Texas Quitclaim Deed
Transfer your interest in a Texas property — between family, into a trust or LLC, or after a divorce — and download a print-ready PDF with Texas’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.
Texas deed rules · as of 2026
- Witnesses (besides notary)
- None — notary only
- Where to record
- County Clerk (Tex. Prop. Code § 12.001(b)(2); recording in the county where the land lies)
- Transfer tax
- No state transfer tax
Source: Tex. Prop. Code § 12.001; § 5.021 (conveyance must be in writing, subscribed and delivered); § 13.006 (quitclaim/BFP rule) · verify ↗. A deed moves real property — have someone qualified review it before you sign, and record it promptly.
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Texas signing & recording
No — in Texas the grantor's notarized signature is enough; no separate witnesses are required (Tex. Prop. Code § 12.001(b) — deed must be 'signed and acknowledged or sworn to by the grantor in the presence of two or more credible subscribing witnesses OR acknowledged or sworn to before... an officer authorized to take acknowledgments' (witnesses are only the alternative to notarization), as of 2026). Tex. Prop. Code § 12.001 — an instrument conveying real property may not be recorded unless acknowledged/sworn before an authorized officer (or the two-witness alternative); § 12.001(b)(2) also requires photo ID from anyone presenting an instrument in person. Record the signed deed with the County Clerk (Tex. Prop. Code § 12.001(b)(2); recording in the county where the land lies). Check the current Texas 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 Texas require witnesses on a quitclaim deed?
No — in Texas the grantor's notarized signature is enough; no separate witnesses are required (Tex. Prop. Code § 12.001(b) — deed must be 'signed and acknowledged or sworn to by the grantor in the presence of two or more credible subscribing witnesses OR acknowledged or sworn to before... an officer authorized to take acknowledgments' (witnesses are only the alternative to notarization), as of 2026). Tex. Prop. Code § 12.001 — an instrument conveying real property may not be recorded unless acknowledged/sworn before an authorized officer (or the two-witness alternative); § 12.001(b)(2) also requires photo ID from anyone presenting an instrument in person.
Where do I record the deed in Texas?
With the County Clerk (Tex. Prop. Code § 12.001(b)(2); recording in the county where the land lies) 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 Texas?
Texas does not levy a state real-estate transfer tax on deeds (as of 2026). Local recording fees still apply, and the recorder may require a cover sheet or tax form even for exempt transfers.
How does Texas compare? See the deed witness requirements in all 50 states, every rule cited to statute.
How Texas compares
Computed from our 51-jurisdiction dataset (as of 2026). Source for Texas: Tex. Prop. Code § 12.001; § 5.021 (conveyance must be in writing, subscribed and delivered); § 13.006 (quitclaim/BFP rule) ↗.
- Texas is one of 13 of 51 jurisdictions that charge no state transfer tax on deeds (38 charge a transfer or documentary tax when a deed is recorded).
- 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 — Arkansas (0), Louisiana (2), New Mexico (0), Oklahoma (0).
The rest of what Texas requires
The figures below are Texas'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 Texas page for that document.
- Security deposit cap · as of 2026
- No statutory limit Tex. Prop. Code §92.103 ↗
- Deposit return deadline · as of 2026
- 30 days after move-out Tex. Prop. Code §92.103 ↗
- Notice to end a month-to-month tenancy · as of 2026
- 30 days Tex. Prop. Code §92.103 ↗
- Notice for unpaid rent · as of 2026
- 3 days to pay or quit Tex. Prop. Code § 24.005; § 91.001 ↗
- Small claims limit · as of 2026
- $20,000 Tex. Gov't Code § 27.031; Tex. R. Civ. P. 500-507 ↗
- Where you file · as of 2026
- Justice Court (Justice of the Peace Court) · filing fee Set per county: $54 base filing fee under Tex. Loc. Gov't Code §118.121, plus service of citation (typically ~$75-$85 per defendant, set locally), so total upfront cost is commonly $130-$160. Confirm with the county's JP precinct clerk. Tex. Gov't Code § 27.031; Tex. R. Civ. P. 500-507 ↗
- Rental application fee · as of July 2026
- No statutory limit Texas Statutes ↗
- Bill of sale notarization · as of 2026
- Not required Texas DMV / DMV.ORG ↗
- Power of attorney signing · as of 2026
- Notarization required Tex. Est. Code §751.0021 (form §752.051) ↗
- LLC operating agreement · as of 2026
- Not required by statute, but it controls over the default rules Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code §§ 101.001(1), 101.052 ↗
Quitclaim deed in other states
More Texas legal forms
Different state? See quitclaim deeds by state →