How to Fill Out and Record a Kansas Quit Claim Deed

A Kansas quitclaim deed transfers whatever interest the grantor has in a piece of real estate to the grantee, with no promise that the title is clean. To use one, you prepare a deed containing the elements required by K.S.A. 58-2204 and a correct legal description, have the grantor’s signature acknowledged before a notary, attach a Sales Validation Questionnaire (or note a valid exemption on the face of the deed), and file it with the Register of Deeds in the county where the property is located. Quitclaim deeds are the common choice for transfers between family members, divorcing spouses, into a living trust, or to clear a title defect, precisely because they carry no warranties and the parties already know each other’s situation.

What to Put on the Deed

K.S.A. 58-2204 sets a short template: the grantor quitclaims to the grantee, a description of the property, and the consideration paid.¹ A deed with only those bare elements clears the statutory bar, but counties expect more before they will record it. Before you start filling in a form, gather:

Full legal names of the grantor and grantee, spelled exactly as they appear on the most recent recorded deed. “Robert J. Smith” on the old deed and “Bob Smith” on the new one creates a gap in the chain of title that the grantee will have to fix later.
Current mailing addresses for both parties. K.S.A. 58-2204 does not strictly require them, but most counties want the grantee’s address so property tax statements get routed correctly.
The consideration. State a dollar amount, even if the transfer is a gift; “ten dollars and other good and valuable consideration” is the usual phrasing.¹
The legal description — the formal metes-and-bounds or lot-and-block description, not the street address. Copy it verbatim from the last recorded deed or get it from the county appraiser. An incorrect legal description is one of the most common reasons deeds get rejected.
Clear quitclaim language. The word “quitclaim” (rather than “warrant”) is what tells the grantee they are receiving only whatever the grantor happens to own, with no guarantees.

Who Has to Sign

Kansas requires every deed to be signed by the grantor, or the grantor’s authorized agent or attorney, and acknowledged before a notary.² The grantee does not sign.

If the property is a homestead, both spouses must sign even when only one holds title. Article 15, Section 9 of the Kansas Constitution says a homestead “shall not be alienated without the joint consent of husband and wife, when that relation exists.”³ A Kansas homestead is up to 160 acres of farmland or one acre inside city limits, occupied as the family residence.

Spousal consent is worth getting on non-homestead property too. Under K.S.A. 59-505, a surviving spouse is entitled to one-half of all real estate the deceased spouse owned during the marriage and conveyed without the survivor’s written consent.⁴ A quitclaim deed signed today by only the title-holding spouse can be partially unwound years later if that spouse dies and the surviving spouse makes a claim. Having both spouses sign closes that door.

Getting the Deed Notarized

The notary needs the grantor in person, satisfactory identification, and a verbal acknowledgment that the grantor signed the document. The grantor does not have to sign in the notary’s presence; the Kansas Notary Handbook confirms the deed can be signed in advance.⁵

The notarial certificate on the deed must show:

The jurisdiction (State of Kansas and the county where the acknowledgment happens)
The date of the notarial act
The name of the person who appeared
The notary’s signature
The notary’s official stamp, with the notary’s name, “Notary Public,” “State of Kansas,” and the commission expiration date

If anything is missing or the stamp is illegible, the Register of Deeds will reject the deed. Since January 1, 2022, Kansas notaries must also record every notarial act in a journal with the date, time, type of act, and the name and address of the person who appeared.⁶

Remote Online Notarization

Kansas adopted the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts effective January 1, 2022, which allows Kansas notaries to perform remote online notarizations through audio-video technology.⁶ When you use remote notarization, the certificate must include a statement substantially saying “This notarial act involved the use of communication technology.”⁵ This is useful when the grantor lives out of state or cannot easily reach a notary in person.

The Sales Validation Questionnaire

Almost every Kansas property transfer must be accompanied by a Real Estate Sales Validation Questionnaire, or SVQ. K.S.A. 79-1437c directs the Register of Deeds to refuse recording any deed that arrives without a completed SVQ or a valid exemption.⁷ The form collects the sale price, the relationship between the parties, and the property’s intended use. You can pick it up at the Register of Deeds office or download it from the Kansas Department of Revenue.

