Updated October 11, 2026. Quick answer: The first table covers 17 states in full and a second table adds 32 more with their fee and transfer tax, 49 states in all. Most rows show an acknowledgment (a notary) or proof of the signature as the step before recording; witnesses are required in Florida and Georgia and are an alternative to a notary in Texas and Tennessee. Recording fees and transfer taxes differ by state and often by county. Open a state’s page for the quotes behind each row.
How the first 17 states compare
Open a state’s page for the statute quotes, the recording office, the family-gift rule and what the documents leave open.
| State | Witnesses | Notary or acknowledgment | Recording fee | State transfer tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Not found in the documents read | Acknowledgment required | $30 (statewide statute) | No state transfer tax statute read; gift deeds exempt from the value affidavit |
| California | Not found in the documents read | Acknowledged before recording | $10 first page (statutory cap on the base fee) | County tax authorized at $0.55 for each $500 |
| Florida | Two subscribing witnesses | Acknowledged, or proved by a witness, to record | $10.00 first page, $8.50 each added page (statewide statute, with the two statewide clerk charges) | 70 cents per $100 of consideration |
| Georgia | One witness plus the attesting officer | Attested by an officer | $25 (one-county example) | $1 on the first $1,000, 10 cents per added $100 |
| Illinois | Not found in the documents read | May be acknowledged; recorder practice not read | $107 (one-county example) | 50 cents for each $500 |
| Indiana | Not found in the documents read | Acknowledgment or proof required | $25 (statewide statute) | Not found in the documents read |
| Massachusetts | Not found in the documents read | Acknowledgment or proof endorsed to record | $155 (one-county example) | $4.56 per $1000 (registry page) |
| Michigan | Not found in the documents read | Acknowledged or proved to record | $30 (statewide statute) | $3.75 for each $500; child or grandchild exempt |
| New Jersey | Not found in the documents read | Acknowledged or proved to record | $45 (one-county example) | Graduated from $2.00 per $500; parent-to-child deeds exempt |
| New York | Not found in the documents read | Acknowledged or proved to record | $42 (one-county example) | Two dollars for each $500; not on gifts without consideration |
| North Carolina | Not found in the documents read | Acknowledged before registration | $26 for the first 15 pages (statewide statute) | $1.00 per $500; gifts exempt |
| Ohio | Two-witness rule only for pre-2002 deeds | Acknowledgment required | $17 base plus $17 housing trust fund fee for the first two pages (statewide statute) | $1 or 10 cents per $100 county fee; none on parent-to-child gifts |
| Pennsylvania | Not found in the documents read | Acknowledged before a notary | $117.25 (one-county example) | 1%; parent-to-child transfers excluded |
| Tennessee | Two witnesses, as an alternative to a notary | Acknowledged, or proved by two witnesses | $10 (one-county example) | $0.37 per $100, paid by the grantee |
| Texas | Two witnesses, as an alternative to a notary | Acknowledged, or two witnesses, to record | $5.00 first page, $4.00 each added page (statewide statute) | Not found in the documents read |
| Virginia | Not found in the documents read | Acknowledged, or proved by two witnesses | $18 for 10 or fewer pages (statewide statute) | 25 cents per $100 recordation tax; none on a no-consideration quitclaim |
| Washington | Not found in the documents read | Acknowledgment required | $5 first page, $1 each added page (statewide statute) | 1.1% of the part of the price up to five hundred thousand dollars; a gift is not a sale |
32 more states
These states are covered on their own pages, each from the state’s own documents. This table gives only the base recording fee as the source prints it (the first page or the document, with per-page and add-on charges on the state’s page) and the state transfer tax. A cell reading “Not found in the documents read” is a gap in what was read, not a statement that no rule exists. Open a state’s page for witnesses, the notary rule and the quotes behind each cell.
