Kansas property deeds
Deed rules are state law, and Kansas'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
- Register of Deeds
- Witnesses
- Notary only
- Transfer tax
- None
- First-page margin
- 3″ top
- Recording fee
- $21 first page
- E-recording
- Approved submitters
Deeds Kansas 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 |
Kansas does not recognize lady bird deeds, so recording one here may not do what you want.
How a deed has to be signed in Kansas
Kansas 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 | Required when the deed is recorded: the grantee's full name and mailing address, or the address of someone the grantee names, for property tax statements (K.S.A. 58-2221). Deedly prints it on the deed. |
| Prior deed reference | Optional |
| Spousal joinder | If you are married, your spouse should sign the deed even if your spouse is not on the title. A homestead cannot be conveyed without both spouses (Kan. Const. art. 15, § 9). A surviving spouse who did not consent in writing keeps a claim to one-half of any Kansas real estate you owned during the marriage (K.S.A. 59-505). |
Kansas document formatting rules
A safe layout for Kansas is 8.5 × 11 inch paper with a 3-inch clear space at the top of the first page for the register of deeds' stamp, 1-inch margins elsewhere, and no type smaller than 10 point. That is the profile Deedly formats every Kansas document to.
- Kansas law sets no statewide margin. Each register of deeds sets its own: Johnson and Wyandotte counties ask for a 3-inch top margin on page one and 1-inch margins elsewhere, and Shawnee and Leavenworth ask for 2.5 inches. If there is no room for the recording stamp, the register adds a sheet and charges it as a page (K.S.A. 28-115(e)). Deedly leaves 3 inches, which meets every county's rule.
Kansas transfer tax and recording fees
Kansas has no state real estate transfer tax. Kansas repealed its mortgage registration tax and has no deed transfer tax.
A questionnaire or an exemption statement has to travel with the deed
Kansas requires a Real Estate Sales Validation Questionnaire with every deed that transfers title, unless one of 16 exemptions in K.S.A. 79-1437e applies. Gifts stated in the deed, transfers to or from a trust without consideration, divorce transfers and deeds that only create a joint tenancy are among them. An exempt deed needs no questionnaire, but the deed itself must state the exemption. Recorders refuse a deed that has neither. A transfer-on-death deed needs no questionnaire and no exemption statement (Property Valuation Division Directive 19-041, item 15).
The exemptions in K.S.A. 79-1437e(a) are transfers of title:
- (1) recorded before the questionnaire law took effect (July 1, 1991)
- (2) made only to secure or release security for a debt or other obligation
- (3) made to confirm, correct, modify or supplement a deed already recorded, without additional consideration
- (4) by way of gift, donation or contribution stated in the deed
- (5) to cemetery lots
- (6) by leases and transfers of severed mineral interests
- (7) to or from a trust, without consideration
- (8) resulting from a divorce settlement where one party transfers an interest in the property to the other
- (9) made only to create a joint tenancy or tenancy in common
- (10) by a sheriff's deed
- (11) by a deed held in escrow for more than five years
- (12) by a quitclaim deed filed to clear title encumbrances
- (13) conveying a right-of-way, or under eminent domain
- (14) by a guardian, executor, administrator, conservator or trustee of an estate under a court order
- (15) due to repossession
- (16) releasing an equitable lien on a recorded affidavit of equitable interest, without additional consideration
Recording fees run $21 for the first page and $17 per additional page. Set by state law (K.S.A. 28-115) and the same in every Kansas county. Add $1 if a signer's or the notary's name is not typed or printed under the signature.
See how Kansas's transfer tax and recording fee compare with other states.
How to hold title in Kansas
- 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.
Where to record a deed in Kansas
Deeds are recorded with the Register of Deeds in the county where the property is located. Kansas has 105 counties. Many offices accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders.
Johnson · Sedgwick · Shawnee · Wyandotte · Douglas · Leavenworth. all Kansas recording offices
Why deeds get rejected in Kansas
- Kansas has no real estate transfer tax. A deed that transfers title now must be accompanied by a completed Real Estate Sales Validation Questionnaire or state its exemption on its face (K.S.A. 79-1437c, 79-1437e), and the register of deeds cannot add the exemption for you. A transfer-on-death deed needs neither.
- Kansas homestead protection is constitutional and strong: both spouses must sign to convey the homestead regardless of whose name is on the title.
- Kansas authorized transfer-on-death deeds in 1997, making it one of the earliest adopters.
From $29. Every Kansas 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 Register 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. Kansas 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.
$21 for the first page and $17 per additional page. Kansas has no state transfer tax.
Yes. The statute is K.S.A. § 59-3501 et seq. It must be recorded before the owner's death to be effective.
Keep reading
- Kansas quitclaim deedTransfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title.
- Kansas general warranty deedTransfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows.
- Kansas special warranty deedTransfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it.
- Kansas transfer-on-death deedNames who inherits your property, skips probate, and changes nothing while you're alive.
- Kansas 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.