carries a compiler’s note that it is repealed insofar as inconsistent with Act 117 of 1955. Delaware County’s Recorder of Deeds fee schedule effective December 1, 2025 lists a total of $117.25 for a 4-page deed (base fee $38.00 plus surcharges); other counties were not read.
Pennsylvania quitclaim deed at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| Signing | Pennsylvania’s county recorders require a deed to be properly executed, signed, dated and acknowledged before a notary public before it will be accepted for recording. |
| Witnesses | Not found in the documents read |
| Notary or acknowledgment | The 1775 Act as published by the General Assembly says deeds shall be acknowledged by the grantor (or proved by a subscribing witness) before a listed officer such as a notary public, and Centre County’s recorder requires acknowledgment before a notary public to record; the Act carries a compiler’s note that it is repealed insofar as inconsistent with Act 117 of 1955. |
| Statutory quitclaim form | Not found in the documents read |
| Where to record, and the fee | Recorder of Deeds (the county Office for Recording of Deeds). Delaware County’s Recorder of Deeds fee schedule effective December 1, 2025 lists a total of $117.25 for a 4-page deed (base fee $38.00 plus surcharges); other counties were not read. |
| State transfer tax | Pennsylvania imposes a state realty transfer tax at the rate of 1% of the value of the realty, and the parties to the transaction share a joint and several legal duty to pay it (local taxes were not read). |
| Gift from a parent to a child | 61 Pa. Code 91.193(6) excludes transfers between a parent or other lineal ascendent and a child or other lineal descendent, but a subsequent transfer by the transferee within 1 year is taxed as if the original grantor made it. |
| Spouse or homestead | Not found in the documents read |
| Source | Pennsylvania General Assembly (palegis.us unconsolidated statutes); Centre County, Pennsylvania; Delaware County, Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania Department of Revenue; Pennsylvania Code and Bulletin (Legislative Reference Bureau) |
Signing, witnesses and the notary in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s county recorders require a deed to be properly executed, signed, dated and acknowledged before a notary public before it will be accepted for recording.
The 1775 Act as published by the General Assembly says deeds shall be acknowledged by the grantor (or proved by a subscribing witness) before a listed officer such as a notary public, and Centre County’s recorder requires acknowledgment before a notary public to record; the Act carries a compiler’s note that it is repealed insofar as inconsistent with Act 117 of 1955.
The text itself:
- Recorder of Deeds: General FAQs: “properly executed, signed, dated, and acknowledged before a Notary Public”
- Act of Mar. 18, 1775, 1 Sm.L. No. 704 (A supplement to the act entitled An Act for acknowledging and recording of deeds): “shall be acknowledged by the grantor, or grantors,”
If you want a ready-made form
Review LawDepot’s quitclaim deed form
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A deed moves title and can change a family’s tax and benefit position. If you need advice about your situation, ask a real estate attorney before choosing a document service.
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Recording office: Recorder of Deeds (the county Office for Recording of Deeds). Delaware County’s Recorder of Deeds fee schedule effective December 1, 2025 lists a total of $117.25 for a 4-page deed (base fee $38.00 plus surcharges); other counties were not read.
The text itself:
- Act of May 28, 1715, 1 Sm.L. No. 208 (An Act for acknowledging and recording of deeds): “The Office for Recording of Deeds”
- Recorder of Deeds of Delaware County Fee Schedule as of December 1, 2025: “TOTAL 4 PAGE DEED $117.25”
Transfer tax and a gift to a family member
Pennsylvania imposes a state realty transfer tax at the rate of 1% of the value of the realty, and the parties to the transaction share a joint and several legal duty to pay it (local taxes were not read).
Between family members: 61 Pa. Code 91.193(6) excludes transfers between a parent or other lineal ascendent and a child or other lineal descendent, but a subsequent transfer by the transferee within 1 year is taxed as if the original grantor made it.
