Rhode Island property deeds
Deed rules are state law, and Rhode Island'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
- City or Town Clerk or Recorder of Deeds (Land Evidence Records)
- Witnesses
- Notary only
- Transfer tax
- $3.75 per $500 of consideration
- First-page margin
- 3″ top
- Recording fee
- $84 first page
- E-recording
- Approved submitters
Deeds Rhode Island recognizes
| Deed | What it does | Available? |
|---|---|---|
| Quitclaim deed | Transfers the property with quitclaim covenants: the grantor defends the title only against claims arising through the grantor. | 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. | No |
| Life estate deed with enhanced powers | An enhanced life estate deed: you keep total control for life, and the property passes automatically at death. | Yes, less common |
| 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 |
Rhode Island does not recognize transfer-on-death deeds, so recording one here may not do what you want.
How a deed has to be signed in Rhode Island
Rhode Island 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 |
| Sale price | Required on a deed for a sale: the total dollar amount of the actual sale, or the city or town clerk may refuse the deed (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-11-1.4). A deed for which nothing is paid states instead that the consideration is such that no documentary stamps are required (§ 44-25-1(c)). Deedly prints the price you enter, or that statement for a gift. |
| Prior deed reference | Optional |
| Spousal joinder | Not generally required |
Rhode Island document formatting rules
A safe layout for Rhode Island is 8.5 × 11 inch paper with a 3-inch clear space at the top of the first page for the city or town clerk or recorder of deeds' stamp, 1-inch margins elsewhere, and no type smaller than 10 point. That is the profile Deedly formats every Rhode Island document to. Writing into the recorder's stamp area is the most common formatting rejection there is.
Rhode Island transfer tax and recording fees
Rhode Island charges Real estate conveyance tax at $3.75 per $500 of consideration, plus $3.75 per $500 on residential consideration above $824,000 (2026). Customarily paid by the grantor. Rhode Island has no separate exemption for transfers between spouses or into or out of a trust: they are untaxed only when $100 or less is paid for the property. The taxable amount includes any mortgage or lien that remains on the property (R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-25-1(a)), so ask the clerk before recording a transfer of mortgaged property. The tax is paid by buying documentary stamps from the city or town clerk when the deed is recorded (§ 44-25-3). In New Shoreham (Block Island) the buyer also pays the Block Island Land Trust a fee of 3% of the purchase price, and Land Trust forms go with every deed.
Common exemptions: deeds for which $100 or less is paid, including a true gift (when nothing is paid, the deed must state that the consideration is such that no documentary stamps are required), mortgages and other instruments given to secure a debt, and deeds from the United States, the State of Rhode Island, or a Rhode Island city or town.
Recording fees run $84 for the first page and $1 per additional page. Set by state law: $80 to record a deed (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-13-7(a)) plus the $4 Historical Records Trust fee (§ 42-8.1-20), $84 in all. A clerk is allowed to charge $1 for each additional page (§ 34-13-7(b)); where one does, a two-page deed costs $85. The clerk charges $2 more if a signer's or the notary's name is not typed or printed under the signature (§ 34-11-1.1).
See how Rhode Island's transfer tax and recording fee compare with other states.
How to hold title in Rhode Island
- 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 Rhode Island
Deeds are recorded with the City or Town Clerk or Recorder of Deeds (Land Evidence Records) in the town where the property is located. Rhode Island has 39 towns. Many offices accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders.
Providence · Cranston · Warwick · Pawtucket · East Providence · Woonsocket · New Shoreham. all Rhode Island recording offices
Why deeds get rejected in Rhode Island
- Rhode Island records deeds in the land evidence records of the city or town where the property lies: the Recorder of Deeds in Providence, the city or town clerk everywhere else. There are 39 separate offices and no county recording.
- A deed for a sale must state the total dollar amount of the actual sale, and the clerk may refuse one that does not (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-11-1.4). A deed for which nothing is paid must state that the consideration is such that no documentary stamps are required (§ 44-25-1(c)).
- Every deed must give the grantee's name and residence or mailing address, or the clerk may refuse it (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-11-1.2).
- Rhode Island's real estate conveyance tax is $3.75 for each $500 (or part of $500) of the price when more than $100 is paid. For residential property, an additional $3.75 per $500 applies to the part of the price above $824,000 (the 2026 threshold, adjusted each January). The seller pays unless the parties agree otherwise (R.I. Gen. Laws § 44-25-1).
- Rhode Island does not recognize transfer-on-death deeds.
- Tenancy by the entirety is available for married couples.
From $29. Every Rhode Island 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 City or Town Clerk or Recorder of Deeds (Land Evidence Records) in the town where the property sits. Which deed depends on what you're doing: a quitclaim deed, which in Rhode Island carries statutory quitclaim covenants, for family transfers and adding or removing a name, a warranty deed for a sale, and a life estate deed with enhanced powers (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-4-2.1; not a Medicaid planning tool) for probate avoidance.
Rhode Island lets you prepare and record a deed for your own property without a lawyer. Rhode Island law limits who may prepare a deed for someone else (R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 11-27-2, 11-27-5). 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.
$84 for the first page and $1 per additional page. Rhode Island also charges real estate conveyance tax at $3.75 per $500 of consideration, plus $3.75 per $500 on residential consideration above $824,000 (2026).
No. Rhode Island is not among the 34 states plus DC that authorize a transfer-on-death deed. Rhode Island does recognize a life estate deed with enhanced powers, which keeps a life estate with the power to sell or mortgage the property without the people you name (R.I. Gen. Laws § 34-4-2.1), and Deedly prepares it. It is not a Medicaid planning tool in Rhode Island (§ 40-8-3.1). A revocable living trust and survivorship titling are the other usual routes.
Keep reading
- Rhode Island quitclaim deedTransfers the property with quitclaim covenants: the grantor defends the title only against claims arising through the grantor.
- Rhode Island general warranty deedTransfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows.
- Rhode Island special warranty deedTransfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it.
- Rhode Island life estate deed with enhanced powersAn enhanced life estate deed: you keep total control for life, and the property passes automatically at death.
- Rhode Island recording officesWhere to file in each town, 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.