Illinois Quitclaim Deed
An Illinois quitclaim deed (or quit claim deed) transfers your interest with no warranty. Record it with the county recorder and file a PTAX-203 declaration.
Introduction
A quitclaim deed is a document that transfers whatever ownership interest you have in a piece of real estate to someone else, with no promise that your title is good or even that you own anything at all. That is the key difference from a warranty deed, which does promise clear title and lets the grantee sue if the title turns out to be flawed. A quitclaim simply passes along whatever interest you hold, so people use it for lower-risk transfers between people who already trust each other: adding or removing a spouse after a marriage or divorce, moving a home into a living trust, or clearing up a possible claim on a title. In Illinois the person giving up the interest is the grantor and the person receiving it is the grantee, and the statutory quitclaim uses the operative words convey and quit claim (765 ILCS 5/10). To record the deed you sign it before a notary public (765 ILCS 5/35c); Illinois does not require witnesses. You then record it with the recorder of the county where the property is located (765 ILCS 5/28) and, at recording, file a PTAX-203 transfer declaration and pay the state and county real estate transfer tax. Attorney review is available as an option before you sign.
Key Things to Know
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A quitclaim deed (often typed quit claim deed) transfers only the interest the grantor actually has in the property to the grantee, and makes no promise that the title is clear or even that the grantor owns anything. A warranty deed, by contrast, guarantees the title, which is why a quitclaim is used mainly between people who trust each other.
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Record it with the county recorder. Record the deed with the recorder of the county where the real estate is located (765 ILCS 5/28). In counties with fewer than 60,000 people the county clerk serves as the recorder (55 ILCS 5/3-5001). Recording gives notice against later creditors and buyers without notice (765 ILCS 5/30).
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You must sign before a notary. To be recorded, an Illinois quitclaim deed must be acknowledged before a notary public or another officer listed in 765 ILCS 5/20 (765 ILCS 5/35c). The grantor signs the deed under 765 ILCS 5/1, and the notary attests the acknowledgment with an official seal.
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No witnesses are required. Illinois does not require witnesses for a deed. The Conveyances Act calls for the grantor's signature and a notary acknowledgment and treats witnesses as optional, referring to them only as if any (765 ILCS 5/35c).
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Plan for the transfer tax and PTAX-203. Illinois charges a state real estate transfer tax of 50 cents per $500 of value (35 ILCS 200/31-10), counties may add 25 cents per $500 (55 ILCS 5/5-1031), and many cities add their own. File a PTAX-203 Real Estate Transfer Declaration with the deed (35 ILCS 200/31-25).
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Illinois has a statutory quitclaim form. The statutory short form quitclaim deed at 765 ILCS 5/10 uses the words convey and quit claim. It passes only the grantor's then existing legal or equitable rights, with no covenants of title and no after acquired title unless the deed adds words saying so.
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Watch the homestead rule. If the property is homestead, the grantor's spouse must sign to release the homestead estate (735 ILCS 5/12-904), unless the grantor is conveying to that spouse. Common quitclaim uses include divorce transfers, adding or removing a spouse, and moving a home into a living trust.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Quitclaim Deed in Illinois, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Quitclaim Deed guide walks through them.
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Illinois Requirements for Quitclaim Deed
To be recorded, an Illinois deed must be acknowledged before a notary public or another officer listed in 765 ILCS 5/20 (765 ILCS 5/35c). The grantor signs the deed (765 ILCS 5/1), and the notary attests the acknowledgment under an official seal.
Illinois does not require witnesses to sign a quitclaim deed. The Conveyances Act requires the grantor's signature (765 ILCS 5/1) and a notarial acknowledgment (765 ILCS 5/35c); it refers to witnesses only as optional, using the words if any.
Record the signed, notarized deed with the recorder of the county where the real estate is situated (765 ILCS 5/28). In counties with a population under 60,000, the county clerk serves as the recorder (55 ILCS 5/3-5001). Recording gives notice against later creditors and purchasers without notice (765 ILCS 5/30).
At recording, or within 3 business days, file a PTAX-203 Illinois Real Estate Transfer Declaration signed by a buyer and a seller or their agents (35 ILCS 200/31-25). You can file it on paper or electronically through MyDec at MyTax Illinois. A deed will not be accepted for recording without the declaration or a stated exemption.
