Updated October 11, 2026. Quick answer: The grantor’s signing must be acknowledged before a judge or clerk of a court of record, county auditor, county engineer, notary public, or mayor, who certifies the acknowledgment. Ohio’s statewide schedule sets a base fee of $17 plus a housing trust fund fee of $17 for the first two pages, so $34, then $4 plus $4 per added page, and counties may add a document preservation surcharge of up to $5.
Ohio quitclaim deed at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| Signing | An Ohio deed must be signed by the grantor and the signing must be acknowledged before a notary public or other listed officer. |
| Witnesses | Current section 5301.01 requires a signature and an acknowledgment and mentions a two-witness rule only for instruments executed before February 1, 2002. |
| Notary or acknowledgment | The grantor’s signing must be acknowledged before a judge or clerk of a court of record, county auditor, county engineer, notary public, or mayor, who certifies the acknowledgment. |
| Statutory quitclaim form | Ohio has a statutory quit-claim deed form in section 5302.11, which conveys a fee simple but without covenants of any kind on the part of the grantor. |
| Where to record, and the fee | County Recorder. Ohio’s statewide schedule sets a base fee of $17 plus a housing trust fund fee of $17 for the first two pages, so $34, then $4 plus $4 per added page, and counties may add a document preservation surcharge of up to $5. |
| County conveyance fee | Ohio’s county auditor charges a conveyance fee of $1 or 10 cents per $100 of value or fraction of $100, whichever is greater, and the grantor pays it; if the county commissioners have levied a Chapter 322 real property transfer tax, the grantor pays that as well, and its rate was not read. |
| Gift from a parent to a child | No conveyance fee is charged when the transfer evidences a gift, in trust or otherwise, between husband and wife, or parent and child or the spouse of either, but the statement of value must then give the reason for the exemption. |
| Spouse or homestead | The statutory Ohio quit-claim form has the grantor’s spouse release all rights of dower, and Ohio still recognizes dower as a life estate in one third of real property owned during the marriage. |
| Source | Ohio General Assembly (Legislative Service Commission) |
Signing, witnesses and the notary in Ohio
An Ohio deed must be signed by the grantor and the signing must be acknowledged before a notary public or other listed officer.
The grantor’s signing must be acknowledged before a judge or clerk of a court of record, county auditor, county engineer, notary public, or mayor, who certifies the acknowledgment.
Witnesses: Current section 5301.01 requires a signature and an acknowledgment and mentions a two-witness rule only for instruments executed before February 1, 2002.
Statutory form: Ohio has a statutory quit-claim deed form in section 5302.11, which conveys a fee simple but without covenants of any kind on the part of the grantor.
The text itself:
- Ohio Revised Code Section 5301.01 Acknowledgment of deed, mortgage, land contract, lease or memorandum of trust: “shall be signed by the grantor, mortgagor, vendor, or lessor”
- Ohio Revised Code Section 5301.01 Acknowledgment of deed, mortgage, land contract, lease or memorandum of trust: “The signing shall be acknowledged by the grantor, mortgagor, vendor, or lessor”
- Ohio Revised Code Section 5301.01 Acknowledgment of deed, mortgage, land contract, lease or memorandum of trust: “not attested by, two witnesses as required by this section”
- Ohio Revised Code Section 5302.11 Quit-claim deed form: “but without covenants of any kind on the part of the grantor”
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 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. Ohio’s statewide schedule sets a base fee of $17 plus a housing trust fund fee of $17 for the first two pages, so $34, then $4 plus $4 per added page, and counties may add a document preservation surcharge of up to $5.
The text itself:
- Ohio Revised Code Section 317.32 Recording fees: “A base fee of seventeen dollars for the first two pages”
Transfer tax and a gift to a family member
Ohio’s county auditor charges a conveyance fee of $1 or 10 cents per $100 of value or fraction of $100, whichever is greater, and the grantor pays it; if the county commissioners have levied a Chapter 322 real property transfer tax, the grantor pays that as well, and its rate was not read.
Between family members: No conveyance fee is charged when the transfer evidences a gift, in trust or otherwise, between husband and wife, or parent and child or the spouse of either, but the statement of value must then give the reason for the exemption.
The text itself:
- Ohio Revised Code Section 319.54 (county auditor fees, including conveyance fee): “ten cents for each one hundred dollars or fraction”
- Ohio Revised Code Section 319.54 (county auditor fees, including conveyance fee): “parent and child or the spouse of either”
Spouse and homestead
The statutory Ohio quit-claim form has the grantor’s spouse release all rights of dower, and Ohio still recognizes dower as a life estate in one third of real property owned during the marriage.
The text itself:
- Ohio Revised Code Section 5302.11 Quit-claim deed form: “releases all rights of dower therein”
Other filings the documents mention
The grantee or the grantee’s representative must submit a statement declaring the value of the property to the county auditor before the auditor endorses the conveyance.
The text itself:
- Ohio Revised Code Section 319.202 Submitting statement declaring value of real property transferred: “the grantee or the grantee’s representative shall submit”
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 Ohio 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
- County or city transfer taxes and local recording surcharges were not read unless named above.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the Ohio 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, Ohio transfer on death deed, Ohio probate cost, and whether Ohio has an estate tax.
Sources
- 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
- Ohio Revised Code Section 5302.11 Quit-claim deed form: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-5302.11
- Ohio Revised Code Section 317.32 Recording fees: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-317.32
- Ohio Revised Code Section 319.54 (county auditor fees, including conveyance fee): https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-319.54
- Ohio Revised Code Section 319.202 Submitting statement declaring value of real property transferred: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-319.202
- Ohio Revised Code Section 2103.02 Dower: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2103.02
- 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.