Skip to content
Independent money guidance
Clear Money Guide
Start here
Menu

Rhode Island Quitclaim Deed Form (2026): Requirements, Notary, Recording Fee

Updated October 11, 2026. Quick answer: R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-1 voids a conveyance unless it is acknowledged and recorded, but a delivered deed stays valid and binding between the parties and their heirs even if not acknowledged or recorded, and 34-12-1 says the certificate must show the parties acknowledge it as their free act and deed. Rhode Island’s statewide fee schedule sets the recording fee for a quitclaim deed at $80.00, plus $1.00 for each additional page.

Rhode Island quitclaim deed at a glance

ItemWhat the documents say
SigningA Rhode Island conveyance of land is void unless it is in writing, duly signed, acknowledged, delivered and recorded, no seal is required, and signers’ names must be typed or printed beneath their signatures.
WitnessesNot found in the documents read
Notary or acknowledgmentR.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-1 voids a conveyance unless it is acknowledged and recorded, but a delivered deed stays valid and binding between the parties and their heirs even if not acknowledged or recorded, and 34-12-1 says the certificate must show the parties acknowledge it as their free act and deed.
Statutory quitclaim formR.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-17 gives statutory effect to a deed substantially following the form entitled “Quitclaim Deed,” and that form, set out in 34-11-12, uses the words “with quitclaim covenants”.
Where to record, and the feeCity or town clerk (recorder of deeds), land evidence records of the town or city where the land lies. Rhode Island’s statewide fee schedule sets the recording fee for a quitclaim deed at $80.00, plus $1.00 for each additional page.
State transfer taxRhode Island imposes a conveyance tax of $3.75 for each $500, or fractional part, of consideration paid, counting any lien or encumbrance remaining on the property, when the consideration exceeds $100, paid by the grantor absent an agreement to the contrary; on a sale of residential real property, R.I. Gen. Laws 44-25-1(b) adds a second tax of $3.75 for each $500 of the consideration above $800,000, a threshold adjusted for inflation each year from 2026.
Gift from a parent to a childThe tax applies only when the consideration paid exceeds $100, and a deed with no consideration must state that no documentary stamps are required.
Spouse or homesteadRhode Island abolished the right of dower and curtesy, but the statutes read here do not say whether a spouse must join a deed of homestead property, which is UNVERIFIED.
SourceRhode Island General Assembly

Signing, witnesses and the notary in Rhode Island

A Rhode Island conveyance of land is void unless it is in writing, duly signed, acknowledged, delivered and recorded, no seal is required, and signers’ names must be typed or printed beneath their signatures.

R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-1 voids a conveyance unless it is acknowledged and recorded, but a delivered deed stays valid and binding between the parties and their heirs even if not acknowledged or recorded, and 34-12-1 says the certificate must show the parties acknowledge it as their free act and deed.

Statutory form: R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-17 gives statutory effect to a deed substantially following the form entitled “Quitclaim Deed,” and that form, set out in 34-11-12, uses the words “with quitclaim covenants”.

The text itself:

  • R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-1. Conveyances required to be in writing and recorded: “shall be void unless made in writing duly signed”
  • R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-2. Seal not required in conveyances: “No seal shall be required to any instrument conveying lands”
  • R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-17. Effect of quitclaim deed: “A deed substantially following the form entitled”
  • R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-1. Conveyances required to be in writing and recorded: “shall be valid and binding though not acknowledged or recorded”
  • R.I. Gen. Laws 34-12-1. Form of acknowledgment: Foreign acknowledgments: “they acknowledge the instrument to be their free act and deed”

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.

The link goes to LawDepot, a paid legal-document service, not Clear Money Guide and not a law firm. LawDepot pays Clear Money Guide a commission if you buy a document there, at no extra cost to you. You are under no obligation to buy anything. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.

Review LawDepot’s quitclaim deed

Opens on LawDepot. Follow the signing, notary and recording rules for your state.

How our partner relationships work

Recording: where to file and what it costs

Recording office: City or town clerk (recorder of deeds), land evidence records of the town or city where the land lies. Rhode Island’s statewide fee schedule sets the recording fee for a quitclaim deed at $80.00, plus $1.00 for each additional page.

The text itself:

  • R.I. Gen. Laws 34-13-7. General recording fees: “Quitclaim deed 80.00”
  • R.I. Gen. Laws 34-13-7. General recording fees: “a rate of one dollar ($1.00) for each additional page or fraction”

Transfer tax and a gift to a family member

Rhode Island imposes a conveyance tax of $3.75 for each $500, or fractional part, of consideration paid, counting any lien or encumbrance remaining on the property, when the consideration exceeds $100, paid by the grantor absent an agreement to the contrary; on a sale of residential real property, R.I. Gen. Laws 44-25-1(b) adds a second tax of $3.75 for each $500 of the consideration above $800,000, a threshold adjusted for inflation each year from 2026.

Between family members: The tax applies only when the consideration paid exceeds $100, and a deed with no consideration must state that no documentary stamps are required.

The text itself:

  • R.I. Gen. Laws 44-25-1. Tax imposed: Payment: Burden: “when the consideration paid exceeds one hundred dollars ($100)”
  • R.I. Gen. Laws 44-25-1. Tax imposed: Payment: Burden: “the tax shall be paid by the grantor, assignor, transferor, or person”
  • R.I. Gen. Laws 44-25-1. Tax imposed: Payment: Burden: “such that no documentary stamps are required”

Spouse and homestead

Rhode Island abolished the right of dower and curtesy, but the statutes read here do not say whether a spouse must join a deed of homestead property, which is UNVERIFIED.

The text itself:

  • R.I. Gen. Laws 33-25-1. Dower and curtesy abolished: “Dower and curtesy abolished”

Other filings the documents mention

Every deed presented for record must contain or have endorsed on it the grantee’s name and residence or post office address, and a clerk may decline a deed that lacks it.

Failing to type or print the signers’ and notary’s names beneath their signatures raises the recording fee by $2.00.

The text itself:

  • R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-1.2. Name and address of grantee: Recording: “contain or have endorsed upon it the name, residence”
  • R.I. Gen. Laws 34-11-1.1. Signing and printing names: “recording fee for the instrument shall be increased by two dollars ($2.00)”

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).

See CMG’s quitclaim vs warranty deed for a family transfer page for the choice of deed.

What the documents do not say

  • Whether Rhode Island 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 in Rhode Island were not read unless named above.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming that a family gift with no consideration, which needs no documentary stamps, also removes the federal basis consequence shown in the example.
  • Assuming the Rhode Island rules above govern land in another state, or that signing the deed ends the paperwork before it is recorded with the recording office.

Related: quitclaim vs warranty deed for a family transfer, and Rhode Island probate cost.

Sources

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.