Updated October 11, 2026. Quick answer: To be recorded, an individual’s execution of a deed must be established by acknowledgment (or, alternatively, by proof of a subscribing witness or handwriting). The statewide fee for recording a deed is twenty dollars for one to six pages and sixty-five dollars for more than six pages, plus three dollars for each additional page after the first twenty-five pages.
North Dakota quitclaim deed at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| Signing | North Dakota requires a transfer of real property to be an instrument in writing subscribed by the party disposing of it, and a missing seal does not invalidate the grant. |
| Witnesses | The statute lets an unacknowledged grant be proved for recording by a subscribing witness, but it does not itself say a deed needs witnesses. |
| Notary or acknowledgment | To be recorded, an individual’s execution of a deed must be established by acknowledgment (or, alternatively, by proof of a subscribing witness or handwriting). |
| Statutory quitclaim form | Section 47-10-06 gives a short form of grant that may be used in substance, but it is a general grant form and not a labelled quitclaim form. |
| Where to record, and the fee | County recorder of the county where the property is located. The statewide fee for recording a deed is twenty dollars for a document of one to six pages, and sixty-five dollars for a document of more than six pages plus three dollars for each additional page after the first twenty-five pages. One dollar more is charged for each section of land listed beyond ten, and an instrument without the required one-inch margin on each page can be recorded on payment of an additional ten dollars. |
| State transfer tax | Not found in the documents read (The archived chapters read did not state whether North Dakota levies a state transfer tax on deeds.) |
| Gift from a parent to a child | Not found in the documents read |
| Spouse or homestead | The homestead of a married person cannot be conveyed unless the deed is executed and acknowledged by both husband and wife (N.D.C.C. 47-18-05). |
| Source | North Dakota Legislative Council |
Signing, witnesses and the notary in North Dakota
North Dakota requires a transfer of real property to be an instrument in writing subscribed by the party disposing of it, and a missing seal does not invalidate the grant.
To be recorded, an individual’s execution of a deed must be established by acknowledgment (or, alternatively, by proof of a subscribing witness or handwriting).
Witnesses: The statute lets an unacknowledged grant be proved for recording by a subscribing witness, but it does not itself say a deed needs witnesses.
Statutory form: Section 47-10-06 gives a short form of grant that may be used in substance, but it is a general grant form and not a labelled quitclaim form.
The text itself:
- Chapter 47-10 Real Property Transfers: “instrument in writing, subscribed by the party disposing of the same”
- Chapter 47-10 Real Property Transfers: “must be proved by a subscribing witness or as otherwise provided”
- Chapter 47-10 Real Property Transfers: “The absence of the seal of any grantor”
- Chapter 47-19 Record Title: “executed by an individual, by acknowledgment by the person”
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 of the county where the property is located. The statewide fee for recording a deed is twenty dollars for a document of one to six pages, and sixty-five dollars for a document of more than six pages plus three dollars for each additional page after the first twenty-five pages. One dollar more is charged for each section of land listed beyond ten, and an instrument without the required one-inch margin on each page can be recorded on payment of an additional ten dollars.
The text itself:
- Chapter 11-18 County Recorder: “twenty dollars for documents containing one to six pages”
- Chapter 47-19 Record Title: “must be recorded by the recorder of the county in which”
Transfer tax and a gift to a family member
The archived chapters read did not state whether North Dakota levies a state transfer tax on deeds.
Between family members: Not found in the documents read.
Other filings the documents mention
A deed must show the post-office address of each grantee or the recorder may not accept it.
A deed with a metes and bounds legal description needs the drafter’s name and address, or a statement that it came from a previously recorded instrument.
The text itself:
- Chapter 47-19 Record Title: “post -office address, and any known or existing street address”
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 a gift from a parent to a child is exempt from the transfer tax: not found in the documents read.
- Whether North Dakota has a state transfer tax on deeds: not found in the documents read.
- Whether a spouse must join a deed of land that is not the homestead: not found in the documents read.
- County or city transfer taxes and local recording surcharges in North Dakota were not read unless named above.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the North Dakota rules above govern land in another state, or that signing the deed ends the paperwork before it is recorded with the county recorder.
Related: quitclaim vs warranty deed for a family transfer, North Dakota transfer on death deed, North Dakota probate cost, and whether North Dakota has an estate tax.
Sources
- Chapter 47-10 Real Property Transfers: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c10.pdf
- Chapter 47-19 Record Title: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t47c19.pdf
- Chapter 11-18 County Recorder: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t11c18.pdf
- 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.