Ohio Transfer on Death Deed PDF: Signing, Recording, and Beneficiaries

Ohio no longer uses a standalone transfer on death deed. To pass real estate outside probate, you complete and record a Transfer on Death Designation Affidavit, and most counties publish the Ohio transfer on death deed PDF template on the county recorder’s website. The form is governed by Ohio Revised Code 5302.22, and it only works if you record it with the county recorder while you are still alive.¹

Where to Get the PDF

County recorders across Ohio typically post a downloadable affidavit template on their websites. The form has to match the statutory requirements in ORC 5302.22(D), so a template pulled from your own county recorder is the safest starting point. Wherever you get the PDF, the content requirements are the same statewide.

What the Affidavit Must Include

Every Transfer on Death Designation Affidavit must contain the following:

The full legal description of the property, not just the street address. Pull it from your current deed or the county auditor’s website, including a reference to the recorded instrument that contains it.
A statement that you are the owner of record, along with your marital status (married, unmarried, or widowed).
If you are married, your spouse’s written subordination of dower rights within the affidavit itself. Under Ohio law a surviving spouse holds a right to a life estate in one-third of the deceased spouse’s real property, and without that subordination dower can block the transfer to your beneficiary.
The name of each beneficiary you are designating. The statute requires names only, not addresses.

If you are transferring less than your entire interest in the property, the affidavit must also spell out the portion or interest being transferred.¹

Signing and Recording

Sign the completed affidavit before a notary public or another person authorized to administer oaths. Ohio does not require witnesses. A notary in Ohio can charge up to $5 for an in-person notarization.² Without proper notarization, the recorder will reject the document.

A signed affidavit has no legal effect until it is recorded with the county recorder in the county where the property sits, and that recording must happen while you are alive. An affidavit found in a drawer after death is worthless.

Under ORC 317.32, the standard recording fee is $34 for the first two pages and $8 for each additional page.³ Some counties add a document preservation surcharge of up to $5, so a two-page affidavit typically costs between $34 and $39. Payment methods vary by office. The clerk stamps the recorded document with a date and instrument number and returns the original to you. Keep it somewhere safe, and tell your beneficiary it exists.

Naming Beneficiaries

You can name one beneficiary or several. When you name more than one, they take title as tenants in common in equal shares unless you specify otherwise. You may instead designate multiple beneficiaries as survivorship tenants, so that if one beneficiary dies after inheriting, that share passes to the surviving beneficiaries rather than to that person’s own heirs.⁴

You can also name contingent beneficiaries who inherit only if a primary beneficiary dies before you. This matters because of what happens without one: if every named beneficiary predeceases you and no contingent beneficiary exists, the property falls back into your probate estate, which is what the affidavit was meant to avoid.⁴

One point that trips people up: your beneficiaries have no rights to the property while you are alive. You can sell it, mortgage it, or rent it out without their permission. The designation activates only at your death, and only if the affidavit is still recorded and unrevoked at that point.

Changing or Revoking the Designation

The affidavit is fully revocable at any time and does not require the beneficiary’s consent. To change or cancel, complete a new affidavit, notarize it, and record it with the county recorder before your death. A later-recorded affidavit automatically supersedes any earlier one for the same property.⁴

A will cannot override a recorded TOD affidavit. Ohio law states that a transfer-on-death designation supersedes any attempted transfer by will or intestate succession.⁴ If your will leaves the house to your daughter but a recorded affidavit names your brother, your brother gets the property. Recording a new affidavit or a revocation is the only way to change the result.

Divorce, Dissolution, or Annulment

If you named your spouse as beneficiary and the marriage later ends by divorce, dissolution, or annulment, Ohio law automatically terminates the designation. The former spouse is treated as if they died before you, so a contingent beneficiary inherits instead. If no contingent beneficiary exists, the property goes to your probate estate.⁴ Recording a fresh affidavit after a divorce is still the cleaner move because it removes ambiguity from the public record.

What the Beneficiary Does After You Die

The property does not transfer automatically. After the owner’s death, the beneficiary must record an affidavit of confirmation with the county recorder, as required by ORC 5302.222.⁵ This step ties the deceased owner’s recorded TOD affidavit to the new owner in the public record. Without it, the beneficiary will struggle to sell, refinance, or insure the property.

A certified copy of the death certificate and the recording information from the original TOD affidavit are typically required. The same county recording fees apply. No court proceeding is involved.

Mortgages, Liens, and Taxes

A TOD affidavit does not wipe out debts attached to the property. The beneficiary takes only the interest the owner held at death, subject to all existing mortgages, liens, and other encumbrances. Lienholders keep full enforcement rights, including foreclosure.⁴ A house with a $150,000 mortgage passes to the beneficiary with that $150,000 mortgage still on it.

For an inherited home, federal law does provide protection from a lender calling the loan due. Under the Garn-St. Germain Act, lenders cannot enforce a due-on-sale clause when residential property with fewer than five units transfers to a relative because of the borrower’s death.⁶ A relative who inherits can continue the existing mortgage payments under the original terms.

Recording the affidavit triggers no immediate tax. Because the designation is revocable and you keep full control until death, it is not a completed gift, and no federal gift tax return is required at filing. When the property later transfers at death, the beneficiary receives a stepped-up tax basis equal to the property’s fair market value on the date of death.⁷ Ohio repealed its state estate tax effective January 1, 2013, so no Ohio estate tax applies.⁸ Federal estate tax reaches only very large estates and is paid by the estate rather than by the beneficiary.⁹

1
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 5302.22 – Transfer on Death Deed Form
2
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 147.08 – Notary Public Fees
3
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 317.32 – Recording Fees
4
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 5302.23 – Designating Transfer on Death Beneficiary
5
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 5302.222 – Transfer of Deceased’s Real Property, Recording, Affidavit of Confirmation
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 U.S. Code 1701j-3 – Preemption of Due-on-Sale Prohibitions
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 1014 – Basis of Property Acquired From a Decedent
8
Ohio Department of Taxation. Estate Tax
9
Internal Revenue Service. Estate and Gift Tax FAQs