Kansas Quitclaim Deed
A Kansas quitclaim deed (or quit claim deed) transfers your interest with no warranty. Record it with the register of deeds; Kansas charges no transfer tax.
Introduction
Kansas records real estate deeds with the register of deeds, not a county recorder, and it is one of the few states whose spousal homestead protection is written into the state constitution rather than an ordinary statute. Within that framework, 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 Kansans reach for it in lower-risk transfers between people who already trust each other: adding or removing a spouse after a divorce, moving a home into a living trust, or clearing up a possible cloud on a title. The person giving up the interest is the grantor and the person receiving it is the grantee. Kansas codifies a short statutory quitclaim form at K.S.A. Section 58-2204, built on the plain words 'A.B. quitclaims to C.D.' To record the deed the grantor must sign it and have the signature acknowledged before a notary, and no witnesses are required (K.S.A. Section 58-2205). You then file it with the register of deeds in the county where the property sits (K.S.A. Section 58-2221), and because Kansas is a notice state that recording is what gives the transfer public effect (K.S.A. Section 58-2223). Kansas levies no transfer tax, but most transfers must be accompanied by a Real Estate Sales Validation Questionnaire under K.S.A. Section 79-1437c. Attorney review is available as an option before you sign.
Key Things to Know
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File the deed with the register of deeds, not a county recorder. Under K.S.A. Section 58-2221 a Kansas conveyance is recorded in the office of the register of deeds of the county where the real estate is situated. Kansas follows a notice rule: under K.S.A. Section 58-2223 an unrecorded deed is valid only between the parties and anyone who has actual notice of it, so recording is what protects the grantee against a later buyer or creditor.
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Homestead consent is a constitutional command in Kansas. Article 15, Section 9 of the Kansas Constitution bars alienating a homestead without the joint consent of husband and wife, so if the property is the family homestead a non-owner spouse must sign the quitclaim deed even when only one spouse is on title. The protected homestead reaches up to 160 acres of farming land or 1 acre inside an incorporated town or city.
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Kansas charges no transfer tax, but the sales validation questionnaire is mandatory. Kansas imposes no state real estate transfer, deed, documentary-stamp, or excise tax on a deed. Instead, K.S.A. Section 79-1437c bars the register of deeds from recording most transfers unless a completed Real Estate Sales Validation Questionnaire is attached, unless the transaction falls under an exemption in K.S.A. Section 79-1437e.
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Kansas supplies an official statutory quitclaim form. K.S.A. Section 58-2204 recites a short form worded in substance 'A.B. quitclaims to C.D.' for the stated consideration, duly signed and acknowledged by the grantor, and deems any deed so worded a good and sufficient conveyance in quitclaim. Unlike the statutory warranty deed at K.S.A. Section 58-2203, the quitclaim form carries no covenants of title.
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Sign before a notary to make the deed recordable. The statutory form (K.S.A. Section 58-2204) requires the conveyance to be duly signed and acknowledged by the grantor, and K.S.A. Section 58-2205 confirms Kansas deeds are acknowledged and recorded as directed. Acknowledgment before a notary public is the formality that lets the register of deeds accept the deed.
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No witnesses are needed. K.S.A. Section 58-2205 permits a conveyance to be executed and acknowledged without any other act or ceremony whatever, so Kansas does not require witnesses to a deed. Notarial acknowledgment is the only attestation the deed needs.
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A quitclaim conveys only the interest the grantor actually holds. It passes whatever ownership the grantor has to the grantee and promises nothing about the state of the title, which is why common Kansas uses are divorce transfers, adding or removing a spouse, and moving a home into a trust, rather than an arm's length purchase where the buyer wants title protection.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Quitclaim Deed in Kansas, 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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Kansas Requirements for Quitclaim Deed
To record a Kansas quitclaim deed the grantor must sign it and have the signature acknowledged before a notary public. The statutory quitclaim form at K.S.A. Section 58-2204 requires the conveyance to be duly signed and acknowledged by the grantor, and K.S.A. Section 58-2205 confirms deeds are acknowledged and recorded as directed.
Kansas does not require witnesses to a deed. K.S.A. Section 58-2205 allows a conveyance to be made and acknowledged without any other act or ceremony whatever, so notarial acknowledgment, not witnesses, is the only attestation formality for a quitclaim deed.
Record the signed, acknowledged deed with the register of deeds of the county where the property is located (K.S.A. Section 58-2221). Kansas is a notice state: under K.S.A. Section 58-2223 an unrecorded deed is valid only between the parties and those with actual notice, so recording protects the grantee against later claims.
