Kentucky Quitclaim Deed
A Kentucky quit claim deed transfers your interest with no warranty of title. Notarize it, record with the county clerk, and pay the state transfer tax.
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 Kentucky the person giving up the interest is the grantor and the person receiving it is the grantee. Kentucky law does not define a quitclaim by name; under KRS 382.030 the covenants of title arise only when warranty words are used, so a deed that omits them carries no warranty. To record the deed you sign it before a notary public, record it with the county clerk in the county where the property sits (KRS 382.110), pay the state real estate transfer tax, and include the sworn consideration certificate that KRS 382.135 requires. Attorney review is available as an option before you sign.
Key Things to Know
- 1
A quitclaim deed transfers only the interest you actually have. It passes whatever ownership you hold in the property to the grantee (the person receiving it) and makes no promise that the title is clear, or even that you own anything. A warranty deed, by contrast, guarantees the title, which is why a quitclaim is used mainly between people who trust each other.
- 2
Record it with the county clerk. Under KRS 382.110 a Kentucky deed is recorded in the county clerk's office of the county where the property, or the greater part of it, is located. Recording gives public notice and protects the grantee against a later good-faith purchaser (KRS 382.270).
- 3
Sign before a notary; no witnesses are needed. To be recorded, a Kentucky quitclaim deed must be acknowledged by the grantor before a notary public or the county clerk (KRS 382.130; KRS 382.270). Subscribing witnesses are only an alternative way to prove a deed and are not required when it is notarized.
- 4
Pay the real estate transfer tax and file a consideration certificate. The county clerk collects a transfer tax of $0.50 for each $500 of value, imposed on the grantor, before recording (KRS 142.050). KRS 382.135 also requires a sworn, notarized certificate of the full consideration (or the fair cash value if it is a gift) signed by both the grantor and the grantee.
- 5
Kentucky has no statutory quitclaim form. The state does not codify a fill-in quitclaim deed. A quitclaim is drafted at common law to meet the Chapter 382 content and execution rules and simply omits the warranty words that KRS 382.030 says create a warranty of title.
- 6
A married grantor's spouse should join the deed. Kentucky keeps dower and curtesy (KRS 392.020), so a spouse holds a marital interest in the grantor's real estate that survives a conveyance unless released. To pass clear title, the non-owner spouse should sign the deed to relinquish dower or curtesy (KRS 392.040).
- 7
Include the preparer statement and grantee address. KRS 382.335 requires the deed to show the printed, signed name and address of the person who prepared it and the mailing address of the grantee. Common quitclaim uses in Kentucky 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 Kentucky, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Quitclaim Deed guide walks through them.
Open the Quitclaim Deed guideCustomize your Quitclaim Deed Template with DocDraft
Kentucky Requirements for Quitclaim Deed
To record a Kentucky quitclaim deed the grantor must acknowledge it before a notary public or the county clerk (KRS 382.130). Under KRS 382.270 a deed is not valid against a later purchaser or creditor until it is acknowledged or proved and recorded, so notarization is the practical prerequisite to a recordable deed.
Kentucky does not require witnesses when the deed is notarized. KRS 382.130 lists two subscribing witnesses only as an alternative way to prove a deed for recording when there is no notarial acknowledgment. Because the standard practice is acknowledgment before a notary, no witnesses are needed.
Record the signed, notarized deed in the county clerk's office of the county where the property, or the greater part of it, is located (KRS 382.110). Recording gives public notice and protects the grantee against a later good-faith purchaser or creditor under KRS 382.270.
The county clerk collects a state real estate transfer tax of $0.50 for each $500 of value, or fraction of it, declared in the deed, imposed on the grantor, as a prerequisite to recording (KRS 142.050). Some transfers are exempt, including deeds between spouses or former spouses in a divorce and deeds that only correct a prior deed (KRS 142.050(7)).
KRS 382.135 requires the deed to state the full consideration and to include a sworn, notarized certificate signed by BOTH the grantor and the grantee confirming that amount. If the transfer is a gift or for nominal consideration, the certificate instead states it is a gift and gives the estimated fair cash value. The county clerk cannot record a deed that omits this.
Kentucky does not codify a fill-in quitclaim deed. A quitclaim is drafted at common law to meet the Chapter 382 content and execution rules and simply omits the warranty words that KRS 382.030 treats as a warranty of title, so the deed carries no covenant of title and passes only the interest the grantor holds.
Kentucky retains dower and curtesy (KRS 392.020), so a married grantor's spouse holds a marital interest in the property that survives a conveyance unless released. To pass clear title, the non-owner spouse should join and sign the deed to relinquish dower or curtesy; KRS 392.040 confirms a spouse who joined in the deed takes no such interest.
The county clerk cannot record the deed unless it carries a printed or typed statement of the name and address of the person who prepared it, signed by that person, and the mailing address of the grantee (KRS 382.335). The deed must also give a source-of-title reference to the prior deed (KRS 382.110).
Frequently Asked Questions
A quitclaim deed is a deed that transfers whatever interest you have in Kentucky real estate to someone else, without any warranty that the title is good. It is often typed as a quit claim deed. Kentucky law does not define it by name, but because it omits the warranty words that KRS 382.030 treats as a warranty of title, it simply passes along the interest you hold, if any, and makes no promise that you own the property.
The difference is the promise about title. A Kentucky warranty deed uses the warranty words in KRS 382.030, so the grantor guarantees good title and the grantee can sue if that turns out to be false. A quitclaim deed omits those words, so no covenant of title is implied and the grantee receives only whatever interest the grantor actually holds. That is why a quitclaim suits transfers between family or into a trust rather than an arm's length purchase where the buyer wants title protection.
You record it in the county clerk's office of the county where the property, or the greater part of it, is located, as KRS 382.110 requires. Recording gives public notice and protects the grantee against a later good-faith purchaser or creditor (KRS 382.270). The county clerk will not accept the deed until the transfer tax is paid and the deed meets the required contents.
Usually yes. The county clerk collects a real estate transfer tax of $0.50 for each $500 of value, imposed on the grantor, as a prerequisite to recording the deed (KRS 142.050). Some transfers are exempt, including deeds between spouses or between former spouses in a divorce, deeds between parent and child for nominal consideration, and deeds that only correct a prior deed (KRS 142.050(7)).
KRS 382.135 requires a Kentucky deed to state the full consideration and to include a sworn, notarized certificate, signed by both the grantor and the grantee, confirming that the amount shown is the full consideration paid. If the transfer is a gift or for nominal consideration, the certificate instead states that it is a gift and gives the estimated fair cash value. The county clerk cannot record a deed that leaves this out.
It must be notarized, but it does not need witnesses. To be admitted to record, a Kentucky quitclaim deed must be acknowledged by the grantor before a notary public or the county clerk (KRS 382.130; KRS 382.270). Two subscribing witnesses are only an alternative method of proving a deed when there is no notarial acknowledgment, so in normal practice no witnesses are required.
No. Recording the deed with the county clerk under KRS 382.110 passes your interest in the land, but it does not reach the lender's lien or the promissory note you signed. If your name is on the loan, you stay liable even after you quitclaim your interest away. To be released you usually need the lender to refinance the loan or sign a document formally removing you from it.
No. Because a Kentucky quitclaim omits the warranty words that KRS 382.030 treats as a covenant of title, it clears no liens or mortgages and guarantees nothing about ownership. You take only whatever interest the grantor holds, if any. Kentucky is a notice state (KRS 382.270), so recording with the county clerk protects priority, not the quality of the title. A title search and title insurance are the safeguards a quitclaim does not provide.