How to Fill Out and Record a Nevada Quit Claim Deed

To fill out and record a Nevada quit claim deed, you complete a deed form that identifies the property by its assessor’s parcel number and legal description, names the grantor and grantee, and states that the grantor conveys whatever interest they hold to the grantee; then the grantor signs it in front of a notary, you attach a signed Declaration of Value, and you file both documents at the recorder’s office in the county where the property sits. A quit claim deed transfers only whatever interest the grantor actually has, with no promise that the title is clear or even that the grantor owns anything. Done in one trip if your paperwork is in order.

Information to Gather Before You Draft

Missing any of the items below will stall the filing at the recorder’s counter.

Assessor’s Parcel Number (APN). Every parcel in Nevada has one, assigned by the county assessor. The format varies by county, so look up your specific parcel on the county assessor’s website or on your most recent property tax statement rather than guessing. The APN must appear at the top left corner of the deed’s first page, and the recorder will reject the document without it.¹²
Legal description. A street address is not enough. You need the formal legal description of the parcel, usually the lot, block, and subdivision name or a metes-and-bounds description. Copy it verbatim from the last recorded deed or title report. Even a minor discrepancy can cloud the chain of title.
Grantor and grantee information. Full legal names and current mailing addresses for both parties. The grantee’s mailing address is a statutory requirement for recording.²
Tax-statement mailing address. The recorder will not accept a deed unless it includes the name and address of the person who should receive future property tax statements. Easy to overlook and a common reason documents bounce back.²
Declaration of Value form. Nevada requires this form to accompany every deed. It reports the purchase price or cites the transfer-tax exemption you’re claiming. The form is prescribed by the Nevada Tax Commission and available through most county recorder websites or the Nevada Department of Taxation.³

Formatting the Deed So the Recorder Will Accept It

Nevada’s document formatting rules come from NRS 247.110 and apply to everything submitted for recording. Documents that don’t comply may be rejected or hit with an added fee.

Paper. White, 20-pound stock, 8½ by 11 inches. Print on one side only.⁴
Margins. One inch on the left, right, and bottom of every page. The first page needs a 3-inch by 3-inch blank space in the upper right corner for the recorder’s stamp. Subsequent pages need a one-inch top margin.⁴
Text. No smaller than 10-point Times New Roman, printed in black ink, no more than nine lines per vertical inch. No colored highlighting, and no stamps or seals overlapping text or signatures.⁴
APN placement. Top left corner of the first page.²
“Record and Return to” block. Somewhere on the face of the first page, include a name and mailing address for the recorder to send the original back to after processing.⁵

Recorders technically have discretion to accept documents that miss some formatting marks, but that goodwill is a gamble.⁴

Signing and Notarization

Under NRS 111.240, every conveyance of real property must be acknowledged: the grantor signs in front of a notary public, and the notary certifies that the signer appeared voluntarily and was identified.² The notary attaches a certificate of acknowledgment and applies their official seal. Without the acknowledgment, the recorder will not accept the deed.

Only the grantor signs. The grantee does not, but accepting the deed and allowing it to be recorded constitutes acceptance of whatever interest is being transferred. Bring a valid government-issued photo ID to the notary appointment; that’s what the notary uses to verify identity.

Completing the Declaration of Value

The Declaration of Value is a one-page form that travels with the deed. It must be personally signed under penalty of perjury by the grantor, the grantee, or an authorized agent.³ The form asks for the full amount paid or to be paid for the property. If no money changed hands, which is the most common scenario for quit claim deeds between family members or into trusts, you claim a transfer-tax exemption instead.

You claim an exemption by citing the specific subsection of NRS 375.090 that applies and writing a brief explanation. The exemptions that come up most for quit claim transfers:

Transfer to a relative within the first degree under NRS 375.090(5), which covers transfers between parents and children and between spouses.⁶
Transfer between former spouses under a divorce decree, NRS 375.090(6).⁶
Transfer to or from a trust without consideration, NRS 375.090(7). You must present a certificate of trust at the time of transfer.⁶
Transfer without consideration between co-owners, NRS 375.090(4). For example, one joint tenant quitclaiming their share to the other.⁶
Transfer to a wholly owned entity, NRS 375.090(9). Applies when you’re moving property into an LLC you own 100 percent.⁶

Don’t treat this form as a throwaway. Willfully misrepresenting the property’s value is a misdemeanor, and you’ll owe the underpaid tax on top of the criminal charge. If the recorder disallows an exemption after recording, there’s a 10-percent penalty plus 1-percent monthly interest running back to the original recording date.⁶

Recording at the County Recorder’s Office

You record in the county where the property physically sits. Under NRS 111.315, recording in the correct county is what provides constructive notice to the world that the transfer happened.² Filing in the wrong county accomplishes nothing.