K.S.A. 79-1437e lists sixteen exempt categories. The ones that typically apply to quitclaim transfers include:⁸

Gifts, donations, or contributions stated in the deed
Transfers to secure or release a debt
Divorce settlements where one spouse transfers interest to the other
Transfers to or from a trust without consideration
Creating a joint tenancy or tenancy in common
Quitclaim deeds filed to clear title encumbrances
Corrective deeds that confirm, correct, or modify a previously recorded deed without additional consideration

If one of these fits, write the exemption number or reason on the face of the deed itself. The Register of Deeds will not add that notation for you, and a deed submitted without either a completed SVQ or an exemption citation will be rejected.⁹

Recording the Deed

Once the deed is signed, notarized, and paired with its SVQ or exemption, file it with the Register of Deeds in the county where the property is located. You can file in person at the courthouse or mail it in with the correct fees. Recording puts future buyers, lenders, and other third parties on notice of the transfer. An unrecorded deed is still valid between grantor and grantee, but it will not protect the grantee against someone who later records a competing claim.

Fees

Under K.S.A. 28-115, the total fee to record the first page of a deed is $21, which includes the $17 base fee, a $3-per-page technology surcharge, and a $1-per-page heritage trust fund fee. Each additional page costs $17.¹⁰ A typical one-page quitclaim deed costs $21. If you mail the deed, include a self-addressed stamped envelope so the county can return the recorded original.

Formatting

Every Kansas county requires a blank margin of at least three inches at the top of the first page so the recorder can stamp recording information there. Side and bottom margins must be at least a half inch, though some counties want a full inch; check with the specific county before you print. If margins are too narrow, the county will either reject the deed or add a separate cover sheet, which counts as an extra page and costs another $17. All text must be legible, and the document cannot exceed legal size (8½ by 14 inches).

Electronic Recording

Many Kansas counties accept deeds through e-recording under the Uniform Real Property Electronic Recording Act, with standards set by the Kansas Electronic Recording Commission.¹¹ You submit through an approved vendor such as Simplifile or CSC, which charges a service fee on top of the county recording fee. Not every county participates, so confirm availability before setting up an account.

Whether you file on paper or electronically, the usual rejection reasons are the same: incomplete notary blocks, missing or wrong legal descriptions, margins that are too narrow, and no SVQ or exemption notation.

After Recording: Taxes, Mortgage, and Title Insurance

Kansas has no state gift tax, estate tax, or inheritance tax, so the transfer itself will not generate a state tax bill. Federal gift tax rules still apply. If the property’s fair market value exceeds the annual federal gift tax exclusion ($19,000 per recipient for 2026), the grantor must file IRS Form 709.¹² Filing the return does not necessarily mean the grantor owes tax; amounts over the annual exclusion apply against the lifetime exemption. The return still has to be filed.

Capital gains basis is the other tax issue. A grantee who receives property as a gift generally takes the grantor’s original cost basis, not the current market value. If the grantor bought the house for $80,000 and it is now worth $250,000, the grantee’s basis is $80,000, and a future sale will produce a larger taxable gain than if the grantee had bought at market. Transfers between divorcing spouses are treated differently under federal law and generally do not trigger gain or loss recognition.

A quitclaim deed does not pay off or move the mortgage. The loan stays with the original borrower, and most mortgages contain a due-on-sale clause that lets the lender call the balance when the property changes hands. Federal law under 12 U.S.C. § 1701j-3 blocks that acceleration on residential property with fewer than five units when the transfer is:¹³

To a spouse or children of the borrower
The result of a divorce decree or separation agreement
Into a living trust where the borrower remains a beneficiary and continues to occupy the property

Those protected categories cover most quitclaim scenarios. If your transfer falls outside them, call the lender before recording to avoid a surprise demand for full repayment.

Title insurance deserves a last thought. An owner’s title insurance policy usually continues only while the insured carries liability under the covenants in their deed. A quitclaim deed carries no covenants, so the grantor who deeds property out effectively ends their own coverage, and the grantee gets no coverage from the grantor’s old policy. For a family transfer or trust transfer where everyone knows the title history, that may not matter. In other situations, the grantee should look at buying a new policy before or shortly after recording.

1
Kansas State Legislature. Kansas Code 58-2204 – Form of Quitclaim Deed
2
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 58-2209 – Conveyance of Real Estate; Signature Required
3
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Constitution Article 15 Section 9
4
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 59-505 – Same; Half of Realty to Surviving Spouse
5
Kansas Secretary of State. Kansas Notary Handbook
6
Kansas Secretary of State. Kansas Secretary of State – Notary
7
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 79-1437c – Real Estate Sales Validation Questionnaires
8
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 79-1437e – Same; Inapplicability to Certain Transfers of Title
9
Kansas Department of Revenue. Kansas Division of Property Valuation Directive 19-041
10
Justia. Kansas Statutes 28-115 – Fees of Register of Deeds
11
Johnson County Kansas. eRecording
12
Internal Revenue Service. Gifts and Inheritances
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 1701j-3 – Preemption of Due-on-Sale Prohibitions