To remove a name from a deed in Pennsylvania, the person coming off title signs a new deed transferring their interest to whoever remains, and that new deed gets notarized and recorded with the Recorder of Deeds in the county where the property sits. You cannot cross out or edit the existing deed. The new recording replaces the old one as the definitive proof of ownership. Before you draft anything, though, check whether a new deed is even necessary, because the answer depends on how the property is currently held and why the name is coming off.
When a New Deed Isn’t Needed
If the current deed lists co-owners as joint tenants with right of survivorship, or if the owners are married and hold the property as tenants by the entirety, the surviving owner already owns the whole property the moment the other owner dies. No new deed is required. To clean up the public record, the survivor records a certified copy of the death certificate with the county Recorder of Deeds. A short confirmatory deed stating that the survivor now holds full title is optional and carries no transfer tax.
Tenants in common works differently. There is no automatic survivorship, so a deceased co-owner’s share passes under their will or Pennsylvania’s intestacy rules, and the new owner usually needs a deed or a court order to appear on the record.
Any time a living co-owner voluntarily gives up their interest — divorce, buyout, gift, transfer to a trust — you need a new deed regardless of how title is held. Divorce is one of the most common triggers. Once a Pennsylvania divorce is finalized, tenancy by the entirety automatically converts to a tenancy in common with equal shares.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 23 Chapter 35 – Property Rights The settlement or court order typically directs one spouse to sign a deed transferring their share to the other, and the divorce decree itself should also be recorded in the county where the property sits.
Choosing the Type of Deed
A quitclaim deed is the usual choice for removing a name. It transfers whatever interest the grantor holds without any promise that the title is clean, which is fine between people who already know the property’s history: divorcing spouses, family members, co-owners, or a homeowner moving property into their own trust.
General warranty and special warranty deeds add title guarantees to the grantee. Those are standard in arms-length sales to strangers and unnecessary for a straightforward name removal. If the departing owner has no reason to warrant title, a quitclaim keeps things simple.
What the New Deed Must Contain
Whether you draft the deed yourself from a Pennsylvania-specific form or have an attorney prepare it, the document needs:
- The exact legal description of the property, copied verbatim from the current recorded deed. This is the metes-and-bounds description or lot-and-block number, not the street address. A small error here can create title problems years later.
- The full legal names and current mailing addresses of the grantor (the person giving up their interest) and the grantee (the person receiving it).
- A statement of consideration — what the grantee paid. Gifts and divorce transfers typically recite “one dollar and other good and valuable consideration.” The stated amount matters for transfer tax purposes.
- The county tax parcel number, which appears on the current deed and on the annual property tax bill.
Getting the legal description wrong is the easiest way to create an expensive mess. Pulling it directly from the current deed, or having a real estate attorney handle the drafting, is worth the effort.
Signing, Notarizing, and Recording
Every grantor named on the new deed must sign it in front of a notary public or another officer authorized under Pennsylvania law to take acknowledgments.2Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Statutes Title 21 PS Deeds and Mortgages – 42 Pennsylvania does not require witnesses on a standard deed; notarization is enough.
The signed, notarized deed goes to the Recorder of Deeds in the county where the property is located. Along with it, you almost certainly need to submit a Pennsylvania Statement of Value form (REV-183) — in duplicate — because that form is required whenever the deed does not state the full value, when the transfer is a gift, or when you are claiming a transfer tax exemption.3Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Realty Transfer Tax Statement of Value REV-183 Most name-removal transfers fit at least one of those triggers. The Recorder can refuse to record a deed if the form is missing or incomplete.
Recording fees vary by county but typically run around $85 to $90 for a standard deed with a small number of names and pages.4Montgomery County, PA. Recording Fee Schedule Until the new deed is on file, it does not protect the remaining owner against a competing claim.
Pennsylvania Realty Transfer Tax and Exemptions
Pennsylvania charges a 1% state realty transfer tax on the value of real estate transferred by deed, and most municipalities add a local transfer tax, often another 1%, for a combined 2% rate in many areas.5Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Realty Transfer Tax On a $300,000 property, that is $6,000, which is why the exemptions matter.
Common name-removal situations that qualify for an exemption:
- Transfers between spouses, including transfers made as part of a divorce settlement, as long as the property was acquired before or during the marriage.6Legal Information Institute. 61 Pennsylvania Code 91.193 – Excluded Transactions
- Transfers between close family: parent to child (or a child’s spouse), grandparent to grandchild, sibling to sibling, and stepparent to stepchild.7Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Statutes Title 72 PS Taxation and Fiscal Affairs – 8102-C.3
- Transfers from a person to their own revocable living trust for no or nominal consideration.8Legal Information Institute. 61 Pennsylvania Code 91.156 – Trusts
The exemption is claimed on the REV-183, which is why the form is required even when no tax will actually be paid.
Watch the Mortgage
Removing a name from a deed does not remove that person from the mortgage. These are separate legal obligations, and the departing owner stays personally liable for the loan unless the remaining owner refinances into their own name or the lender formally agrees to a loan assumption. Someone who signs a quitclaim in a divorce and then discovers, years later, that late payments by their ex are hitting their credit is a common cautionary tale.
Most mortgages also contain a due-on-sale clause allowing the lender to demand full repayment when ownership changes. Federal law under the Garn-St. Germain Act blocks acceleration in several situations that cover typical name removals:9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 1701j-3 – Preemption of Due-on-Sale Prohibitions
- Transfers to a spouse or children of the borrower.
- Transfers resulting from divorce, legal separation, or a property settlement agreement.
- Transfers into a living trust where the borrower stays a beneficiary and continues to occupy the property.
- Transfers on the death of a joint tenant or tenant by the entirety.
These protections apply to residential property with fewer than five units. They do not apply to reverse mortgages, which have their own rules. Even when the protection clearly applies, notifying the lender in advance is worth doing to avoid a mistaken acceleration notice.
Federal Gift Tax Filing
If someone transfers a property interest without receiving fair market value in return, the IRS treats it as a gift. Divorce transfers between spouses are not treated as gifts, but most other name removals outside a genuine sale are.
For 2026, the annual federal gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient.10Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions on Gift Taxes The value of a half-interest in most Pennsylvania real estate will exceed that, which means the grantor must file IRS Form 709 (Gift Tax Return) for the year of the transfer.11Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 709 Married couples can elect gift-splitting to double the exclusion to $38,000.
Filing Form 709 rarely means owing tax. The amount above the annual exclusion just reduces the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption, which is $15,000,000 for 2026.12Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax Most people never approach that ceiling. Skipping the filing is still a mistake; the return is due by April 15 of the year after the gift.
What It Costs
Budget for these items:
- Recording fee: roughly $85 to $90 for a standard deed at most county Recorder of Deeds offices, plus small charges for extra pages or names.4Montgomery County, PA. Recording Fee Schedule
- Notary fee: capped by Pennsylvania at $5.00 for the first acknowledgment and $2.00 for each additional name.13Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of State. Notary Public Fees
- Attorney fee: roughly $500 to $1,500 for a straightforward transfer, more when title issues or divorce settlements complicate the work.
- Realty transfer tax: up to 2% of the property’s value if no exemption applies. Confirm your exemption before assuming.
A simple family transfer that qualifies for a transfer tax exemption often runs under $100 in hard costs, with the attorney fee as the main variable. That is also the place where trying to save money with a fill-in-the-blank form sometimes creates title problems that cost far more to fix later.