Illinois property deeds
Deed rules are state law, and Illinois's differ from its neighbours 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
- County Recorder (or County Clerk)
- Witnesses
- Notary only
- Transfer tax
- State $0.50 per $500
- First-page margin
- 3″ top
- Recording fee
- ~$60 first page
- E-recording
- Generally available
Deeds Illinois 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 instrument | 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 |
Illinois does not recognize lady bird deeds. Recording one here wouldn't achieve what you want.
How a deed has to be signed in Illinois
Illinois requires the grantor's signature to be acknowledged before a notary public. No witnesses are required. Illinois deeds generally need only a notarial acknowledgment. The transfer on death instrument is the exception. It requires two credible witnesses in addition to the notary (755 ILCS 27/45).
A Illinois transfer on death deed needs 2 witnesses. An ordinary Illinois deed needs none
An Illinois transfer on death instrument must be signed by two credible witnesses in addition to being notarized (755 ILCS 27/45). No ordinary Illinois deed requires witnesses.
| Requirement | Rule |
|---|---|
| Notarization | Required for every signature |
| Witnesses | None on an ordinary deed. 2 on a transfer on death deed. |
| Preparer statement | Customary, not required |
| Grantee address on the deed | Required |
| Prior deed reference | Optional |
| Spousal joinder | Not generally required |
Illinois document formatting rules
County recorders in Illinois expect 8.5 × 11 inch paper with a 3-inch top margin on the first page and 0.5-inch margins elsewhere. Type must be at least 10 point. That top margin is the recorder's stamp area. Writing into it is the most common formatting rejection there is.
- Illinois requires a blank 3-inch by 5-inch square in the upper right corner of the first page (55 ILCS 5/3-5018).
Illinois transfer tax and recording fees
Illinois charges Real estate transfer tax at State $0.50 per $500, county $0.25 per $500, plus municipal transfer taxes in many cities (Chicago is substantially higher). Customarily paid by the grantor. Chicago and many suburbs require their own municipal transfer stamps, which must be obtained BEFORE recording. The county will reject the deed without them.
Common exemptions: deeds where consideration is less than $100, transfers between spouses, transfers into a revocable trust, and deeds correcting a prior deed.
A form has to travel with the deed
Illinois requires Form PTAX-203 Real Estate Transfer Declaration with most recorded deeds, including gifts and other exempt transfers. Recorders reject packages that are missing it.
Recording fees run about $60 for the first page. Illinois counties commonly charge a flat predictable fee; Cook County is higher.
How to hold title in Illinois
- 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.
Where to record a deed in Illinois
Deeds are recorded with the County Recorder (or County Clerk) in the county where the property is located. Illinois has 102 counties. Most offices accept e-recording through a submitting service, which is usually same-day.
Cook · DuPage · Lake · Will · Kane · McHenry · Winnebago · Madison · St. Clair · Champaign · Sangamon · Peoria. all Illinois recording offices
Why deeds get rejected in Illinois
- Illinois calls a transfer-on-death deed a transfer on death instrument (TODI), and it uniquely requires TWO witnesses plus a notary. Ordinary Illinois deeds need only the notary.
- Municipal transfer stamps, especially in Chicago, must be purchased before recording. The county recorder will reject the deed if the city stamp is missing.
- Form PTAX-203 must accompany most deeds; exempt transfers state the exemption on the face of the deed instead.
- Illinois tenancy by the entirety is available only for a married couple's homestead.
- Leave a 3-inch by 5-inch blank block in the upper right of page one.
From $39. Every Illinois 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 County Recorder (or County Clerk) 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. Illinois 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 $60 for the first page. Illinois also charges real estate transfer tax at State $0.50 per $500, county $0.25 per $500, plus municipal transfer taxes in many cities (Chicago is substantially higher).
Yes. The statute is 755 ILCS 27/1 et seq. Illinois calls it a transfer on death instrument. It must be recorded before the owner's death to be effective.
Keep reading
- Illinois quitclaim deedTransfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title.
- Illinois general warranty deedTransfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows.
- Illinois special warranty deedTransfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it.
- Illinois transfer on death instrumentNames who inherits your property, skips probate, and changes nothing while you're alive.
- Illinois 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
We provide self-help software and state-specific statutory 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.