Delaware property deeds
Deed rules are state law, and Delaware's differ from its neighbors in ways that decide whether your document records or comes back. Here is the whole picture: which deeds exist here, how they have to be signed, what the recorder wants on the page, and what it costs.
- Recording office
- Recorder of Deeds
- Witnesses
- Notary only
- Transfer tax
- 4% in most places
- First-page margin
- Set by county
- Recording fee
- ~$55 first page
- E-recording
- Approved submitters
Deeds Delaware recognizes
| Deed | What it does | Available? |
|---|---|---|
| Quitclaim deed | Transfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title. | Yes |
| General warranty deed | Transfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows. | Yes |
| Special warranty deed | Transfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it. | Yes |
| Transfer on death deed | Names who inherits your property, skips probate, and changes nothing while you're alive. | Yes |
| Lady Bird Deed | An enhanced life estate deed: you keep total control for life, and the property passes automatically at death. | No |
| Life estate deed | You keep the right to live in the property for life; named remaindermen own it after you. | Yes, less common |
| Gift deed | Transfers property to someone as an outright gift, for no payment. | Yes, less common |
Delaware does not recognize lady bird deeds, so recording one here may not do what you want.
How a deed has to be signed in Delaware
Delaware requires the grantor's signature to be acknowledged before a notary public. No witnesses are required. Delaware's own short-form deed (25 Del. C. § 121) shows witness lines, and many Delaware deeds carry one, but a witness is not required for an ordinary deed to be valid or recorded.
A Delaware transfer on death deed needs 2 witnesses. An ordinary Delaware deed needs none
A Delaware transfer on death deed must be witnessed by two people, at least one of whom is not a beneficiary (25 Del. C. § 209(2)), and every signature on it, the witnesses' included, must be notarized (§ 209(1)). An ordinary Delaware deed needs no witnesses.
| Requirement | Rule |
|---|---|
| Notarization | Required. Each signer must appear before the notary and acknowledge the signature. |
| Witnesses | None on an ordinary deed. 2 on a transfer on death deed. |
| Preparer statement | Required. Page one must say "Prepared by" followed by the preparer's name and address (9 Del. C. § 9605(h)). Deedly prints it. |
| Tax parcel number | Required on page one (9 Del. C. § 9605(f)). Deedly prints it at the top, above the preparer's name and address. |
| Grantee address on the deed | Required |
| Prior deed reference | Customary in Delaware, and Kent County asks for the deed book, page and instrument number on a transfer on death deed. Deedly prints a BEING clause for it under the legal description. |
| Spousal joinder | Not generally required |
Delaware document formatting rules
Deedly formats every Delaware document on 8.5 × 11 inch paper, with 1-inch side margins and no type smaller than 12 point, and lays out page one for the county you choose. Each county's recorder sets its own rules for page one (9 Del. C. § 9605(g)), listed below and on each county's recording office page.
- Delaware's three recorders each set their own page-one layout (9 Del. C. § 9605(g)). All use 8.5 × 11 inch paper and want the tax parcel number, the words "Prepared by" with the preparer's name and address, and the return address at the top of page one. New Castle and Sussex require type of at least 12 point.
- Deedly lays out page one for the county you choose, where its recorder asks: the tax parcel number, the PREPARED BY block and the return address in the upper right corner in New Castle County, at the left margin within the top third of the page in Kent County, and in the upper left inside the 2-inch top margin in Sussex County (the return address just below that margin). Each county's recording office page gives its rules.
Delaware transfer tax and recording fees
Delaware charges Realty transfer tax at 4% in most places (2.5% to the state and 1.5% to the county or town), on the price or the property's highest assessed value, whichever is greater. Who pays is negotiated between the parties. The state rate is 3% of the value, or 2.5% where the county or town has enacted the full 1.5% local tax, which is the usual case (30 Del. C. § 5402(a)). Where the local tax is less than the full 1.5%, the state rate stays 3%: Hartly, Kenton and Woodside in Kent County have a 1% local tax, and Arden, Ardentown and Ardencroft pay 3% in all, because New Castle County lists no local tax for them. The 4% already includes the county or town share, so nothing is added on top. Some towns collect their share at town hall and stamp the deed before the recorder will take it, so check whether the property is inside town limits. We could not confirm every town's rate (Wilmington's, for one), so ask the county Recorder for the property's. The value is the price including liens, or the property's highest assessed value if that is higher, unless a lower fair market value is shown, which an arm's-length sale between unrelated parties does (§ 5401(4)). Delaware's code says the state tax is to be apportioned equally between grantor and grantee (§ 5402(a)), and also that between the parties, absent an agreement to the contrary, the burden of paying it is on the grantor (§ 5412). Either way the parties can agree otherwise, and the Division of Revenue says the tax is typically shared equally. To the State, every person who makes, accepts or presents a taxable document for recording is liable for the tax (§ 5402(a)). We could not find which rule governs when a contract says nothing, so agree in writing who pays before you record.
