District of Columbia quitclaim deed

What a quitclaim deed does in the District of Columbia

A quitclaim deed moves your interest in a property to someone else immediately, without guaranteeing that the title is clean. That makes it the wrong tool for a sale to a stranger and the right tool for transfers between people who already trust each other. Spouses, family members, a trust you control, or an LLC you own.

The District of Columbia law behind this deed

The District of Columbia has no section written specifically for quitclaim deeds. The instrument runs on the general conveyancing and recording statutes below, which is why the requirements here look like those for any other deed in the state.

When District of Columbia property owners use a quitclaim deed

• Add a spouse to the deed after marriage
• Remove an ex-spouse after a divorce
• Transfer property into a living trust
• Move property into an LLC you own
• Transfer between family members
• Correct a misspelled name or a scrivener's error on a prior deed
• Clear a possible cloud on title

In the District a transfer into an LLC you own is taxed on the property's value; only a statutory entity conversion is exempt (D.C. Code § 42-1102(22)). A transfer between family members is taxed on the property's assessed value too, unless it is between spouses, registered domestic partners, parent and child, or grandparent and grandchild with nothing paid (D.C. Code §§ 42-1102(7), 47-902(5)).

What the District of Columbia requires on the deed

These are the execution rules for District of Columbia deeds and the layout Deedly uses. The Recorder of Deeds publishes no margin or font rule, only that documents be clear and legible on letter or legal paper.

How to complete and record it in the District of Columbia

1. 1Find your current deedYou need the legal description from it, word for word. If you can't find your copy, the Recorder of Deeds (Office of Tax and Revenue) can provide one, usually for a few dollars.
2. 2Identify 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.
3. 3Complete the deedDeedly builds it with the wording, notary certificate, and 3-inch first-page margin used for District of Columbia deeds.
4. 4Sign 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.
5. 5Complete FP-7/C Real Property Recordation and Transfer Tax FormThe Recorder of Deeds requires it with every deed, including exempt transfers. Every grantor and every grantee signs its Part J under oath in front of a notary, so the person receiving the property signs too. Your filing packet explains which parts to fill in.
6. 6Record it with the Recorder of Deeds (Office of Tax and Revenue)File with the Recorder of Deeds, which serves the entire District, and pay the recording fee. Record within 30 days of signing: after that the District charges a $250 late fee (D.C. Code §§ 47-1431, 47-1433). The Recorder of Deeds accepts every type of document by e-recording through three vendors: CSC/Ingeo, Simplifile and ePN. To e-record, contact one of them; otherwise record in person or by mail. Keep the stamped receipt. It fixes your priority date.
7. 7Update insurance and tax recordsA change of ownership can affect your homeowner's policy, your homestead or senior exemption, and in some states the assessed value. Do this within a few weeks.

What it costs in the District of Columbia

The District of Columbia charges a recordation tax and transfer tax of 1.1% or 1.45% each, meaning 1.1% each when a residential property sells for less than $400,000, and 1.45% each on the whole price at $400,000 or more and on all non-residential property. If nothing is paid, or the price is nominal (less than 30% of the property's value, so a $10 recital counts), both taxes are figured on the current assessed value (D.C. Code §§ 42-1103(a)(1)(A), 47-903(a)(1)(B)). So a gift is taxed unless an exemption applies: a gift to a sibling, niece, nephew, friend or an unregistered partner owes both taxes. By law the seller (grantor) owes the transfer tax, and the buyer becomes liable only if the seller does not pay (§ 47-903(c)). Buyer and seller are both liable for the recordation tax (§ 42-1103(c)). A qualifying first-time DC homebuyer pays recordation tax at 0.725% (Form ROD 11; § 42-1103(e)).

Exemptions that commonly apply to a transfer like this: deeds between spouses or registered domestic partners with nothing paid (D.C. Code §§ 42-1102(7), 47-902(5)), deeds between parent and child or grandparent and grandchild with nothing paid (D.C. Code §§ 42-1102(7), 47-902(5)), deeds under a divorce decree or separation agreement (D.C. Code §§ 42-1102(26), 47-902(20)), and deeds of bare legal title into your own revocable trust with nothing paid where you are its beneficiary (D.C. Code §§ 42-1102(17), 47-902(12)). You have to claim the exemption. The recorder won't apply it for you.

Where to record it in the District of Columbia

District of Columbia deeds are recorded with the Recorder of Deeds (Office of Tax and Revenue), which serves the entire District.

The Recorder of Deeds accepts every type of document by e-recording through three vendors: CSC/Ingeo, Simplifile and ePN. To e-record, contact one of them; otherwise record in person or by mail.

Recording a deed in the District of Columbia: the office's address, fees and how to file.

What a quitclaim deed does NOT do

Being honest about the limits is more useful than a sales pitch. Every one of these catches somebody out.

• It gives the new owner no warranty that the title is good. If a lien or a competing claim surfaces later, the grantee has no claim against the grantor under the deed.
• It does not remove anyone from the mortgage. The lender's loan is a separate contract; only a refinance or a release from the lender does that.
• It does not by itself avoid probate. The transfer happens now, not at death.
• A title insurer may decline to insure, or ask for more, when the chain of title rests on a quitclaim, especially one from an unknown party.

Quirks of District of Columbia law that catch people out

• The District has a single Recorder of Deeds within the Office of Tax and Revenue. There is no county layer.
• Form FP-7/C must accompany every deed, including exempt transfers, and every grantor and every grantee signs it under oath before a notary (D.C. Code §§ 42-1103(b), 47-903(b)).
• A District deed must be signed and sealed (D.C. Code §§ 42-306(b), 42-404(b)). Deedly prints "(SEAL)" after each owner's signature line.
• Every deed must give the property's lot and square: its square, suffix and lot (SSL), and any Assessment and Taxation (A&T) lot (D.C. Code § 47-1431(a)).
• A deed that transfers ownership must be recorded within 30 days after it is signed, or the new owner pays a $250 late fee (D.C. Code §§ 47-1431, 47-1433).
• The Recorder of Deeds cannot record a deed while real property tax or other District charges on the property are owing (D.C. Code § 42-407(2)).
• DC recognizes transfer-on-death deeds under its version of the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act.
• Both recordation tax and transfer tax apply to the same transaction, which effectively doubles the rate people expect.

How to hold title in the District of Columbia

When two or more people take title in the District of Columbia and the deed says nothing more, the law presumes a tenancy in common, which means no automatic survivorship. If you want the survivor to take the whole property, the words have to be on the deed. Forms of co-ownership available in the District of Columbia: tenancy by the entirety (spouses and registered DC domestic partners), joint tenancy with right of survivorship, and tenancy in common.