Illinois imposes a state real estate transfer tax of 50 cents for each $500 of value (35 ILCS 200/31-10), and a county may add 25 cents per $500 (55 ILCS 5/5-1031); many municipalities charge their own transfer tax too. The recorder collects the county tax before recording, and deeds where the actual consideration is less than $100 are exempt (35 ILCS 200/31-45(e)).
Illinois codifies a statutory short form quitclaim deed at 765 ILCS 5/10, using the operative words convey and quit claim. A deed in that form passes only the grantor's then existing legal or equitable rights, carries no covenants of title, and does not pass after acquired title unless words are added to say so.
If the property is the grantor's homestead, the grantor's spouse must also sign the deed to release the homestead estate (735 ILCS 5/12-904). The statute makes one exception: a conveyance by the grantor directly to his or her spouse passes title even if the spouse does not join.
An Illinois deed must show the name and address of the person who prepared it (55 ILCS 5/3-5022) and the name and address for subsequent tax bills (765 ILCS 5/35c). The first page must leave a 3 inch by 5 inch blank in the upper right corner for the recorder, or the recorder may charge a higher nonstandard-document fee (55 ILCS 5/3-5018.2).
Frequently Asked Questions
A quitclaim deed is a deed that transfers whatever interest the grantor has in Illinois real estate to the grantee, without any warranty that the title is good. It is often typed as a quit claim deed. Unlike a warranty deed, it makes no promise that the grantor owns the property or that the title is free of other claims; it passes along only the interest the grantor holds, if any. Illinois uses the operative words convey and quit claim (765 ILCS 5/10).
The difference is the promise about title. An Illinois warranty deed guarantees that the grantor owns the property and that the title is clear, and the grantee can sue on that promise if it fails. A quitclaim deed makes no such promise. Under the statutory form at 765 ILCS 5/10 a quitclaim passes only the grantor's then existing legal or equitable rights and recites no covenants of title, so the grantee takes the property subject to any existing claims.
To record the deed, yes. 765 ILCS 5/35c requires the signatures on a deed to be acknowledged before a notary public or another officer listed in 765 ILCS 5/20, and the notary attests the acknowledgment with an official seal. The grantor also signs the deed under 765 ILCS 5/1. The recorder will expect a notarized deed before accepting it for recording.
You record it with the recorder of the county where the real estate is situated (765 ILCS 5/28). In counties with a population under 60,000 the county clerk serves as the recorder (55 ILCS 5/3-5001). Recording gives public notice and protects the grantee against later creditors and purchasers without notice (765 ILCS 5/30). Many counties also accept electronic recording.
You pay the recorder's recording fee plus the real estate transfer tax. The state tax is 50 cents per $500 of value (35 ILCS 200/31-10), a county may add 25 cents per $500 (55 ILCS 5/5-1031), and many municipalities add their own. Deeds where the actual consideration is less than $100 are exempt (35 ILCS 200/31-45(e)). You must file a PTAX-203 declaration or note an exemption at recording.
No. In Illinois you record the deed with the recorder of the county where the property sits (55 ILCS 5/3-5001), and that filing moves only your ownership interest to the grantee. It never reaches the lender's lien. If your name is on the note you stay liable even after you quitclaim your interest away, so to come off the loan itself you generally need the lender to refinance it or sign a release.
Yes, and it is common. One spouse can quitclaim their interest to the other to carry out a divorce settlement or to add or remove a spouse from title. If the property is homestead, the signing spouse releases the homestead estate under 735 ILCS 5/12-904, and a deed for less than $100 of actual consideration is exempt from the transfer tax (35 ILCS 200/31-45(e)).
No. The Illinois statutory quitclaim uses the operative words convey and quit claim, which pass only the grantor's then-existing interest and add no covenant of title (765 ILCS 5/10), so it clears no liens or mortgages and guarantees nothing about ownership. Recording under 765 ILCS 5/30 only secures your priority against later purchasers without notice from the time you file; it cannot cure a defect. A title search and title insurance give the protection a quitclaim does not.