Pennsylvania property deeds

Deeds Pennsylvania recognizes

Pennsylvania does not recognize transfer-on-death deeds and lady bird deeds, so recording one here may not do what you want.

How a deed has to be signed in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania requires the grantor's signature to be acknowledged before a notary public. No witnesses are required. Many Pennsylvania deeds, following the statutory form of deed in 21 P.S. § 1, still carry "signed and delivered in the presence of" witness lines, but witnesses are optional.

Pennsylvania document formatting rules

A safe layout for Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania document to. Writing into the recorder's stamp area is the most common formatting rejection there is.

Pennsylvania transfer tax and recording fees

Pennsylvania charges Realty transfer tax at 1% state, plus local (typically 1%, but Philadelphia's combined rate is 4.578% and Pittsburgh's is 5%). The family exclusion covers spouses, parents and stepparents and their children, siblings, and grandparents and grandchildren, including the spouses of children, siblings and grandchildren (72 P.S. § 8102-C.3(6)). Aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins are not excluded, and if the grantee resells within one year, tax is due as if the original grantor had sold. A gift to anyone else is taxed on the property's computed value (the assessed value times the county's common level ratio factor), and a deed to your own LLC or corporation is fully taxable (61 Pa. Code § 91.154(a)). A transfer out of a living trust during the settlor's life is taxed as if the settlor made it directly. In a sale, buyer and seller are both liable for all of the tax, and they may agree between themselves who pays it (61 Pa. Code § 91.111(b)). Philadelphia's Department of Records says the tax is usually split evenly between buyer and seller, but that this is not a legal requirement.

Common exemptions: transfers between spouses, or between former spouses of property acquired before the final divorce decree, transfers between a parent or stepparent and a child or the child's spouse, transfers between siblings or a sibling's spouse, transfers between a grandparent and a grandchild or the grandchild's spouse, transfers for no or nominal consideration from a settlor into the settlor's own living trust, with a complete copy of the trust agreement filed, and transfers for no or nominal consideration from a living trust back to the settlor, or to a beneficiary after the settlor's death.

Recording fees run about $87.75 per document. Each Pennsylvania county sets its own flat fee to record a deed, not a per-page fee, and the fees vary a great deal: Montgomery County charges $87.75 and Chester County $94.75 for up to four pages, with small extra charges per page, name and parcel beyond that; Allegheny County's standard fee is $200 and Philadelphia's is $278.75 (2026 county schedules). Confirm the fee with your county before you mail a check.

See how Pennsylvania's transfer tax and recording fee compare with other states.

How to hold title in Pennsylvania

• 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 Pennsylvania

Deeds are recorded with the Recorder of Deeds in the county where the property is located. Pennsylvania has 67 counties. Many offices accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders.

Philadelphia · Allegheny · Montgomery · Bucks · Delaware · Lancaster · Chester · York · Berks · Westmoreland. all Pennsylvania recording offices

Why deeds get rejected in Pennsylvania

• Transfers between spouses, parents (or stepparents) and children, siblings, and grandparents and grandchildren, including the spouses of children, siblings and grandchildren, are excluded from realty transfer tax (72 P.S. § 8102-C.3(6)). Claim the exclusion on a Statement of Value (REV-183). You can skip the Statement of Value only when the deed itself states the family relationship, and Deedly's deed does not (61 Pa. Code § 91.112(d)).
• A gift to anyone outside the family exclusion is taxed on the property's computed value (the assessed value times the county's common level ratio factor), and so is a deed to your own LLC or corporation (61 Pa. Code § 91.154(a)). The Statement of Value must state the property's full value even when an exclusion is claimed (61 Pa. Code § 91.112(a)).
• Philadelphia's combined realty transfer tax is 4.578% (3.578% City plus 1% Commonwealth, since July 1, 2025) and Pittsburgh's is 5%, far above the 2% typical elsewhere in the state.
• Every deed needs a Certificate of Residence signed by or for the grantee, or the recorder must refuse it (16 P.S. § 9781). Deedly prints one after the notary block.
• Recorders expect the deed to name the municipality (township, borough or city) where the land lies, and the ward in Pittsburgh. Check that the legal description you copy from the prior deed includes it.
• Transfer tax is due when the deed is recorded, and no later than 30 days after the grantee accepts it (72 P.S. § 8102-C). In a sale, buyer and seller are both liable for all of it, and they may agree between themselves who pays (61 Pa. Code § 91.111(b)). Many recorders want separate checks for the state tax, the local tax and the recording fee, and refuse personal checks.
• Pennsylvania inheritance tax reaches property you deed away while keeping a life estate, and gifts made within one year of death above $3,000 per recipient in a calendar year (Tax Reform Code § 2107(c)). The rates are 0% for a spouse, generally 4.5% for children and grandchildren, 12% for siblings and 15% for others (§ 2116(a)).
• Some Pennsylvania municipalities require you to register the recorded deed with the township or borough, sometimes for a fee. Check with your municipality.
• Pennsylvania does not recognize transfer-on-death deeds.
• A conveyance to a married couple creates a tenancy by the entirety automatically, which is strong creditor protection.