The Arkansas quitclaim deed form transfers whatever interest the grantor holds in a piece of real property to the grantee, with no promise that the title is clean. To use it, you fill in the names, addresses, legal description, and consideration, add the preparer statement, sign before a notary, and file it with the Circuit Clerk in the county where the property sits, along with a Real Property Transfer Tax Affidavit of Compliance. The form suits low-risk transfers between people who already trust each other: adding a spouse to title, moving property into a living trust, clearing a name after a divorce, or transferring land between family members.
What the Deed Will and Won’t Do
A quitclaim deed moves ownership interest. It does not touch mortgage debt. If the grantor’s name is on the loan, signing over the property does not release that obligation, and most mortgages contain a due-on-sale clause that lets the lender demand full repayment when ownership changes. Contact the lender before you record if the property is mortgaged.
The deed also gives the grantee no guarantee the title is free of liens, unpaid taxes, or competing claims. A warranty deed promises the seller will defend against title defects; a quitclaim promises nothing. That is why these deeds rarely appear in sales between strangers.
Information to Gather Before You Start
Missing a single element can cause the Circuit Clerk to reject the filing or leave a gap in the chain of title. Pull the following together first:
- Full legal names and mailing addresses for both grantor and grantee. The grantor’s name must match the name on the most recent deed in the chain of title.
- The formal legal description of the property from the existing deed or a recorded survey. A street address is not enough. Arkansas descriptions typically use metes and bounds, lot and block references, or section-township-range coordinates. Copy it exactly, or attach a surveyor’s description as an exhibit.
- The consideration: the dollar amount paid, or nominal language like “$10.00 and other good and valuable consideration” for a gift. The amount determines whether transfer tax is owed.
- The prior recorded deed, so you can confirm the description, the grantor’s name as it appears in the records, and the parcel identification number.
Filling In the Form
Enter the grantor’s name exactly as it appears on the prior recorded deed. If the last deed says “James R. Smith,” don’t write “Jim Smith.” A mismatch breaks the chain of title and forces a corrective deed later. Add the grantor’s mailing address, then repeat for the grantee.
The granting clause is the core of the document. In a quitclaim, this language typically reads along the lines of “remise, release, and forever quitclaim” all right, title, and interest in the property. Preprinted forms already contain this wording. If you are drafting from scratch, make sure the clause states that the grantor is releasing, not warranting, an interest.
Type the full legal description into the designated area. If it runs long, label it “Exhibit A,” attach it, and reference the exhibit in the body of the deed. Then state the consideration. Even gift transfers should recite something; “$10.00 and other good and valuable consideration” is standard between family members.
Arkansas law requires the name and address of the person who prepared the deed to appear on the first page, printed, typed, stamped, or written legibly. A compliant line reads: “This instrument was prepared by [name and address].”1Justia. Arkansas Code Title 14 Section 14-15-403 Leaving it off will get the document refused.
Spousal Signature to Release Dower or Curtesy
Arkansas still recognizes dower and curtesy, meaning a surviving spouse’s right to a share of real property the other spouse owned during the marriage. If the grantor is married and holds the property alone, the non-owner spouse should join in the deed to release that interest. Without a release, the spouse’s potential claim follows the property into the grantee’s hands.
Under Arkansas Code § 18-12-402, a spouse can release dower or curtesy either by joining in the deed itself or by executing a separate acknowledged instrument to the grantee.2Justia. Arkansas Code Title 18 Section 18-12-402 – Relinquishment of Dower or Curtesy in Spouses Land The simplest path is to have the spouse sign the deed alongside the grantor, with both signatures notarized on the same document.
Formatting Rules the Clerk Will Check
The Circuit Clerk will reject a deed that doesn’t meet the physical standards in Arkansas Code § 14-15-402:
- Paper size 8½ by 11 inches.
- A 2½-inch top margin on the right side of the first page, reserved for the recorder’s file mark.
- ½-inch side and bottom margins on every page.
- A 2½-inch bottom margin on the last page.
- The document title and the names of the grantor and grantee shown on the first page.
- Text legible after scanning.
The statute does not name a font size or paper color, but the legibility requirement effectively means black ink on white paper in a font no smaller than about 10 point.3FindLaw. Arkansas Code 14-15-402 – Instruments to Be Recorded
Signing and Notarization
The grantor signs the deed, and that signature must be acknowledged before it can be recorded. Arkansas Code § 18-12-201 requires all deeds conveying real estate to be “proven or duly acknowledged” before the county recorder will accept them.4Justia. Arkansas Code Title 18 Section 18-12-201 – Proof or Acknowledgment as Prerequisite to Recording Real Estate Conveyances The grantor signs in the presence of a notary public, who completes a notarial certificate on the deed.
