How to Complete and Record a Quit Claim Deed: Orange County, Florida

To complete and record a quit claim deed in Orange County, Florida, you draft the deed with the property’s legal description and statutory granting language, have the grantor sign it in front of two witnesses and a notary, pay the documentary stamp tax, and file it with the Orange County Comptroller’s Official Records Department. The deed transfers whatever interest the grantor holds, with no promise that the title is clean. Most rejections come from small formatting problems or a missing spouse signature, so each step matters.

Information You Need Before You Draft

Pull the property record from the Orange County Property Appraiser’s website and copy down two things: the Parcel Identification Number (PIN) and the full legal description. A street address alone will get the deed rejected. The legal description includes lot numbers, block identifiers, plat book references, or metes-and-bounds language that fixes the exact boundaries of the parcel.

If you want to be certain the description is current, open the last recorded deed through the Comptroller’s Official Records search and copy the legal description from there, verbatim. A transposed lot number or a missed phrase creates problems in the chain of title that are expensive to fix later.

You also need the full legal names and current post office addresses of every grantor and every grantee. Florida recording law requires the grantee’s name and mailing address to be legibly printed on the deed.¹ Use the names exactly as they read on government-issued ID. Nicknames and casual abbreviations are a common source of later title trouble.

If the Grantor Is Married, Check Homestead First

This is where a lot of quit claim deeds fail. Under the Florida Constitution, a married person who owns homestead property cannot sell, mortgage, or give away that property unless the spouse also signs the deed. The requirement applies even if only one spouse is on title, even if the other spouse lives out of state, and even if the property is not currently claiming the homestead tax exemption. What matters is whether the property qualifies as a primary residence under Florida law.

If the grantor is married and the property is or was the family’s primary residence, both spouses must sign as grantors. A deed signed by only one spouse on homestead property can be challenged and potentially voided. When the grantor is unmarried, a short statement of marital status on the deed, such as “Jane Smith, a single person,” helps head off title questions. Divorce by itself does not clear the requirement. If the dissolution judgment did not specifically address the property, a former spouse may still have residual homestead rights.

What the Deed Has to Say

Florida provides a statutory template for quit claim deeds under §689.025. You are not required to copy it word for word, but using language substantially similar to it keeps the deed legally sufficient. The required elements are:

Date the grantor signs.
Grantor’s full name and post office address.
Grantee’s full name and post office address.
Consideration: the amount paid, or “ten dollars and other good and valuable consideration” for a gift.
Granting language such as “remise, release, and quitclaim,” which conveys the grantor’s interest without warranting title.
The full legal description and the county where the property sits.

The granting language is what makes it a quit claim rather than a warranty deed. The grantor conveys only whatever interest they actually have, which could be full ownership or nothing at all.

Format the Page So the Comptroller Will Accept It

Florida Statute §695.26 sets specific formatting rules, and the Orange County Comptroller will reject any deed that does not meet them:

A blank 3-inch by 3-inch space in the top right corner of the first page for the recording stamp.
A 1-inch by 3-inch blank space in the top right corner of each subsequent page.
The full name and post office address of the person who prepared the deed (or supervised its preparation), printed legibly on the document.

The statute does not fix a location for the preparer information, and the Comptroller may accept it in a nonstandard position.¹ Placing it in the upper left of the first page, below the return address, is a common convention.

Sign, Witness, and Notarize

Florida requires any deed conveying a freehold estate, or an interest lasting more than one year, to be signed by the grantor in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.² Each witness signs the deed and prints their name legibly beneath their signature. Since January 2024, each witness must also include a post office address, meaning a street address or P.O. Box. An email address does not satisfy the rule.¹ A deed submitted without witness addresses is treated as non-recordable and sent back.