The text itself:
- 61 Pa. Code Chapter 91 (Realty Transfer Tax): “at the rate of 1% of the value of the realty conveyed”
- 61 Pa. Code 91.193 (Excluded transactions): “Transfers between certain family members”
- 61 Pa. Code 91.193 (Excluded transactions): “Transfers between certain family members”
Other filings the documents mention
A statement of value in duplicate must be filed with a document presented for recording, whether or not an exclusion from the tax is claimed.
The text itself:
- 61 Pa. Code Chapter 91 (Realty Transfer Tax): “a statement of value in duplicate shall be completed and filed”
A worked example: a parent deeds the home to an adult child
An illustration, not a return: a parent bought a home for $100,000, and it is worth $300,000 when the parent deeds it to an adult child by quitclaim deed, with no payment. The child later sells it for $350,000. For a gift, federal law says the child’s basis is “the same as it would be in the hands of the donor”, so the basis stays $100,000 and the gain is $250,000 ($350,000 minus $100,000). Had the child received the same home at the parent’s death, when it was worth $300,000, the statute sets the basis at “fair market value of the property at the date of the decedent’s”, so the gain would be $50,000 ($350,000 minus $300,000). Federal gift tax filing rules are outside this page and outside the documents read.
Read the Pennsylvania transfer-tax rule above for the state side of the same transfer. See CMG’s quitclaim vs warranty deed for a family transfer page for the choice of deed.
What the documents do not say
- Whether Pennsylvania requires witnesses on a deed: not found in the documents read, and that is not a statement that none are needed.
- Whether Pennsylvania has a statutory quitclaim form: not found in the documents read.
- The recording fee shown is one county’s published figure; other Pennsylvania counties publish their own.
- Whether a spouse must join in the deed: not found in the documents read.
- The 1775 Act carries a compiler’s note that it is repealed to the extent inconsistent with a 1955 act, so the notary point also rests on a county recorder’s requirement.
- County or city transfer taxes and local recording surcharges were not read unless named above.
Common mistakes
- Treating the one-county recording fee above as the fee in every Pennsylvania county.
- Assuming the Pennsylvania transfer-tax exemption for family gifts also removes the federal basis consequence shown in the example.
- Assuming the answer for one state applies to another, or that signing a deed ends the paperwork before recording.
Related: quitclaim deeds by state, quitclaim vs warranty deed for a family transfer, Pennsylvania probate cost, and whether Pennsylvania has an estate tax.
Sources
- Act of Mar. 18, 1775, 1 Sm.L. No. 704 (A supplement to the act entitled An Act for acknowledging and recording of deeds): https://www.palegis.us/statutes/unconsolidated/law-information/view-statute?txtType=PDF&SessYr=1775&ActNum=0704.&smthLwInd=1
- Recorder of Deeds: General FAQs: https://centrecountypa.gov/faq.aspx?TID=19
- Recorder of Deeds of Delaware County Fee Schedule as of December 1, 2025: https://www.delcopa.gov/sites/default/files/2025-11/RoDFees_1225.pdf
- 61 Pa. Code Chapter 91 (Realty Transfer Tax): https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/revenue/documents/taxtypes/rtt/documents/revenue_code_chp_91.pdf
- 61 Pa. Code 91.193 (Excluded transactions): https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pacode?file=%2Fsecure%2Fpacode%2Fdata%2F061%2Fchapter91%2Fs91.193.html
- Act of May 28, 1715, 1 Sm.L. No. 208 (An Act for acknowledging and recording of deeds): https://www.palegis.us/statutes/unconsolidated/law-information/view-statute?txtType=PDF&SessYr=1715&ActNum=0208.&smthLwInd=1
- 26 U.S.C. 1015, Basis of property acquired by gifts and transfers in trust (U.S. Code, GovInfo): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title26/html/USCODE-2023-title26-subtitleA-chap1-subchapO-partII-sec1015.htm
- 26 U.S.C. 1014, Basis of property acquired from a decedent (U.S. Code, GovInfo): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title26/html/USCODE-2023-title26-subtitleA-chap1-subchapO-partII-sec1014.htm
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 11, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a tax professional or the state agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.