Illinois Quitclaim Deed
Transfer your interest in a Illinois property — between family, into a trust or LLC, or after a divorce — and download a print-ready PDF with Illinois’s signing rules built in. Free, no signup.
Maintained by Rapi Stack · Every state-specific figure on this page is cited to its statute or official agency page · Dataset last verified 2026 · Not legal advice.
Illinois deed rules · as of 2026
- Witnesses (besides notary)
- None — notary only
- Where to record
- County Recorder of Deeds (in Cook County the Recorder of Deeds office was merged into the County Clerk in Dec. 2020)
- Transfer tax
- Yes — see below
Source: 765 ILCS 5/10; 765 ILCS 5/20 · verify ↗. A deed moves real property — have someone qualified review it before you sign, and record it promptly.
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Illinois signing & recording
No — in Illinois the grantor's notarized signature is enough; no separate witnesses are required (765 ILCS 5/10, 5/20 (Conveyances Act — signature + acknowledgment only; no witness requirement anywhere in the Act), as of 2026). 765 ILCS 5/20 — deeds must be acknowledged or proved before a listed officer (in Illinois: notary public, US commissioner, county clerk, or judge/clerk of a court), with certificate/seal attested Record the signed deed with the County Recorder of Deeds (in Cook County the Recorder of Deeds office was merged into the County Clerk in Dec. 2020). Transfer tax: Illinois Real Estate Transfer Tax: state $0.50 per $500 of value (35 ILCS 200/31-10) + county $0.25 per $500 (55 ILCS 5/5-1031), plus home-rule municipal taxes (e.g., Chicago); deeds with actual consideration under $100 are exempt (35 ILCS 200/31-45(e)), as are no-consideration corrective deeds (31-45(d)) Check the current Illinois deed rules before recording.
Married? If the property is (or may be) your homestead, your spouse may need to sign the deed even if they are not on title — several states require it, and a deed missing that signature can be rejected for recording or invalid. Use the “Co-grantor / spouse” field above to add their signature line, and check your state’s rule before recording.
Existing mortgage? Transferring mortgaged property can trigger the loan’s “due-on-sale” clause. Federal law (12 U.S.C. §1701j-3(d), the Garn–St Germain Act) bars lenders from enforcing it for several transfers of residential property with fewer than five dwelling units — including a transfer to the borrower’s spouse or children, a transfer resulting from a divorce decree, and a transfer into an inter vivos (living) trust in which the borrower is and remains a beneficiary. The loan itself stays in place either way — nobody is released until it is refinanced. Read the statute ↗
Frequently asked questions
Does Illinois require witnesses on a quitclaim deed?
No — in Illinois the grantor's notarized signature is enough; no separate witnesses are required (765 ILCS 5/10, 5/20 (Conveyances Act — signature + acknowledgment only; no witness requirement anywhere in the Act), as of 2026). 765 ILCS 5/20 — deeds must be acknowledged or proved before a listed officer (in Illinois: notary public, US commissioner, county clerk, or judge/clerk of a court), with certificate/seal attested
Where do I record the deed in Illinois?
With the County Recorder of Deeds (in Cook County the Recorder of Deeds office was merged into the County Clerk in Dec. 2020) where the property is located. Recording is what makes the transfer visible to the world — an unrecorded deed can be valid between the parties but lose to a later buyer or lender who records first. Take the original signed deed, pay the recording fee, and keep the returned stamped copy.
Is there a transfer tax in Illinois?
Illinois Real Estate Transfer Tax: state $0.50 per $500 of value (35 ILCS 200/31-10) + county $0.25 per $500 (55 ILCS 5/5-1031), plus home-rule municipal taxes (e.g., Chicago); deeds with actual consideration under $100 are exempt (35 ILCS 200/31-45(e)), as are no-consideration corrective deeds (31-45(d)) Check the current rate and exemptions before recording — the recorder will not accept the deed without the required tax forms or stamps.
How does Illinois compare? See the deed witness requirements in all 50 states, every rule cited to statute.
How Illinois compares
Computed from our 51-jurisdiction dataset (as of 2026). Source for Illinois: 765 ILCS 5/10; 765 ILCS 5/20 ↗.
- Illinois is one of 38 of 51 jurisdictions that charge a transfer or documentary tax when a deed is recorded (13 charge no state transfer tax on deeds).
- Witnesses required (beyond the notary)
Witnesses required (beyond the notary): 0, exactly the national median.
This is the most common figure nationally — shared by 45 other states.
Witnesses required (beyond the notary) in neighboring states — Indiana (0), Iowa (0), Kentucky (0), Missouri (0), Wisconsin (0). Every neighboring state with a rule matches Illinois.
The rest of what Illinois requires
The figures below are Illinois's, not national averages — each one is the value we verified for this state, with the statute it comes from. Follow a row to the full Illinois page for that document.
- Security deposit cap · as of 2026
- No statutory limit 765 ILCS 710 (Security Deposit Return Act) ↗
- Deposit return deadline · as of 2026
- 45 days after move-out 765 ILCS 710 (Security Deposit Return Act) ↗
- Notice to end a month-to-month tenancy · as of 2026
- 30 days 765 ILCS 710 (Security Deposit Return Act) ↗
- Notice for unpaid rent · as of 2026
- 5 days to pay or quit 735 ILCS 5/9-209; 5/9-210; 5/9-207 ↗
- Notice to cure a lease violation · as of 2026
- 10 days 735 ILCS 5/9-209; 5/9-210; 5/9-207 ↗
- Small claims limit · as of 2026
- $10,000 Ill. Sup. Ct. Rules 281-289; 705 ILCS 105/27.1b (fees) ↗
- Where you file · as of 2026
- Small claims in the Circuit Court (simplified procedure under Supreme Court Rules 281-289) · filing fee Varies by county — set by county ordinance within Supreme Court fee schedules under 705 ILCS 105/27.1b; commonly ~$89 for the smallest claims up to ~$250-$330 for claims near $10,000 depending on county (Cook County runs higher). Check the circuit clerk's fee schedule for your county. Ill. Sup. Ct. Rules 281-289; 705 ILCS 105/27.1b (fees) ↗
- Rental application fee · as of July 2026
- Limited to the actual cost of screening Illinois General Assembly ↗
- Bill of sale notarization · as of 2026
- Not required Illinois SoS / DMV.ORG ↗
- Power of attorney signing · as of 2026
- Notarization required · 1 witness 755 ILCS 45/3-3 ↗
- LLC operating agreement · as of 2026
- Not required by statute, but it controls over the default rules 805 ILCS 180/1-5 (definition); 805 ILCS 180/15-5 (operating agreement, scope) ↗
Quitclaim deed in other states
More Illinois legal forms
Different state? See quitclaim deeds by state →