A notary public then acknowledges the grantor’s signature. Under §117.05, the notarial certificate must include the venue (State of Florida, County of ___), the date of the notarial act, the name of the person whose signature is being notarized, whether the grantor appeared by physical presence or by online notarization, and the type of identification the notary relied on. The notary affixes a rubber stamp seal that shows the notary’s name, commission number, and commission expiration date, in photographically reproducible black ink. Florida notaries may charge up to $10 per notarial act.³

Online notarization is permitted in Florida. The notary confirms the grantor’s identity through audio-video communication, credential analysis, and knowledge-based authentication, and the certificate must note that the act was performed as an online notarization, typically by placing “online notary” in or next to the seal.⁴

What It Costs

Recording Fees

The Orange County Comptroller charges $10.00 for the first page and $8.50 for each additional page. The first four names are indexed at no charge; each additional name beyond four costs $1.00.⁵ A standard two-page quit claim deed with two parties runs $18.50 in recording fees. Checks are made payable to the Orange County Comptroller.⁶

Documentary Stamp Tax

Florida imposes a documentary stamp tax of $0.70 per $100 of consideration on every deed transferring real property.⁷ Consideration includes any mortgage balance the grantee assumes, not just cash. If the deed states nominal consideration like “$10 and other good and valuable consideration,” the minimum tax is $0.70.⁸

Two exemptions are worth knowing. Transfers between spouses or former spouses as part of a dissolution of marriage are exempt. Transfers of homestead property between spouses where the only consideration is the existing mortgage balance are also exempt.⁹ There is no general family-member exemption. A parent gifting property to a child still owes the minimum $0.70 stamp tax.

How to File the Deed

You can submit the executed deed to the Orange County Comptroller’s Official Records Department three ways.⁶

In Person

Bring the deed to the Orange County courthouse and submit it to a deputy clerk. You get recording confirmation on the spot once fees are verified. Use this if you need same-day proof.

By Mail

Send the original deed, the fees, and a self-addressed stamped return envelope to:

Attn. Official Records
PO Box 38
Orlando, FL 32802⁶

The original comes back to the filing party after imaging, which typically takes several weeks.

eRecording

The Comptroller accepts electronic submissions through approved third-party vendors, with digital confirmation that is usually faster than mail.¹⁰

Once processed, the deed receives an instrument number and a book-and-page reference in the Official Records, which puts the public on notice of the ownership change.

What Changes After the Deed Is Recorded

Homestead Exemption Resets

The previous owner’s homestead exemption does not carry over, even in a family transfer. If the grantee will use the property as a primary residence, they must file a new homestead exemption application with the Orange County Property Appraiser. The grantee must hold legal title and occupy the property as a permanent residence as of January 1 of the tax year, and the application deadline is March 1.¹¹ Miss the deadline and the exemption waits another year.

The Save Our Homes assessment cap, which limits annual increases in assessed value to 3% on a homesteaded property, also resets. The county will reassess at current market value as of January 1 following the transfer. If the previous owner had years of capped assessments, the grantee’s tax bill can jump significantly. Florida lets homestead owners port their assessment savings to a new homestead, but that benefit belongs to the person who earned it, not to the incoming grantee.

Capital Gains Basis for Gift Transfers

A quit claim deed used as a gift carries a federal tax consequence that often gets missed. When property is gifted rather than inherited, the grantee takes a carryover basis equal to the grantor’s original purchase price. If a parent bought a house for $80,000 thirty years ago and gifts it via quit claim deed, the child’s basis is still $80,000. Sold later for $400,000, the taxable gain is $320,000. Property received through inheritance instead gets a stepped-up basis to fair market value at the date of death, which often eliminates most or all of the gain. Talk to a tax professional before signing if the choice is between a lifetime gift and letting the property pass through an estate.

Title Insurance Gap

A quit claim deed contains no warranties about the state of the title. The grantor makes no promise the property is free of liens, encumbrances, or competing claims. If the grantor held a title insurance policy, that policy’s coverage typically depends on the grantor maintaining ongoing liability through title warranties, so a transfer by quit claim can effectively terminate that coverage. The grantee receives no title insurance from the transfer itself. Anyone taking property by quit claim deed from someone other than a close family member should consider buying a new title policy, which involves a title search that may surface problems a quit claim deed does nothing to protect against.

1
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 695.26 – Requirements for Recording Instruments Affecting Real Property
2
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 689.01 – How Real Estate Conveyed
3
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 117.05 – Use of Notary Commission
4
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 117.265 – Online Notarization Procedures
5
Orange County Comptroller, FL. Recording Fees
6
Orange County Comptroller, FL. Official Records
7
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 201.02 – Tax on Deeds and Other Instruments Relating to Real Property or Interests in Real Property
8
Florida Department of Revenue. Documentary Stamp Tax
9
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 201.02 – Tax on Deeds and Other Instruments Relating to Real Property or Interests in Real Property
10
Orange County Comptroller, FL. Erecording
11
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 196.031 – Exemption of Homesteads