Maine Quitclaim Deed
Transfer your interest in a Maine property — between family, into a trust or LLC, or after a divorce — and download a print-ready PDF with Maine’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.
Maine deed rules · as of 2026
- Witnesses (besides notary)
- None — notary only
- Where to record
- County Registry of Deeds (Register of Deeds)
- Transfer tax
- Yes — see below
Source: 33 M.R.S. § 203 · verify ↗. A deed moves real property — have someone qualified review it before you sign, and record it promptly.
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Maine signing & recording
No — in Maine the grantor's notarized signature is enough; no separate witnesses are required (33 M.R.S. § 203 — deeds must be acknowledged before recording; no witness requirement in Maine's conveyancing statutes, as of 2026). 33 M.R.S. § 203 — 'Deeds and all other written instruments before recording in the registries of deeds ... must be acknowledged by the grantors' before a notary public, attorney, or other authorized officer Record the signed deed with the County Registry of Deeds (Register of Deeds). Transfer tax: Maine Real Estate Transfer Tax: $2.20 per $500 (or fraction) of value, imposed half on grantor and half on grantee (36 M.R.S. § 4641-A); additional $3.80 per $500 on value over $1,000,000 effective 11/1/2025; deeds between spouses, parent-child, or grandparent-grandchild 'without actual consideration', divorce deeds, corrective deeds, and no-consideration partitions are exempt (36 M.R.S. § 4641-C(3),(4),(6)) Check the current Maine 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 Maine require witnesses on a quitclaim deed?
No — in Maine the grantor's notarized signature is enough; no separate witnesses are required (33 M.R.S. § 203 — deeds must be acknowledged before recording; no witness requirement in Maine's conveyancing statutes, as of 2026). 33 M.R.S. § 203 — 'Deeds and all other written instruments before recording in the registries of deeds ... must be acknowledged by the grantors' before a notary public, attorney, or other authorized officer
Where do I record the deed in Maine?
With the County Registry of Deeds (Register of Deeds) 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 Maine?
Maine Real Estate Transfer Tax: $2.20 per $500 (or fraction) of value, imposed half on grantor and half on grantee (36 M.R.S. § 4641-A); additional $3.80 per $500 on value over $1,000,000 effective 11/1/2025; deeds between spouses, parent-child, or grandparent-grandchild 'without actual consideration', divorce deeds, corrective deeds, and no-consideration partitions are exempt (36 M.R.S. § 4641-C(3),(4),(6)) Check the current rate and exemptions before recording — the recorder will not accept the deed without the required tax forms or stamps.
How does Maine compare? See the deed witness requirements in all 50 states, every rule cited to statute.
How Maine compares
Computed from our 51-jurisdiction dataset (as of 2026). Source for Maine: 33 M.R.S. § 203 ↗.
- Maine 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 — New Hampshire (0). Every neighboring state with a rule matches Maine.
The rest of what Maine requires
The figures below are Maine'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 Maine page for that document.
- Security deposit cap · as of 2026
- 2 months' rent 14 M.R.S. §6033 ↗
- Deposit return deadline · as of 2026
- 30 days after move-out 14 M.R.S. §6033 ↗
- Notice to end a month-to-month tenancy · as of 2026
- 30 days 14 M.R.S. §6033 ↗
- Notice for unpaid rent · as of 2026
- 7 days to pay or quit 14 M.R.S. § 6002 ↗
- Small claims limit · as of 2026
- $10,000 14 M.R.S. § 7482 (as amended by PL 2025, c. 261); Maine Rules of Small Claims Procedure ↗
- Where you file · as of 2026
- Small claims proceedings in the Maine District Court · filing fee $70 to enter a small claims action (includes a $15 mediation fee) under the Judicial Branch fee schedule, Administrative Order JB-05-26 (A. 3-26), effective March 9, 2026; optional clerk service is $15 per party. 14 M.R.S. § 7482 (as amended by PL 2025, c. 261); Maine Rules of Small Claims Procedure ↗
- Rental application fee · as of July 2026
- Limited to the actual cost of screening Maine Legislature ↗
- Bill of sale notarization · as of 2026
- Not required Maine BMV / DMV.ORG ↗
- Power of attorney signing · as of 2026
- Notarization required 18-C M.R.S. §5-905 ↗
- LLC operating agreement · as of 2026
- Required by statute 31 M.R.S. § 1502(15) (definition); 31 M.R.S. § 1531(1)(B) (agreement must exist); 31 M.R.S. § 1521 (scope) ↗
Quitclaim deed in other states
More Maine legal forms
Different state? See quitclaim deeds by state →