North Carolina Quitclaim Deed

Transfer your interest in a North Carolina property — between family, into a trust or LLC, or after a divorce — and download a print-ready PDF with North Carolina’s signing rules built in. Free, no signup.

Reflects current North Carolina rules · 2026 Official source linked Free PDF · no signup · nothing uploaded

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.

North Carolina deed rules · as of 2026

Witnesses (besides notary): None — notary only
Where to record: Register of Deeds
Transfer tax: Yes — see below

Source: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 47-14 · verify ↗. A deed moves real property — have someone qualified review it before you sign, and record it promptly.

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North Carolina signing & recording

No — in North Carolina the grantor's notarized signature is enough; no separate witnesses are required (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 47-14(a), as of 2026). N.C. Gen. Stat. § 47-14(a) — the register of deeds shall not accept an instrument for registration unless its execution appears to have been proved or acknowledged before an authorized officer with signature, commission expiration date, and seal; § 47-38 supplies the acknowledgment certificate form Record the signed deed with the Register of Deeds. Transfer tax: Excise tax on conveyances, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-228.30: $1 per $500 of consideration or value, paid by the transferor to the register of deeds before recording; transfers by gift or where no consideration is due or paid are exempt (§ 105-228.29(5), (6)) Check the current North Carolina 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 North Carolina require witnesses on a quitclaim deed?

Where do I record the deed in North Carolina?

With the 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 North Carolina?

Excise tax on conveyances, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-228.30: $1 per $500 of consideration or value, paid by the transferor to the register of deeds before recording; transfers by gift or where no consideration is due or paid are exempt (§ 105-228.29(5), (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 North Carolina compare? See the deed witness requirements in all 50 states, every rule cited to statute.

How North Carolina compares

Computed from our 51-jurisdiction dataset (as of 2026). Source for North Carolina: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 47-14 ↗.

North Carolina 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 — Georgia (1), South Carolina (2), Tennessee (0), Virginia (0).

The rest of what North Carolina requires

The figures below are North Carolina'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 North Carolina page for that document.

Security deposit cap · as of 2026: 2 months' rent (1.5 if term under 1 yr) N.C. Gen. Stat. §42-51 ↗
Deposit return deadline · as of 2026: 30 days after move-out N.C. Gen. Stat. §42-51 ↗
Notice to end a month-to-month tenancy · as of 2026: 7 days N.C. Gen. Stat. §42-51 ↗
Notice for unpaid rent · as of 2026: 10 days to pay or quit N.C. Gen. Stat. § 42-3; § 42-14 ↗
Small claims limit · as of 2026: $10,000 N.C.G.S. § 7A-210 ↗
Where you file · as of 2026: Small Claims Court (heard by a Magistrate, District Court division) · filing fee $96 per the NC Judicial Branch court costs chart; statutory base $92 under G.S. 7A-305(a) ($80 General Court of Justice fee for magistrate cases + $12 facilities fee) plus a telecommunications component N.C.G.S. § 7A-210 ↗
Rental application fee · as of July 2026: No statutory limit North Carolina General Assembly ↗
Bill of sale notarization · as of 2026: Not required North Carolina NCDMV / DMV.ORG ↗
Power of attorney signing · as of 2026: Notarization required N.C. Gen. Stat. §32C-1-105 (form §32C-3-301) ↗
LLC operating agreement · as of 2026: Not required by statute, but it controls over the default rules N.C. Gen. Stat. § 57D-1-03 (definition of operating agreement) ↗

Quitclaim deed in other states

More North Carolina legal forms

Different state? See quitclaim deeds by state →