Bring the original notarized deed and the signed Declaration of Value. Most recorders accept walk-in filings and mailed submissions, and some larger counties also offer electronic recording through approved vendors.

Recording Fees

Nevada sets the base recording fee at $25 per document, but counties add mandatory surcharges that push the cost higher. NRS 247.305 authorizes an additional $7 mandatory surcharge plus up to $11 more in discretionary county fees.⁴⁷⁸ Pull your county’s fee schedule before you go.

Real Property Transfer Tax

Unless the transfer qualifies for an exemption, you owe the Real Property Transfer Tax at recording. The base statewide rate is $1.95 for every $500 of value, or fraction of $500, when the value exceeds $100. Washoe and Churchill counties add $0.10, bringing the rate to $2.05 per $500. Clark County adds $0.60, bringing it to $2.55 per $500.⁹ Other counties stay at the $1.95 base rate.¹⁰ For a quit claim deed between family or into a trust with no money changing hands, the tax is typically zero once you cite the correct exemption.

What Happens After Recording

Once the recorder accepts the documents and collects the fee, they stamp the deed with a unique instrument number and a recording date. From that moment, the deed is part of the public record and gives constructive notice to any future buyer, lender, or title searcher that the transfer occurred.² The office mails the original back to the address in the “Record and Return to” block, usually within a few weeks.

Why Recording Matters

A quit claim deed is legally binding between the grantor and grantee the moment it’s signed and delivered. Recording is not required for validity between the two of you. But under NRS 111.325, an unrecorded conveyance is void against any later buyer who pays value in good faith and records first.² If the grantor turns around and sells the same property to someone else who has no idea about your deed, and that buyer records first, you lose.

If the Property Has a Mortgage

Recording a quit claim deed does not affect an existing mortgage. If the grantor owes money on the property, that loan stays in place and the grantor remains personally liable. The deed moves ownership, not debt. The grantee takes title, but the grantor’s lender still holds a lien.

Most mortgage agreements include a due-on-sale clause that lets the lender demand full repayment when ownership changes hands. Federal law, under the Garn-St. Germain Act, blocks the lender from enforcing that clause on a residential property with fewer than five units in several situations, including a transfer to a spouse or child of the borrower, a transfer under a divorce decree or legal separation agreement awarding the property to the borrower’s spouse, a transfer into a living trust where the borrower remains a beneficiary and occupancy does not change, and a transfer resulting from the borrower’s death.¹¹ Outside those categories, say a transfer to an unrelated person or to an LLC, the lender can potentially call the full balance due. Contact the lender before recording to find out whether consent is needed or an assumption can be arranged.

Federal Gift Tax When the Transfer Is a Gift

When a quit claim deed transfers property with no money or exchange of value, the federal gift tax rules apply. For 2026, you can give up to $19,000 per recipient per year without triggering a gift tax return.¹² Real property almost always exceeds that threshold, so the grantor will generally need to file IRS Form 709 by April 15 of the year following the transfer.¹³ Filing the form doesn’t necessarily mean you owe tax; it uses up part of your lifetime exemption.

Transfers between spouses who are both U.S. citizens are exempt from gift tax entirely, so no Form 709 is required. A transfer into a revocable trust where you remain the beneficiary is not a gift either, because you haven’t given anything away.

One tax consequence catches people later: a gift recipient takes the donor’s adjusted basis, called carryover basis. If the donor bought the house for $150,000 and the market value is $400,000 at the time of the gift, the grantee’s basis for calculating gain on a future sale is $150,000, not $400,000.¹⁴

Title Insurance

An existing owner’s title insurance policy generally does not transfer to the new owner when property moves by quit claim deed. The grantee receives whatever interest the grantor had, with no warranty, and title insurers view it the same way. A new owner can apply for a policy, but insurers are often reluctant to write coverage because the deed itself guarantees nothing about the state of the title. If clear title matters to you, get a title search done before the transfer and ask whether a title company will issue a policy.

1
Clark County Assessor. Clark County Assessor – Glossary
2
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 111 – Estates in Property; Conveyancing and Recording
3
Legal Information Institute. Nevada Administrative Code 375.180 – Declaration of Value; Claim for Refund of Overpayment; Date for Submission of Claim
4
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 247 – County Recorders
5
Nye County, NV Official Website. General Recording Requirements
6
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 375 – Taxes on Transfers of Real Property
7
Lyon County, NV – Official Website. Fee Schedule
8
Washoe County. Recorder’s Office – Fees
9
Recorders Association of Nevada. Property Transfer Tax
10
Humboldt County, NV. Real Property Transfer Tax Information / Exemptions
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 U.S. Code 1701j-3 – Preemption of Due-on-Sale Prohibitions
12
Internal Revenue Service. Gifts and Inheritances
13
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 709
14
Internal Revenue Service. Property (Basis, Sale of Home, etc.)