Arkansas beneficiary deed
A beneficiary deed lets you name who inherits your Arkansas property without probate, while you keep full control, including the power to sell or mortgage it without anyone's signature. Here is exactly what Arkansas requires, what it costs, and where to file it.
- Recording office
- County Recorder (the Circuit Clerk in most counties)
- Witnesses
- Notary only
- Transfer tax
- None when recorded
- First-page margin
- 3″ top
- Recording fee
- $15 first page
- E-recording
- Approved submitters
What a beneficiary deed does in Arkansas
A transfer-on-death deed (a beneficiary deed in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado and Missouri) names the person who should receive your real estate when you die. You record it now, but it transfers nothing until death: you keep full ownership, you can sell or mortgage the property, and you can revoke the deed at any time without your beneficiary's consent. When you die, the property passes outside probate. Your beneficiaries then record the documents your state requires to show them as the owners; in a few states that filing has a deadline, or is what completes the transfer.
In Arkansas the governing statute is Ark. Code Ann. § 18-12-608.
The Arkansas law behind this deed
Start with Ark. Code Ann. § 18-12-608 if you want to read the statute's own language. The table below lists the main statutes behind the rules on this page.
| What it governs | Citation |
|---|---|
| Beneficiary deeds specifically | Ark. Code Ann. § 18-12-608 |
| Conveyances generally | Ark. Code Ann. § 18-12-102 |
| Recording with the County Recorder (the Circuit Clerk in most counties) | Ark. Code Ann. §§ 14-15-402, 14-15-403 |
| Homestead and spousal consent | Ark. Code Ann. § 18-12-403 (spousal consent to convey a homestead); Ark. Const. art. 9, § 3 (homestead exemption from creditors) |
| Transfer tax | Ark. Code Ann. § 26-60-105 |
When Arkansas property owners use a beneficiary deed
- Leave a house to your children without probate
- Keep real estate out of a will contest
- Get probate avoidance without paying for a full living trust
- Name a backup beneficiary in case your first choice dies first
- Revoke or change an earlier beneficiary designation
What Arkansas requires on the deed
These are the execution and formatting rules county recorders enforce. Getting any of them wrong is the usual reason a deed comes back in the mail.
| Requirement | What Arkansas says |
|---|---|
| Recording office | County Recorder (the Circuit Clerk in most counties) |
| Notarization | Required. Each signer must appear before the notary and acknowledge the signature. Signing in front of the notary is the safest practice. |
| Witnesses | None required. A notarial acknowledgment is enough. |
| Legal description | Required, copied exactly from the prior recorded deed. A street address is not sufficient. |
| Grantee's address | Must appear on the face of the deed. |
| Return address | Include a 'when recorded, return to' block so the original comes back to you. Deedly always prints one. |
| Preparer statement | Required: the preparer's name and address on page one (Ark. Code Ann. § 14-15-403). Deedly prints it. |
| Prior deed reference | Not required, though it keeps the chain of title clean. |
| Page setup | 8.5 × 11 in, 3-inch clear space at the top of page one, 1-inch margins elsewhere, nothing under 10pt. This is the profile Deedly applies. |
| Accompanying form | None when you record it. |
| Timing | Must be recorded before the owner's death. Recording it afterwards has no effect. |
A spouse may have to sign even if they are not an owner
If you are married, your spouse must sign and be named in the notary acknowledgment to release dower or curtesy (Ark. Code Ann. §§ 18-12-402, 28-11-201) and, if the property is your homestead, homestead rights (§ 18-12-403).
How to complete and record it in Arkansas
- Find your current deedYou need the legal description from it, word for word. If you can't find your copy, the County Recorder (the Circuit Clerk in most counties) can provide one, usually for a few dollars.
- Identify everyone by full legal nameNames must match the current deed and government ID exactly, middle names included. A mismatch creates a gap in the chain of title that shows up years later at closing.
- Complete the deedDeedly builds it with the wording, notary certificate, and 3-inch first-page margin used for Arkansas deeds.
- Sign in front of a notaryBring photo ID. Wait to sign until you are in front of the notary: you have to appear before the notary anyway, and signing there leaves no question about who signed.
- Record it with the County Recorder (the Circuit Clerk in most counties)File in the county where the property is located and pay the recording fee. The owner must present the deed with a valid photo ID card or driver's license, or mail it with a photocopy of that ID, unless an attorney, real estate agent, title agent or lender presents it (Ark. Code Ann. § 14-15-403(f)). Many offices in this state also accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies. Keep the stamped receipt. It fixes your priority date.
- Tell your beneficiaries where it isAfter your death they record proof of it, such as a certified death certificate or an affidavit of death, with the County Recorder (the Circuit Clerk in most counties) so the land records show them as the owners.
What it costs in Arkansas
| Cost | Typical amount |
|---|---|
| Recording fee | $15 for the first page and $5 per additional page |
| Transfer tax | None when recorded |
| Notary | Arkansas sets no fixed maximum: a notary may charge a reasonable fee that is disclosed to you and agreed before the notarization (Ark. Code Ann. § 21-6-309). |
| Deedly | $49, one time (launch price, regular $69) |
| Attorney (for comparison) | $150–$700 for the same statutory document |
No real property transfer tax is due on a beneficiary deed (Ark. Code Ann. § 26-60-102(12)), and Deedly prints that exemption on the deed. If the recorder still asks for the DFA Real Property Transfer Tax Affidavit of Compliance, mark its box for a beneficiary deed.
