Maryland transfer-on-death deed

What a transfer-on-death deed does in Maryland

A transfer-on-death deed (a beneficiary deed in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado and Missouri) names the person who should receive your real estate when you die. You record it now, but it transfers nothing until death: you keep full ownership, you can sell or mortgage the property, and you can revoke the deed at any time without your beneficiary's consent. When you die, the property passes outside probate. Your beneficiaries then record the documents your state requires to show them as the owners; in a few states that filing has a deadline, or is what completes the transfer.

In Maryland the governing statute is Md. Real Prop. Code §§ 14-1001 to 14-1014. Maryland's Transfer-on-Death Deed Act is effective October 1, 2026 (2026 Md. Laws ch. 750 and 751). It also covers a deed signed before that date, as long as the owner dies on or after it. The deed must be notarized and recorded in the county land records before the owner's death. No witnesses are required, and the notary may not be a relative of any owner or beneficiary.

The Maryland law behind this deed

Start with Md. Real Prop. Code §§ 14-1001 to 14-1014 if you want to read the statute's own language. The table below lists the main statutes behind the rules on this page.

When Maryland homeowners use a transfer-on-death deed

• Leave a house to your children without probate
• Keep real estate out of a will contest
• Get probate avoidance without paying for a full living trust
• Name a backup beneficiary in case your first choice dies first
• Revoke or change an earlier beneficiary designation

What Maryland requires on the deed

These are the execution and formatting rules circuit court clerks enforce. Getting any of them wrong is the usual reason a deed comes back in the mail.

How to complete and record it in Maryland

1. 1Find your current deedYou need the legal description from it, word for word. If you can't find your copy, the Clerk of the Circuit Court (Land Records) can provide one, usually for a few dollars.
2. 2Identify everyone by full legal nameNames must match the current deed and government ID exactly, middle names included. A mismatch creates a gap in the chain of title that shows up years later at closing.
3. 3Complete the deedDeedly builds it with the wording, notary certificate, and 3-inch first-page margin used for Maryland deeds.
4. 4Sign in front of a notaryBring photo ID. Wait to sign until you are in front of the notary: you have to appear before the notary anyway, and signing there leaves no question about who signed.
5. 5Complete Form AOC-CC-300, the State of Maryland Land Instrument Intake SheetMaryland requires this alongside the deed, including for exempt transfers. Your filing packet explains which boxes apply to your situation.
6. 6Record it with the Clerk of the Circuit Court (Land Records)File in the county where the property is located and pay the recording fee. Many offices in this state also accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies. Keep the stamped receipt. It fixes your priority date.
7. 7Tell your beneficiaries where it isThe property passes to the people you named at your death, outside probate. They may then record a Transfer-on-Death Deed Notification of Death (the form in Md. Real Prop. Code § 14-1013(b)) so the tax records move to them.

What it costs in Maryland

No recordation tax, state transfer tax, or county transfer tax, as long as the property is your primary or secondary residence (Md. Tax-Prop. Code §§ 12-108(ii), 13-207(a)(27), and 13-414). If it is neither, ask the Clerk's office what applies before you go.

Where to record it in Maryland

Maryland deeds are recorded with the Clerk of the Circuit Court (Land Records) in the county where the property sits, not where you live. There are 24 counties in Maryland.

Many Maryland recording offices accept e-recording through vendors such as Simplifile, CSC, or ePN. E-recording is generally open only to approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders, so if you prepared the deed yourself, plan to record in person or by mail. Some offices accept filings from the public through those vendors; your county's website will say.

Recording offices we cover in Maryland: Montgomery, Prince George's, Baltimore County, Anne Arundel, Baltimore City, Howard, Frederick, Harford, Carroll. See all Maryland recording offices.

What a transfer-on-death deed does NOT do

Being honest about the limits is more useful than a sales pitch. Every one of these catches somebody out.

• Only 34 states plus DC recognize it. Recording one in a state that does not accept it accomplishes nothing.
• It does not clear the mortgage. Your beneficiary takes the property subject to any loan, lien, or judgment against it.
• It doesn't protect the property from your creditors, and in many states it doesn't shield the property from Medicaid estate recovery.
• The beneficiary receives no ownership interest until you die. They cannot be added as a co-owner this way.
• If a beneficiary dies before you, what happens to their share depends on state law: in some states it passes to the other beneficiaries or to the beneficiary's descendants, in others it fails. Naming an alternate, where your state's form allows one, avoids the question.

Quirks of Maryland law that catch people out

• Maryland requires a certification of preparation on the deed: it must state that the instrument was prepared by a Maryland attorney or by one of the parties named in it (Md. Real Prop. Code § 3-104(f)). Preparing it yourself is allowed, but the certification has to say so, and the person it names signs it. The Clerk will not record a deed without it.
• Deeds that change ownership must first be endorsed by the county's finance office or treasurer, certifying that the property taxes are paid (and, in many counties, collecting the recordation and county transfer tax), before the Clerk will record them (Md. Real Prop. Code § 3-104(a) and (b)). Get a lien certificate first: all current property taxes must be paid. A deed mailed straight to the Clerk without that endorsement cannot be recorded. A transfer-on-death deed and its revocation are the exception: the 2026 Act exempts them from that endorsement (Md. Real Prop. Code § 3-104(a)(1)(ii)).
• The Land Instrument Intake Sheet (Form AOC-CC-300) must accompany every deed (Md. Real Prop. Code § 3-104(g)(2)). For a transfer-on-death deed the Clerk may refuse to record it without one (Md. Real Prop. Code § 3-104(g)(6)(ii)).
• A Maryland deed for any consideration needs each seller's certification, under penalties of perjury, that the seller is a Maryland resident or that the property is the seller's principal residence, made in the deed or on Comptroller Form WH-AR recorded with it. Otherwise a nonresident seller files Form MW506NRS and pays withholding of 8.75% (individuals) or 8.25% (entities) of the seller's net proceeds before the Clerk records the deed. A deed that states zero consideration is exempt (Md. Code, Tax-Gen. § 10-912).
• If you claim a tax exemption, the deed itself must cite it by section, and so must Section 3 of the intake sheet (Md. Real Prop. Code § 3-104(g)(3)(vi)). Clerks such as Calvert's and Harford's charge the full tax when the deed does not cite the exemption.
• Maryland recognizes transfer-on-death deeds for owners who die on or after October 1, 2026, under the Maryland Transfer-on-Death Deed Act (Md. Real Prop. Code §§ 14-1001 to 14-1014). A TOD deed is exempt from recordation tax and from state and county transfer tax when the property is the owner's primary or secondary residence.
• Tenancy by the entirety is presumed for married couples and gives strong creditor protection.
• Maryland has 23 counties and Baltimore City, each with its own circuit court Land Records office (24 in all). Baltimore City is separate from Baltimore County.