How to Fill Out and Record a Nevada Transfer on Death Deed

A Nevada transfer on death deed lets you name someone to inherit your real estate automatically when you die, without probate. To create one, you fill out the statutory form found in NRS 111.695, sign it in front of a notary, and record it with the county recorder in the county where the property sits before you die. If it isn’t recorded before death, it has no legal effect.¹

The deed transfers nothing during your lifetime. You keep full ownership, can sell the property, can mortgage it, and can revoke the deed whenever you want. Nevada’s rules for these deeds live in NRS 111.655 through 111.699, the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act.¹

Who Can Create One

Any Nevada property owner with an interest in real property can create the deed. The capacity required matches what Nevada requires to make a will, so you must be at least 18 and of sound mind.¹

If you hold the property as a joint tenant with right of survivorship or as community property with right of survivorship, the deed’s timing depends on who signs. When every co-owner signs, the deed takes effect on the death of the last surviving owner. When only one signs, the deed activates only if that person ends up being the last surviving owner.¹ Getting every co-owner to sign avoids the risk that your deed simply never activates.

Gather This Information First

Have these items in hand before you sit down with the form:

Your full legal name and address, matching exactly what appears on your current recorded deed. Any mismatch can cause the recorder to reject the filing.
Full legal names and mailing addresses for every beneficiary. You can name more than one.
The legal description of the property from your existing deed — lot and block, metes and bounds, or section/township/range. A street address alone isn’t enough.
The Assessor’s Parcel Number (APN). Nevada recording law requires the APN on any conveyance of real property, placed at the top left corner of the first page.²

The legal description and APN are on your original recorded deed and on your county assessor’s website. Getting them wrong is the fastest way to have the document bounced back.

Filling Out the Statutory Form

Nevada gives you the wording. NRS 111.695 sets out a template your deed must “substantially” follow, so you don’t need custom drafting or an attorney to compose the document from scratch.³

Owner Identification

Enter your full legal name where the form reads “here insert name of owner(s).” List every owner who is signing.

Beneficiary Identification

Enter the full legal name of each beneficiary in the space provided. The statutory form doesn’t include a built-in line for alternate beneficiaries. If you want to name a backup in case your primary beneficiary dies before you, add language immediately after the primary name, such as “if [primary beneficiary] does not survive me, then to [alternate beneficiary].”

Property Information

Fill in the city, county, and the full legal description in the space provided. The APN goes at the top left of the first page.

Required Notices

The statutory form includes three capitalized notices that must appear in the deed: that it is revocable, that it transfers no ownership until your death, and that it revokes all prior deeds upon death for the same property.³ The form also carries a statement affirming that the document contains no Social Security number. Don’t remove or alter any of these; they are part of the statutory template.

Date and Signature

Sign and date the deed in front of a notary. The form requires a notary acknowledgment block immediately below your signature, so signing beforehand defeats the purpose.

Getting It Notarized

The deed must be acknowledged before a notary public. The statutory form builds in the acknowledgment language, so the notary just fills in their name, the date, the county, and applies their seal after confirming your identity and witnessing your signature.³ Bring a government-issued photo ID. Without a proper acknowledgment, the county recorder won’t accept the deed, and an unrecorded deed upon death has no legal effect.

Recording It With the County

Recording is the step that makes the deed real. Under NRS 111.681, the deed is valid only if it is recorded in the county where the property sits before the owner dies.¹ A deed left in your filing cabinet at death is a deed that never existed, and the property will go through probate.

Take or mail the notarized original to the Office of the County Recorder for the county where the property is located. Most Nevada counties accept walk-in and mail submissions. Recording fees under NRS 247.305 start at a $25 base plus statutory surcharges, bringing the total to roughly $37 to $43 depending on the county.⁴ Washoe County, for example, charges $43 per document.⁵ Call your recorder’s office before mailing to confirm the exact amount, accepted payment methods, and any county-specific formatting rules.

Once recorded, the deed becomes a public record. It does not affect your ownership, your ability to sell, or your right to take out a mortgage.

Changing Your Mind Later

You can revoke the deed at any time while you’re alive, but only in specific ways. NRS 111.697 provides a statutory revocation form that mirrors the structure of the original deed and requires the same formalities: the legal description of the property, your signature, and a notary acknowledgment.⁶ Like the deed itself, the revocation must be recorded with the county recorder before your death to have any effect.

You cannot revoke the deed by crossing it out, writing “void” on it, or destroying it. The statute explicitly says a deed upon death “may not be revoked by a revocatory act on the deed.”⁶ Your options are three: record a formal revocation, record a new deed upon death for the same property (the last one recorded before death controls under NRS 111.677), or transfer the property during your lifetime, which voids the deed by operation of law.¹

What Your Beneficiary Will Have to Do

The property transfers automatically at your death, but the beneficiary still has paperwork. Under NRS 111.699, the beneficiary must record a Death of Grantor Affidavit with the county recorder where the deed was originally recorded, attaching a copy of the death certificate for each owner listed on the deed along with a declaration of value under NRS 375.060.¹ Until that recording happens, the beneficiary’s ownership won’t appear in the public record, and selling or refinancing will be impossible.

The beneficiary must also publish a notice to creditors and mail copies to your personal representative (if known), the Nevada Health Authority, and any known creditors. Creditors have 90 days from the mailing or first publication to file claims. After that window closes, and after the Nevada Health Authority provides a waiver of claim, the beneficiary can sell or distribute the property without personal liability for unfiled claims.¹

What the Deed Does Not Do

A transfer on death deed skips probate. It does not skip debts. If your probate estate lacks enough assets to cover allowed claims or a statutory allowance to a surviving spouse or child, creditors can reach property transferred through the deed. When multiple properties pass through separate deeds upon death, the liability is split among them in proportion to their net values at the date of death.¹

Medicaid recovery is the biggest one. NRS 111.693 states that nothing in the deed upon death statutes limits recovery of Medicaid benefits.¹ If you received Medicaid, the Nevada Health Authority can impose a lien on the property even though it bypassed probate. Many people assume probate avoidance means creditor avoidance. It does not.

Beneficiaries also take the property subject to any existing liens, including mortgages, recorded on the date of your death.¹ The deed does not wipe out the loan.

1
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 111 – Estates in Property; Conveyancing and Recording
2
Humboldt County, NV. Deed Recording Requirements
3
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code 111.695 – Form of Deed Upon Death
4
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code Chapter 247 – County Recorders
5
Washoe County. Recorders Office – Fees
6
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Code NRS 111.697 – Form of Revocation of Deed Upon Death