Kansas imposes no state real estate transfer, deed, documentary-stamp, or excise tax on a quitclaim deed. You pay only the register of deeds recording fee. This is different from states that charge a percentage of the sale price to record a deed.
Under K.S.A. Section 79-1437c most deeds cannot be recorded unless a completed Real Estate Sales Validation Questionnaire accompanies them. The questionnaire reports the sale price and terms for property-valuation purposes; it is a filing, not a tax, and the Kansas Department of Revenue provides the form.
Some transfers are exempt from the questionnaire under K.S.A. Section 79-1437e, including a gift or donation, a transfer to secure or release a debt, a correction or confirmation deed made without added consideration, a transfer to or from a trust without consideration, a transfer under a divorce settlement, and a transfer creating a joint tenancy or tenancy in common.
Kansas provides an express statutory short-form quitclaim deed at K.S.A. Section 58-2204. A deed worded in substance as the statute recites (A.B. quitclaims to C.D. the described premises, for the stated consideration, duly signed and acknowledged by the grantor) is deemed a good and sufficient conveyance in quitclaim. Unlike the warranty-deed form in K.S.A. Section 58-2203, it carries no covenants of title.
The Kansas Constitution (Article 15, Section 9) bars alienating a homestead without the joint consent of husband and wife when that relation exists. If the property is the family homestead, a non-owner spouse must join in or consent to the quitclaim deed even when only one spouse holds title. The homestead covers up to 160 acres of farming land or 1 acre within a town or city.
Frequently Asked Questions
A quitclaim deed is a deed that transfers whatever interest you have in Kansas real estate to someone else, 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 you own the property or that the title is free of other claims. Kansas even provides a statutory short form for it at K.S.A. Section 58-2204.
The difference is the promise about title. The statutory warranty deed in K.S.A. Section 58-2203 has the grantor covenant that they are lawfully seized, have good right to convey, guarantee quiet possession, warrant the property free of encumbrances, and defend the title. The quitclaim form in K.S.A. Section 58-2204 contains none of those covenants, so a Kansas quitclaim conveys only whatever interest the grantor holds, with no warranty.
Yes. To record a quitclaim deed in Kansas the grantor must sign it and have the signature acknowledged before a notary public. The statutory form at K.S.A. Section 58-2204 requires the conveyance to be duly signed and acknowledged by the grantor, and K.S.A. Section 58-2205 confirms deeds are acknowledged and recorded as directed. No witnesses are required.
You record it with the register of deeds of the county where the property is located, as K.S.A. Section 58-2221 provides. Recording gives public notice: under K.S.A. Section 58-2223 an unrecorded deed is valid only between the parties and anyone with actual notice, so recording protects the grantee against later claims. Most transfers must include the Real Estate Sales Validation Questionnaire.
It is a form that reports the sale price and terms of a transfer for property-valuation purposes. Under K.S.A. Section 79-1437c the register of deeds cannot record most deeds unless a completed Real Estate Sales Validation Questionnaire is attached, and the Kansas Department of Revenue provides the form. It is a filing, not a tax, since Kansas charges no real estate transfer tax. Some transfers are exempt under K.S.A. Section 79-1437e, such as a gift or a divorce-related transfer.
Between you and the grantee, the deed takes effect once it is signed and acknowledged. But Kansas is a notice state: under K.S.A. Section 58-2223 an unrecorded deed is valid only between the parties and anyone with actual notice of it. Until you deposit the deed with the register of deeds under K.S.A. Section 58-2221, a later buyer or creditor without notice can take priority, so recording promptly is what protects the grantee.
Yes, and it is common. One spouse can quitclaim their interest to the other to carry out a divorce settlement, and such a transfer is exempt from the Real Estate Sales Validation Questionnaire under K.S.A. Section 79-1437e. If the property is the family homestead, remember that the Kansas Constitution (Article 15, Section 9) requires both spouses to join in the deed even when only one is on title.
No. Kansas uses the statutory short-form quitclaim under K.S.A. 58-2204, which omits the title covenants a warranty deed carries under K.S.A. 58-2203, so it conveys only whatever interest the grantor holds and clears no liens, mortgages, or other claims. It gives no guarantee the grantor owned anything. Because Kansas is a notice state (K.S.A. 58-2223), recording with the register of deeds protects priority, but only a title search and title insurance give the assurance a quitclaim cannot.