A notary is the most common option. Arkansas law also allows acknowledgment before a judge, court clerk, or county judge.5Justia. Arkansas Code Title 18 Section 18-12-203 – Officers Authorized to Take Proof or Acknowledgment of Real Estate Conveyances The notary’s certificate must include the venue (state and county of signing), the date, the notary’s signature, and their seal in blue or black ink showing their name, commission county, commission number, and expiration date.6Arkansas Secretary of State. Notary Public and eNotary Handbook If a non-owner spouse signs to release dower, that signature needs its own acknowledgment.
The grantee does not sign the deed itself. The grantee’s role shows up on the transfer tax affidavit.
The Transfer Tax Affidavit
Before the clerk will record the deed, Arkansas requires a Real Property Transfer Tax Affidavit of Compliance to accompany it. The one-page form, available from the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, discloses the consideration paid so the clerk can calculate the tax.7Justia. Arkansas Code 26-60-107 – Real Property Transfer Tax Affidavit of Compliance Form
The grantee or the grantee’s agent fills out the affidavit, not the grantor. If no tax is owed, the affidavit must explain why unless the exemption is obvious from the deed itself.7Justia. Arkansas Code 26-60-107 – Real Property Transfer Tax Affidavit of Compliance Form
Arkansas charges a transfer tax of $3.30 per $1,000 of actual consideration on any transaction exceeding $100.8Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Real Property Transfer Tax On a $200,000 sale, that comes to $660. The tax is paid through documentary stamps placed on the face of the deed.
Common exempt transactions include:
- Transfers where the total consideration is $100 or less
- Transfers between spouses as part of a divorce property division
- Transfers to or from a government entity
- Transfers between business entities and their owners incident to organization, reorganization, merger, or liquidation
- Instruments given solely to secure a debt
- Correction deeds where the tax was already paid on the original recording
- Beneficiary deeds
Gift transfers between family members are not a named exemption, but they often fall under the $100-or-less threshold when the deed recites only nominal consideration.9Justia. Arkansas Code 26-60-102 – Transfers to Which Chapter Not Applicable If the stated consideration exceeds $100, the tax applies regardless of the relationship, and the affidavit must state a reason no tax is due or pay the stamps.
Recording the Deed with the Circuit Clerk
Take or mail the signed, notarized deed and the completed affidavit to the Circuit Clerk in the county where the property is located. The Circuit Clerk serves as the county recorder and maintains the public land records.10Justia. Arkansas Code Title 14 – Recorders Most offices accept filings in person, by mail, and electronically.
Recording fees run $15 for the first page and $5 for each additional page. If documentary stamps are required, add the $3.30-per-$1,000 transfer tax. Pay by check or money order made out to the Circuit Clerk, and call ahead to confirm accepted payment methods.
The clerk reviews the deed for compliance: the notarization, the preparer statement, the formatting, and the affidavit. If everything passes, the clerk timestamps and records the document in the county’s official books. Recording is what gives the world legal notice that ownership has changed. The clerk returns the original to the grantee by mail, usually within a few business days after indexing.
If the clerk finds a defect, the document comes back unrecorded. Fix it and resubmit. There is no penalty beyond the delay, but every day between signing and recording is a day the transfer lacks public notice.
Federal Tax Consequences for Gift Transfers
A quitclaim used as a gift can trigger federal reporting even when no money changes hands. The IRS treats a transfer of property without full consideration as a gift, and if the value exceeds the annual exclusion ($19,000 per recipient for 2026), the donor must file Form 709.11Internal Revenue Service. Gifts and Inheritances Filing does not necessarily mean owing tax, because the lifetime exclusion ($15,000,000 for 2026) shelters most donors from an actual bill.
The bigger issue is cost basis. Under federal law, a person who receives property as a gift takes the donor’s original cost basis rather than a stepped-up basis at current fair market value.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1015 – Basis of Property Acquired by Gifts and Transfers in Trust If your parents bought a house for $50,000 and quitclaim it to you when it’s worth $300,000, your basis is $50,000. Sell later for $350,000, and you owe capital gains tax on $300,000 of gain, not $50,000. For rental or investment property, the grantee also inherits the donor’s depreciation history, which can trigger depreciation recapture on a future sale. Understand the basis you are inheriting before you accept the transfer.