Where to record it in Arkansas
Arkansas deeds are recorded with the County Recorder (the Circuit Clerk in most counties) in the county where the property sits, not where you live. There are 75 counties in Arkansas.
Many Arkansas recording offices accept e-recording through vendors such as Simplifile, CSC, or ePN. E-recording is generally open only to approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders, so if you prepared the deed yourself, plan to record in person or by mail. Some offices accept filings from the public through those vendors; your county's website will say.
Recording offices we cover in Arkansas: Pulaski, Benton, Washington, Saline, Sebastian, Faulkner, Craighead. See all Arkansas recording offices.
What a beneficiary deed does NOT do
Being honest about the limits is more useful than a sales pitch. Every one of these catches somebody out.
- Only 34 states plus DC recognize it. Recording one in a state that does not accept it accomplishes nothing.
- It does not clear the mortgage. Your beneficiary takes the property subject to any loan, lien, or judgment against it.
- It does not settle Medicaid estate recovery. Since 2021 Arkansas's estate recovery statute reaches a Medicaid recipient's estate and no longer names property received through a beneficiary deed (Ark. Code Ann. § 20-76-436). Ask an elder law attorney how that applies to you.
- The beneficiary receives no ownership interest until you die. They cannot be added as a co-owner this way.
- If a beneficiary dies before you, what happens to their share depends on state law: in some states it passes to the other beneficiaries or to the beneficiary's descendants, in others it fails. Naming an alternate, where your state's form allows one, avoids the question.
Quirks of Arkansas law that catch people out
- Arkansas still recognizes dower and curtesy. A married owner's spouse must sign, even when the spouse is not on the title. Without that signature a deed of the family home is void, and a deed of other land passes subject to the spouse's dower or curtesy.
- Arkansas calls a transfer-on-death deed a beneficiary deed (Ark. Code Ann. § 18-12-608).
- An Arkansas deed must show on its face, signed by the grantee, that the correct transfer tax stamps are attached or that no tax is due, with the grantee's address. The recorder will not record it otherwise (Ark. Code Ann. § 26-60-110).
- Since August 5, 2025, the grantor has to present an Arkansas deed at the recorder's office with photo ID, or mail it with a photocopy of the grantor's ID. The recorder rejects a deed that arrives without it (Ark. Code Ann. § 14-15-403(f)).
$49, one time. Your finished deed appears in full before you pay, with Arkansas's witness rules, margins, and recording instructions already applied.
Common questions
No. Arkansas has no requirement that an attorney prepare a deed. What matters is the correct statutory language, an accurate legal description, proper notarization, and recording with the County Recorder (the Circuit Clerk in most counties). Deedly produces all of that for $49, versus roughly $150–$700 for an attorney to draft the same document. If ownership is disputed, the current owner has died without probate, or the transfer is tax-sensitive, use an attorney.
Expect $15 for the first page and $5 per additional page. No real property transfer tax is due on a beneficiary deed (Ark. Code Ann. § 26-60-102(12)), and Deedly prints that exemption on the deed. If the recorder still asks for the DFA Real Property Transfer Tax Affidavit of Compliance, mark its box for a beneficiary deed. Set by state law and the same in every Arkansas county: $15 for the first page (one side) and $5 for each additional page (Ark. Code Ann. § 21-6-306). The copy of the grantor's photo ID that the recorder attaches to a deed is recorded with it (§ 14-15-403(f)(1)(C)), so allow for one more page. A document that misses the format rules can cost $25 more.
No. Arkansas requires only that the grantor's signature be acknowledged before a notary public. Arkansas does not require witnesses on a deed that is acknowledged before a notary. An old statute (Ark. Code Ann. § 18-12-104) still describes signing before two witnesses, and a deed can also be proved for recording by a subscribing witness under oath instead of acknowledged. Deedly always uses the notarized route, which is what recorders expect.
With the County Recorder (the Circuit Clerk in most counties) in the county where the property is located, not where you live, and not where the buyer lives. Arkansas has 75 counties. Many offices in this state also accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies.
Yes. Beneficiary deeds are revocable during your lifetime. You can record a revocation, record a new one naming different beneficiaries, or simply sell the property. You don't need your beneficiary's permission for any of it.
Yes, for this property. On your death the property passes directly to the people you named, outside probate. They then record proof of your death with the County Recorder (the Circuit Clerk in most counties) so the public record shows the change. It doesn't avoid probate for anything else you own, it doesn't clear the mortgage, and it doesn't protect the property from your creditors.
Often, yes. If you are married, your spouse must sign and be named in the notary acknowledgment to release dower or curtesy (Ark. Code Ann. §§ 18-12-402, 28-11-201) and, if the property is your homestead, homestead rights (§ 18-12-403). That surprises people, because the spouse is not becoming an owner. They are releasing rights the law gives them automatically. Deedly adds a joinder block for the signature when it applies.
Keep reading
- Arkansas quitclaim deedTransfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title.
- Arkansas general warranty deedTransfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows.
- Arkansas special warranty deedTransfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it.
- Arkansas life estate deedYou keep the right to live in the property for life; named remaindermen own it after you.
- All deed rules for ArkansasRecording offices, transfer tax, witness rules, and fees.
- Arkansas recording officesWhere to file in each county.
Deedly is not a law firm
Its software and documents are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. We provide self-help software and state-specific deed forms; you make your own decisions about your property. Using Deedly does not create an attorney-client relationship, and nothing here is legal advice. If your situation is complex or contested, talk to a licensed attorney in your state.