Updated October 11, 2026. Quick answer: To be recorded, a Minnesota conveyance must be executed and acknowledged by the parties, with the acknowledgment certified as required by law. The fee for indexing and recording any deed or other instrument is $46 under the statewide fee statute. Of that, $10.50 is paid to the state general fund, $10 goes to a technology fund used by the county recorder’s office, and $25.50 goes to the county general fund.
Minnesota quitclaim deed at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| Signing | A Minnesota deed must be executed with the original signatures of the parties, and the statute supplies a short quitclaim deed form that conveys the grantor’s interest. |
| Witnesses | Not found in the documents read |
| Notary or acknowledgment | To be recorded, a Minnesota conveyance must be executed and acknowledged by the parties, with the acknowledgment certified as required by law. |
| Statutory quitclaim form | Minn. Stat. 507.07 gives a short statutory quitclaim form (grantor, consideration, grantee, description, date, signature). |
| Where to record, and the fee | County recorder. The fee for indexing and recording any deed or other instrument is $46 under the statewide fee statute. Of that, $10.50 is paid to the state general fund, $10 goes to a technology fund used by the county recorder’s office, and $25.50 goes to the county general fund. |
| State transfer tax | Minnesota imposes a state deed tax on each deed that conveys real property. The tax is $1.65 when there is no consideration or when the consideration, not counting any lien or encumbrance remaining on the property, is $3,000 or less (the same $1.65 applies to consolidations, mergers and designated transfers). When that consideration is more than $3,000, the tax is .0033 of the whole net consideration, not just the part above $3,000. |
| Gift from a parent to a child | The exemption list in section 287.22 names no gift or family-member category, so the $1.65 no-consideration amount in section 287.21 is the figure the statute gives for a no-consideration deed. |
| Spouse or homestead | If the owner is married, a conveyance of the homestead is not valid without the signatures of both spouses, with listed exceptions such as a conveyance between spouses. |
| Source | Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes |
Signing, witnesses and the notary in Minnesota
A Minnesota deed must be executed with the original signatures of the parties, and the statute supplies a short quitclaim deed form that conveys the grantor’s interest.
To be recorded, a Minnesota conveyance must be executed and acknowledged by the parties, with the acknowledgment certified as required by law.
Statutory form: Minn. Stat. 507.07 gives a short statutory quitclaim form (grantor, consideration, grantee, description, date, signature).
The text itself:
- Minnesota Statutes 507.24 Recordable, when: “must contain the original signatures of the parties who execute it”
- Minnesota Statutes 507.24 Recordable, when: “it shall be executed, acknowledged by the parties executing the same”
- Minnesota Statutes 507.07 Warranty and quitclaim deeds: “Warranty and quitclaim deeds may be substantially in the following forms”
If you want a ready-made form
Review LawDepot’s quitclaim deed form
LawDepot builds a quit claim deed from guided questions for your state. Compare the form with the signing, notary and recording rules on this page before you sign anything.
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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Review LawDepot’s quitclaim deedOpens on LawDepot. Follow the signing, notary and recording rules for your state.
How our partner relationships workRecording: where to file and what it costs
Recording office: County recorder. The fee for indexing and recording any deed or other instrument is $46 under the statewide fee statute. Of that, $10.50 is paid to the state general fund, $10 goes to a technology fund used by the county recorder’s office, and $25.50 goes to the county general fund.
The text itself:
- Minnesota Statutes 357.18 County recorder: “recording any deed or other instrument a fee of $46”
Transfer tax and a gift to a family member
Minnesota imposes a state deed tax on each deed that conveys real property. The tax is $1.65 when there is no consideration or when the consideration, not counting any lien or encumbrance remaining on the property, is $3,000 or less (the same $1.65 applies to consolidations, mergers and designated transfers). When that consideration is more than $3,000, the tax is .0033 of the whole net consideration, not just the part above $3,000.
Between family members: The exemption list in section 287.22 names no gift or family-member category, so the $1.65 no-consideration amount in section 287.21 is the figure the statute gives for a no-consideration deed.
The text itself:
- Minnesota Statutes 287.21 Imposition of tax; determination of tax: “when there is no consideration or when the consideration”
- Minnesota Statutes 287.21 Imposition of tax; determination of tax: “the tax is $1.65”
- Minnesota Statutes 287.21 Imposition of tax; determination of tax: “the tax is .0033 of the net consideration”
- Minnesota Statutes 287.22 Exemptions: “a decree of marriage dissolution”
Spouse and homestead
If the owner is married, a conveyance of the homestead is not valid without the signatures of both spouses, with listed exceptions such as a conveyance between spouses.
The text itself:
- Minnesota Statutes 507.02 Conveyances by spouses; powers of attorney: “shall be valid without the signatures of both spouses”
Other filings the documents mention
The deed tax is due when the deed is presented for recording, and the commissioner may require tax documentation attached to and recorded with the deed.
The text itself:
- Minnesota Statutes 287.21 Imposition of tax; determination of tax: “The tax is due at the time a taxable deed”
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 Minnesota 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 Minnesota requires witnesses on a deed: not found in the documents read, and that is not a statement that none are needed.
- County or city transfer taxes and local recording surcharges were not read unless named above.
Common mistakes
- Assuming a family gift avoids Minnesota’s deed tax or removes the federal basis consequence shown in the example; the exemption list names no gift category, and the federal basis rule is separate.
- Assuming the answer for one state applies to another, or that signing a deed ends the paperwork before recording.
Related: quitclaim vs warranty deed for a family transfer, Minnesota transfer on death deed, and Minnesota probate cost.
Sources
- Minnesota Statutes 507.24 Recordable, when: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/507.24
- Minnesota Statutes 507.02 Conveyances by spouses; powers of attorney: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/507.02
- Minnesota Statutes 507.07 Warranty and quitclaim deeds: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/507.07
- Minnesota Statutes 287.21 Imposition of tax; determination of tax: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/287.21
- Minnesota Statutes 287.22 Exemptions: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/287.22
- Minnesota Statutes 357.18 County recorder: https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/357.18
- 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.