| State | Base recording fee as printed | State transfer tax |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $3 (one-county example) | $.50 per $500 or fraction thereof; family-gift exemption not found in the documents read |
| Alaska | $20 (statewide statute) | Not found in the documents read |
| Arkansas | $15 (one-county example) | $3.30 per $1,000 |
| Colorado | Forty dollars (statewide statute, from July 1, 2025) | One cent per $100; a deed conveying title by gift is exempt |
| Connecticut | $10 (statewide statute) | Three-quarters of one per cent state plus one-fourth of one per cent municipal; deeds between spouses exempt |
| Delaware | $30.00 surcharge plus $1.00 plus $9.00 per page (Sussex County example) | 3 percent of the value; a conveyance between parent and child is excluded |
| District of Columbia | $25 plus a $5.00 surcharge (Recorder of Deeds) | 1.1% recordation tax and 1.1% transfer tax, each 1.45% unless residential and under $400,000; parent-to-child transfers without consideration exempt |
| Hawaii | $41 (statewide statute) | Ten cents per $100 on lower-value property; nominal-consideration parent-child transfers exempt |
| Idaho | $15 (one-county example) | Not found in the documents read |
| Iowa | $5 (statewide statute) | Eighty cents per $500; parent-child deeds without actual consideration exempt |
| Kansas | $17 (statewide statute) | Not found in the documents read |
| Kentucky | $33 (statewide statute) | $0.50 per $500; deeds of gift exempt |
| Louisiana | $100 (statewide statute) | Not found in the documents read |
| Maine | Thirty-five dollars flat per instrument (statewide schedule) | $2.20 per $500, split between grantor and grantee; parent-child deeds without consideration exempt |
| Maryland | $20 (statewide statute) | 0.5%; exemptions are on the state page |
| Minnesota | $46 (statewide statute) | $1.65 when there is no consideration; no family category |
| Missouri | $5 (statewide statute) | Not found in the documents read |
| Montana | $20 (statewide statute) | Not found in the documents read |
| Nebraska | $10 (statewide statute) | Three dollars and thirty-two cents per one thousand dollars, on the grantor; parent-child no-consideration deeds exempt |
| Nevada | $25 (statewide statute) | $1.30 per $500 plus a county-population add-on; related-party transfers exempt |
| New Hampshire | $10 (statewide statute) | $.75 per $100; noncontractual transfers exempt (RSA 78-B:2 IX) |
| North Dakota | Twenty dollars for one to six pages (statewide statute) | Not found in the documents read |
| Oklahoma | $8.00 (statewide statute) | $0.75 per $500; parent-child deeds exempt |
| Oregon | $5 (statewide statute) | Not found in the documents read |
| Rhode Island | $80 (statewide statute) | $3.75 per $500 paid by the grantor, only when consideration exceeds $100, plus $3.75 per $500 of residential consideration above $800,000 (adjusted for inflation from 2026) |
| South Carolina | Fifteen dollars uniform filing fee (statewide statute) | One dollar eighty-five cents per $500; gift exemption not found in the documents read |
| South Dakota | $30 (statewide statute) | Fifty cents per $500, paid by the grantor; nominal-consideration parent-child transfers exempt |
| Utah | $40 (statewide statute) | Not found in the documents read |
| Vermont | $15 (statewide statute) | 1.25% of the value, $1.00 minimum (3.4% for a year-round home that will not be the principal residence of the transferee); parent-child transfers exempt |
| West Virginia | $30 (statewide statute) | $1.10 per $500 plus a county excise of 55 cents to $1.65 per $500, paid by the grantor; no-consideration parent-child transfers excluded |
| Wisconsin | $30 (statewide statute) | 30 cents per $100; parent-child conveyances exempt |
| Wyoming | $12 (statewide statute) | Not found in the documents read |
What this table does not settle
A recording fee marked as a one-county example is not a statewide figure. A cell reading “Not found in the documents read” is a gap in what was read, not a statement that no rule exists. A quitclaim deed from a parent to a child carries a federal basis consequence that no state rule changes; see CMG’s quitclaim vs warranty deed for a family transfer page.
States not yet covered
A state is added only when its own documents support the row. States not yet read are left out rather than guessed.
Related: quitclaim vs warranty deed for a family transfer.
Each row comes from the state’s own documents; the first document for each state is linked below, and the rest are on the state’s page.
Sources
- Florida Statutes 689.01 How real estate conveyed: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0600-0699/0689/Sections/0689.01.html
- Texas Property Code Chapter 5 Conveyances: https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/PR/htm/PR.5.htm
- California Civil, Government, Revenue and Taxation, and Family Code sections 1091, 1092, 1181, 1189, 27287, 27361, 27388.1, 11911, 63.1, 480.3, 1102 (Legislative Counsel bulk code data extract): https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zip
- Real Property Law section 291 (Recording of conveyances): https://web.archive.org/web/2025/https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/RPP/291
- 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
- 765 ILCS 5/1 (Conveyances Act, Sec. 1): https://www.ilga.gov/Documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/076500050K1.htm
- Ohio Revised Code Section 5301.01 Acknowledgment of deed, mortgage, land contract, lease or memorandum of trust: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5301.01
- House Bill 322, Senate Substitute (as passed Senate), revising Code Section 44-5-30: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20152016/153026
- G.S. 47-17 Probate and registration sufficient without livery of seizin, etc.: https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/PDF/BySection/Chapter_47/GS_47-17.pdf
- MCL 565.1 Conveyance of land made by deed: https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-565-1
- P.L. 2011, c. 217 (Uniform Recording of Real Property Act), N.J.S. 46:26A-3: https://pub.njleg.gov/bills/2010/PL11/217_.HTM
- Va. Code 55.1-300 Form of a deed: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title55.1/chapter3/section55.1-300/
- RCW 64.04.020 Requisites of a deed: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=64.04.020
- A.R.S. 33-401 Formal requirements of conveyance: https://www.azleg.gov/ars/33/00401.htm
- G.L. c. 183, s. 1 Acts or ceremonies necessary for conveyance by deed: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleI/Chapter183/Section1
- Realty Transfer and Recordation Tax Manual (March 2023): https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/revenue/documents/tax_manuals/march-2023/Realty-Transfer-Recordation-Tax.pdf
- Indiana Code 2026, Title 32, Article 21 (Conveyance Procedures for Real Property): https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_32/Article_21.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
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.