District of Columbia property deeds
Deed rules are state law, and the District of Columbia'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 (Office of Tax and Revenue)
- Witnesses
- Notary only
- Transfer tax
- 1.1% or 1.45% each
- First-page margin
- 3″ top
- Recording fee
- $30 per document
- E-recording
- Approved submitters
Deeds the District of Columbia 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 |
The District of Columbia does not recognize lady bird deeds, so recording one here may not do what you want.
How a deed has to be signed in the District of Columbia
The District of Columbia requires the grantor's signature to be acknowledged before a notary public. No witnesses are required.
| Requirement | Rule |
|---|---|
| Notarization | Required. Each signer must appear before the notary and acknowledge the signature. |
| Witnesses | None |
| Preparer statement | Customary, not required |
| Grantee address on the deed | Not required on the deed in DC, but it must go on Form FP-7/C, where it becomes the tax-bill address. Deedly prints it on the deed as well. |
| Prior deed reference | Optional |
| Spousal joinder | Not generally required |
District of Columbia document formatting rules
A safe layout for the District of Columbia is 8.5 × 11 inch paper with a 3-inch clear space at the top of the first page for the recorder of deeds' stamp, 1-inch margins elsewhere, and no type smaller than 10 point. That is the profile Deedly formats every District of Columbia document to. Writing into the recorder's stamp area is the most common formatting rejection there is.
- The Recorder of Deeds publishes no margin or font rule, only that every document be clear and easy to read. It accepts letter (8.5 × 11) and legal (8.5 × 14) paper, printed on one side or both.
District of Columbia transfer tax and recording fees
The District of Columbia charges Recordation tax and transfer tax at 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)).
Common exemptions: 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)).
A form has to travel with the deed
The District of Columbia requires FP-7/C Real Property Recordation and Transfer Tax Form with most recorded deeds, including gifts and other exempt transfers. Recorders reject packages that are missing it.
Recording fees run $30 per document. Set by the Recorder of Deeds for the whole District: $25 per deed plus the $5 surcharge (D.C. Code § 42-1211), $30 per deed whatever its length.
See how the District of Columbia's transfer tax and recording fee compare with other states.
How to hold title in the District of Columbia
- 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. Spouses or registered DC domestic partners only (D.C. Code § 42-516(c)), with automatic survivorship and protection from the separate creditors of one of them.
Where to record a deed in the 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.
District of Columbia. the District of Columbia recording office
Why deeds get rejected in the District of Columbia
- 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.
From $29. Every District of Columbia 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 (Office of Tax and Revenue), which serves the entire District. 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. The District of Columbia 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.
$30 per document. The District of Columbia also charges recordation tax and transfer tax at 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.
Yes. The statute is D.C. Code § 19-604.01 et seq. It must be recorded before the owner's death to be effective.
Keep reading
- District of Columbia quitclaim deedTransfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title.
- District of Columbia general warranty deedTransfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows.
- District of Columbia special warranty deedTransfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it.
- District of Columbia transfer-on-death deedNames who inherits your property, skips probate, and changes nothing while you're alive.
- District of Columbia recording officeWhere to file, 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.