Common exemptions: between spouses (30 Del. C. § 5401(1)g), between former spouses after the final divorce decree for property acquired during the marriage (§ 5401(1)h), between parent and child or the child's spouse (§ 5401(1)i), between siblings including half siblings and step siblings (§ 5401(1)w), between grandparent and grandchild or the grandchild's spouse (§ 5401(1)aa), to a trustee or nominee for the grantor as beneficial owner and back from that trustee to the beneficial owner (§ 5401(1)j), correction deeds with no payment (§ 5401(1)l), to or from a company whose owners hold it in the same shares as they held the property (§ 5401(1)n), and the first-time home buyer reduction of the buyer's state share by 0.5% of up to $400,000 of value (at most $2,000) claimed on Schedule RTT-SCH (§ 5402(c)).
Transfer tax forms have to travel with the deed
Every Delaware deed except a transfer on death deed is recorded with Form RTT-TAX, the state's Realty Transfer Tax Return, even when no tax is due, and the grantor signs it in front of a notary. Each county adds its own: New Castle its Realty Transfer Tax Return for property outside town limits, signed by the grantor and the grantee before a notary; Kent its transfer tax affidavits and New Property Owner Information Form; Sussex the parcel's General Information Sheet. A grantor who is not a Delaware resident also files Form REW-EST (9 Del. C. § 9607(e)).
Recording fees run about $55 for the first page and roughly $15 per additional page. Recording fees vary by county. Each county adds its own charges to the $30 state document fee (9 Del. C. §§ 9607(b), 9617, 9619). Where a page gives one Delaware figure instead of a county's, it is New Castle County's. A three-page deed costs about $85 in New Castle, $71 in Kent and $58 in Sussex County.
See how Delaware's transfer tax and recording fee compare with other states.
How to hold title in Delaware
- Sole ownership. One person owns everything.
- Tenancy in common. Separate, divisible shares with no survivorship. A deceased owner's share goes to their heirs.
- Joint tenancy with right of survivorship. Equal shares; the survivor takes the whole property automatically.
- Tenancy by the entirety. Married couples only, with automatic survivorship and, in most states that allow it, protection from one spouse's creditors.
What the law presumes for married couples
A deed to a married couple is presumed to create a tenancy by the entirety in Delaware.
Where to record a deed in Delaware
Deeds are recorded with the Recorder of Deeds in the county where the property is located. Delaware has 3 counties. Many offices accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders.
New Castle · Sussex · Kent. all Delaware recording offices
Why deeds get rejected in Delaware
- Delaware has only three counties (New Castle, Kent and Sussex), so there are just three recording offices statewide.
- Every deed must show the county tax parcel number, and the words "Prepared by" with the preparer's name and address, on page one, or the recorder will not record it (9 Del. C. § 9605(f), (h)).
- Delaware's realty transfer tax, 4% in most places, is one of the highest in the US, and a gift is taxed on the property's highest assessed value unless an exemption applies. A transfer on death deed owes none.
- Delaware allowed transfer on death deeds starting December 4, 2025. Almost everything written before then says Delaware has none.
- A Delaware TOD deed needs two witnesses, and at least one of them cannot be a beneficiary. Ordinary Delaware deeds need no witnesses at all.
- Only an individual can make a Delaware transfer on death deed, and only individuals can be its beneficiaries: not a trust, charity or company (25 Del. C. §§ 202, 205).
- Tenancy by the entirety is available and is the default presumption for married couples taking title together.
From $29. Every Delaware rule above is applied automatically, and you read the finished document before you pay.
Common questions
You sign a deed, have it notarized, and record it with the Recorder of Deeds in the county where the property sits. Which deed depends on what you're doing: a quitclaim for family transfers and adding or removing a name, a warranty deed for a sale, and a transfer-on-death deed for probate avoidance.
No. Delaware does not require an attorney to prepare or record a deed. Use one when ownership is disputed, when the owner has died and the estate has not been probated, when the estate is large enough to owe tax, or when Medicaid planning is involved.
About $55 for the first page and roughly $15 per additional page. Delaware also charges realty transfer tax at 4% in most places (2.5% to the state and 1.5% to the county or town), on the price or the property's highest assessed value, whichever is greater.
Yes. The statute is Del. Code tit. 25, ch. 2. Delaware calls it a transfer on death deed. It must be recorded before the owner's death to be effective.
Keep reading
- Delaware quitclaim deedTransfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title.
- Delaware general warranty deedTransfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows.
- Delaware special warranty deedTransfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it.
- Delaware transfer on death deedNames who inherits your property, skips probate, and changes nothing while you're alive.
- Delaware recording officesWhere to file in each county, with fees and contact details.
- Compare all 51 jurisdictionsWitness rules, transfer taxes, and recording fees side by side.
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.