Updated October 11, 2026. Quick answer: To meet the prerequisites for recording, a New Jersey document must be acknowledged or proved as provided by Title 46 of the Revised Statutes. Bergen County Clerk’s published fee for recording a deed is $45 for the first page plus $10 for each additional page; the $45 includes a $10 tax abstract fee, and the clerk also lists a $20 missing cover sheet fee and $6 for each indexed name over five.
New Jersey quitclaim deed at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| Signing | A New Jersey deed must bear a signature to be recorded, and the recording statute says a document need not be executed under seal. |
| Witnesses | Not found in the documents read |
| Notary or acknowledgment | To meet the prerequisites for recording, a New Jersey document must be acknowledged or proved as provided by Title 46 of the Revised Statutes. |
| Statutory quitclaim form | Not found in the documents read |
| Where to record, and the fee | County clerk (or register of deeds) of the county where the property sits. Bergen County Clerk’s published fee for recording a deed is $45 for the first page plus $10 for each additional page; the $45 includes a $10 tax abstract fee, and the clerk also lists a $20 missing cover sheet fee and $6 for each indexed name over five. |
| State transfer tax | The State Realty Transfer Fee is charged on the seller and is graduated by consideration. On standard transactions with total consideration not over $350,000 the rate is $2.00 per $500 up to $150,000, $3.35 from $150,000 to $200,000 and $3.90 from $200,000 to $350,000. Over $350,000 the standard rates run from $2.90 up to $6.05 per $500, and senior citizen, blind, disabled and low and moderate income transactions have lower schedules. A separate Graduated Percent Fee of 1% to 3.5% of total consideration applies to certain deeds over $1,000,000. The fee does not apply to a deed between husband and wife, or parent and child, and Form RTF-1 must be filed with any deed that claims an exemption. |
| Gift from a parent to a child | The Division of Taxation lists a deed ’between husband and wife, or parent and child’ as exempt from the Realty Transfer Fee. |
| Spouse or homestead | Not found in the documents read |
| Source | New Jersey Legislature; Bergen County Clerk; NJ Division of Taxation |
Signing, witnesses and the notary in New Jersey
A New Jersey deed must bear a signature to be recorded, and the recording statute says a document need not be executed under seal.
To meet the prerequisites for recording, a New Jersey document must be acknowledged or proved as provided by Title 46 of the Revised Statutes.
The text itself:
- P.L. 2011, c. 217 (Uniform Recording of Real Property Act), N.J.S. 46:26A-3: “the document bears a signature”
- P.L. 2011, c. 217 (Uniform Recording of Real Property Act), N.J.S. 46:26A-3: “is not required to be executed under seal”
- P.L. 2011, c. 217 (Uniform Recording of Real Property Act), N.J.S. 46:26A-3: “acknowledged or proved as provided by Title 46 of the Revised Statutes”
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 clerk (or register of deeds) of the county where the property sits. Bergen County Clerk’s published fee for recording a deed is $45 for the first page plus $10 for each additional page; the $45 includes a $10 tax abstract fee, and the clerk also lists a $20 missing cover sheet fee and $6 for each indexed name over five.
The text itself:
- Document Directory & Recording Fees: “$45 first page + $10 each additional page”
Transfer tax and a gift to a family member
The State Realty Transfer Fee is charged on the seller and is graduated by consideration. On standard transactions with total consideration not over $350,000 the rate is $2.00 per $500 up to $150,000, $3.35 from $150,000 to $200,000 and $3.90 from $200,000 to $350,000. Over $350,000 the standard rates run from $2.90 up to $6.05 per $500, and senior citizen, blind, disabled and low and moderate income transactions have lower schedules. A separate Graduated Percent Fee of 1% to 3.5% of total consideration applies to certain deeds over $1,000,000. The fee does not apply to a deed between husband and wife, or parent and child, and Form RTF-1 must be filed with any deed that claims an exemption.
Between family members: The Division of Taxation lists a deed ’between husband and wife, or parent and child’ as exempt from the Realty Transfer Fee.
The text itself:
- Realty Transfer Fee: “$0 $150,000 $2.00”
- Realty Transfer Fee: “Between husband and wife, or parent and child”
Other filings the documents mention
Form RTF-1, the Affidavit of Consideration for Use by Seller, must be filed with any deed in which a full or partial fee exemption is claimed.
A deed must include the lot and block number, the preparer’s name and the grantee’s mailing address to meet the recording prerequisites.
The text itself:
- Realty Transfer Fee: “with any deed in which a full or partial exemption is claimed”
- P.L. 2011, c. 217 (Uniform Recording of Real Property Act), N.J.S. 46:26A-3: “includes the mailing address of the grantee”
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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey requires witnesses on a deed: not found in the documents read, and that is not a statement that none are needed.
- Whether New Jersey has a statutory quitclaim form: not found in the documents read.
- The recording fee shown is one county’s published figure; other New Jersey counties publish their own.
- Whether a spouse must join in the deed: not found in the documents read.
- 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 New Jersey county.
- Assuming the New Jersey 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, New Jersey probate cost, and whether New Jersey has an estate tax.
Sources
- 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
- Document Directory & Recording Fees: https://www.bergencountyclerk.gov/Services/41
- Realty Transfer Fee: https://nj.gov/treasury/unclaimed-property/treasury/taxation/realty.shtml
- Form RTF-1 Affidavit of Consideration for Use by Seller: https://www.nj.gov/www.nj.gov/treasury/taxation/pdf/other_forms/lpt/rtfexempt.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.