Missouri quitclaim deed
Here is what Missouri actually requires on a quitclaim deed. The witness rules, the notary block, the margins, the forms that have to travel with it, and where to record it, plus what the deed does and does not do.
- Recording office
- Recorder of Deeds
- Witnesses
- Notary only
- Transfer tax
- None
- First-page margin
- 3″ top
- Recording fee
- ~$19 first page
- E-recording
- Approved submitters
What a quitclaim deed does in Missouri
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 Missouri law behind this deed
Missouri 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.
| What it governs | Citation |
|---|---|
| Conveyances generally | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 442.020 |
| Recording with the Recorder of Deeds | Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 442.380 to 442.400, 59.310, 59.330 |
| Homestead and spousal consent | Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 513.475, 474.150 |
When Missouri homeowners 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
What Missouri requires on the deed
These are the execution and formatting rules recorders of deeds enforce. Getting any of them wrong is the usual reason a deed comes back in the mail.
| Requirement | What Missouri says |
|---|---|
| Recording office | Recorder of Deeds |
| 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 | Recommended so the original comes back to you. |
| Preparer statement | Not required, but customary. |
| 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, 0.75-inch margins elsewhere, nothing under 8pt. This is the profile Deedly applies. |
A spouse may have to sign even if they are not an owner
When a married owner conveys, the owner's spouse must join in the deed even if not on title. A conveyance of the homestead by one spouse alone is void (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 513.475.2). Any other conveyance made without the spouse's joinder or written assent is presumed to defraud the spouse's marital rights if the spouse survives the owner (§ 474.150.2).
How to complete and record it in Missouri
- Find your current deedYou need the legal description from it, word for word. If you can't find your copy, the Recorder of Deeds 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 Missouri 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 Recorder of DeedsFile in the county where the property is located and pay the recording fee. 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.
- Update 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 Missouri
| Cost | Typical amount |
|---|---|
| Recording fee | About $19 for the first page and roughly $3 per additional page |
| Transfer tax | None in this state |
| Notary | Missouri caps a notary's fee for an acknowledgment at $5 per signature, plus any travel fee agreed in advance (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 486.685). |
| Deedly | $29, one time (launch price, regular $39) |
| Attorney (for comparison) | $150–$700 for the same statutory document |
Missouri imposes no state real estate transfer tax, so the recording fee is normally your only cost beyond notarization.
Where to record it in Missouri
Missouri deeds are recorded with the Recorder of Deeds in the county where the property sits, not where you live. There are 114 counties in Missouri.
Many Missouri 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 Missouri: St. Louis County, Jackson, St. Charles, Greene, St. Louis City, Clay, Jefferson, Boone. See all Missouri recording offices.
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 Missouri law that catch people out
- Page one must state whether each grantor is married or unmarried (Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 442.130.2, 59.310.2).
- The recorder will not record a deed without a legal description and a mailing address for at least one grantee (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 59.330).
- Nothing may be written or stamped in the top 3 inches of page one. A recorder may refuse a document that breaks Missouri's format rules, or record it as non-standard for an extra $25 (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 59.310.1, .3).
- A married owner's spouse must sign the deed, even if not on title: one spouse alone cannot convey the homestead (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 513.475.2).
- In the City of St. Louis, every grantee must also sign the deed before a notary, and the deed must give the grantor's residence address; the Recorder will not record a deed without them (St. Louis Rev. Code §§ 15.152.030, 15.152.040). The grantee must first file a Certificate of Value with the City Assessor (§ 5.70.010).
- Missouri has 114 counties plus the independent City of St. Louis, 115 recording offices in all. The City of St. Louis is not part of St. Louis County and has its own Recorder of Deeds, so check which one the property is in before you record.
- Missouri's constitution bars the state, counties and other political subdivisions from imposing any new tax on the sale or transfer of real estate (Mo. Const. art. X, § 25).
- A conveyance to a married couple is presumed to create a tenancy by the entirety, which protects the property from creditors of only one spouse.
How to hold title in Missouri
When two or more people take title in Missouri 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 Missouri: tenancy by the entirety (married couples only), joint tenancy with right of survivorship, and tenancy in common.
Married couples
A conveyance to a married couple in Missouri is presumed to create a tenancy by the entirety.
$29, one time. Your finished deed appears in full before you pay, with Missouri's witness rules, margins, and recording instructions already applied.
Common questions
No. Missouri 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 Recorder of Deeds. Deedly produces all of that for $29, 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 around $19 for the first page and roughly $3 per additional page. Missouri has no state real estate transfer tax, so the recording fee is normally the whole cost. Missouri's statutes set a base charge of $19 for a deed's first page and $3 for each page after it ($5 and $3 under Mo. Rev. Stat. § 59.310.6, plus a $6 user fee under § 59.319.1, a $3 housing trust fee under § 59.319.2 and a $5 fee under § 59.800.1), and every office we read charges more, so the fee varies by county: $23 in Jackson County and the City of St. Louis, and $26 in Clay County and St. Louis County. Some county schedules are undated and may not show the August 28, 2026 increase in the user fee. Confirm the fee with your recorder before you send a check.
No. Missouri requires only that the grantor's signature be acknowledged before a notary public. Forms that show witness lines are usually generic templates borrowed from another state.
With the Recorder of Deeds in the county where the property is located, not where you live, and not where the buyer lives. Missouri has 114 counties. Many offices in this state also accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies.
No, and this is the single most common misunderstanding about deeds. A deed changes who owns the property. The mortgage is a separate contract with the lender, and only a refinance or a written release from the lender removes a borrower. Someone can be off the deed and still fully liable on the loan.
Often, yes. When a married owner conveys, the owner's spouse must join in the deed even if not on title. A conveyance of the homestead by one spouse alone is void (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 513.475.2). Any other conveyance made without the spouse's joinder or written assent is presumed to defraud the spouse's marital rights if the spouse survives the owner (§ 474.150.2). 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
- Missouri general warranty deedTransfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows.
- Missouri special warranty deedTransfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it.
- Missouri beneficiary deedNames who inherits your property, skips probate, and changes nothing while you're alive.
- Missouri life estate deedYou keep the right to live in the property for life; named remaindermen own it after you.
- All deed rules for MissouriRecording offices, transfer tax, witness rules, and fees.
- Missouri 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.