An Ohio quitclaim deed hands over whatever interest the grantor has in a parcel and promises nothing about the title. Ohio prints the form in ORC 5302.11. The grantor signs, a notary (or another officer listed in ORC 5301.01) takes the acknowledgment, and the deed goes to the county auditor for transfer before the recorder ever sees it. Recording is $34 to $39 for a short deed, and the conveyance fee runs $3 to $4 per $1,000 unless the transfer is exempt.
Ohio's wrinkle is the order of operations. In most states you carry a deed to the recorder. In Ohio the county auditor reviews the deed and transfers the parcel on the tax list first, and the paperwork for that stop (a value statement or an exemption statement) is where most of the Ohio-specific work sits.
This is general information, not legal advice. An Ohio real estate attorney can confirm how it applies to your parcel.
If you have not read it yet, how a quitclaim deed works covers what the deed does in any state. This page is the Ohio layer.
What does the Ohio quitclaim deed form say?
Section 5302.11 of the Revised Code gives the short form. It opens with the grantor's marital status and county, then reads "for valuable consideration paid, grant(s) to" the grantee, "whose tax-mailing address is" the address, and then the land. A spouse who is not on title signs the same deed to release dower. The statute says a deed in this form conveys the fee simple "without covenants of any kind on the part of the grantor," which is the plain meaning of a quitclaim.
Notice the tax-mailing address sits inside the form itself. That is not decoration. The auditor needs it to send the next tax bill, and ORC 319.20 says the transfer happens only on a deed "bearing the last known address of the grantee."
The form ends with a note that execution follows Chapter 5301. That chapter is where the signing rules live.
Who has to sign and who can notarize an Ohio deed?
ORC 5301.01 asks for two things: the grantor signs, and the signing is acknowledged "before a judge or clerk of a court of record in this state, or a county auditor, county engineer, notary public, or mayor." The section names no witnesses. Section 5301.01(B) shows why: deeds signed before February 1, 2002 needed two witnesses, and the legislature validated the ones that lacked them. For a deed signed today an older template with two witness lines is out of date, though the extra lines do not hurt.
Two details clerks check against the deed:
- Prior instrument. ORC 319.20 requires "a reference to the volume and page of the recording, or other means of identifying the recording, of the next preceding recorded instrument." Copy the deed book and page, or the instrument number, from the last deed into your title.
- Legal description. Take it from that same prior deed, not from a tax bill. Cuyahoga County's published conveyance standards also say the grantor must tell the Fiscal Officer in writing if less than the whole interest is being conveyed, as a percentage or fraction.
What does the auditor do before the deed is recorded?
The county auditor reviews the deed, takes a statement of value, collects the conveyance fee, and transfers the parcel on the tax list. Only after that does the deed go next door to the recorder.
The statement of value is the DTE 100. If the transfer is exempt, you file the DTE 100EX, the Statement of Reason for Exemption, instead. Under ORC 319.202, an exempt transfer needs "only a statement of the reason for the exemption." Cuyahoga's standards say no instrument is transferred without one of the two forms, and they reserve the right to ask for supporting paper such as trust documents or affidavits.
How much is the conveyance fee on an Ohio quitclaim deed?
Three layers can apply, all measured on the value transferred.
State. ORC 319.54(G)(3) sets the auditor's fee at "one dollar, or ten cents for each one hundred dollars," whichever is greater. That is $1 per $1,000.
County. A county may add a permissive tax of up to 30 cents per $100 under ORC 322.02, which is $3 per $1,000 at the ceiling. Counties set their own number, so you must read your auditor's page:
- Franklin: $3 per $1,000 total, made up of the state's $1 and $2 from the county commissioners. If the grantor takes the homestead exemption, it drops to the state $1.
- Hamilton: $3.00 per thousand combined, effective March 13, 2021.
- Cuyahoga: $4.00 per $1,000, with a $4 minimum.
Transfer fee. Fifty cents per transfer or entry (ORC 319.54(G)(2)). Hamilton and Cuyahoga both list it, per parcel.
On a $20,000 sale in Franklin County, that is $60 conveyance plus $0.50, or $60.50, before recording.
When is an Ohio quitclaim deed exempt from the conveyance fee?
ORC 319.54(G)(3) lists the exempt transfers. Three matter for a typical quitclaim of land:
- (d) A gift between spouses, or between a parent and child or the spouse of either, "in trust or otherwise." Adding a spouse or moving land to a child usually lands here.
- (m) A transfer where no money or other valuable consideration is paid and the transaction is not a gift. Franklin's page says this one needs an affidavit.
- (j) A transfer where the value does not exceed $100.
Gifts to a sibling, a friend or a niece do not fit (d). If it is truly a gift to someone outside that list, expect the auditor to ask which exemption you are claiming. Say it plainly on the DTE 100EX and attach a short affidavit if the auditor wants one.
An exempt deed still pays the $0.50 transfer fee and the recording fee. Franklin's auditor says the same on its calculator: exempt transfers owe the $0.50 and nothing more at that desk.
What does it cost to record a quitclaim deed in Ohio?
The recorder's fee is set by statute, with counties choosing the surcharge. ORC 317.32(A)(1) is a base fee of $17 plus a $17 housing trust fund fee for the first two pages, and $4 plus $4 for each page after that, plus a document preservation surcharge of "up to five dollars." For a one or two page deed that is $34 to $39. Cuyahoga posts the top number: $39 for the first two pages and $8 each page after, effective October 24, 2024. Our quitclaim deed cost guide puts the other states next to it.
What a quitclaim does not do in Ohio
It does not clear title, and it does not remove a mortgage. The lender's lien stays on the land whoever holds it, which is the subject of quitclaim deeds and mortgages. It also gives the grantee no after-the-fact remedy if the grantor owned nothing. If money is changing hands with a stranger, the buyer and the title company will expect a warranty or limited warranty deed; the trade-off is laid out in quitclaim vs warranty deed.
If the point is simply to get an Ohio parcel off your hands, a deed to a cash buyer skips the family-transfer paperwork. We buy land in Ohio and handle the auditor stop and the recording; the offer is below retail, and the cash sale typically closes in 7 to 21 days.
The other 49 states are in our quitclaim deed forms by state table.
Indiana has the same auditor-first routing; compare the Indiana quitclaim deed rules.
Frequently asked questions
Does an Ohio quitclaim deed need a witness?
No. ORC 5301.01 requires the grantor's signature and an acknowledgment before a notary, judge, court clerk, county auditor, county engineer or mayor, and names no witness.
Do I file the DTE 100 or the DTE 100EX with my quitclaim deed?
DTE 100 if the transfer is a sale, DTE 100EX if you are claiming an exemption such as a gift to a child under ORC 319.54(G)(3)(d). Cuyahoga's standards say no instrument transfers without one of the two.
Is there a statewide Ohio quitclaim deed form?
The statute prints one (ORC 5302.11), but no state agency publishes a fill-in form. Use the statutory wording and add the tax-mailing address, the prior-instrument reference and the legal description from the last deed.
How much does a quitclaim deed cost in Ohio?
Recording is $34 to $39 for a short deed under ORC 317.32, plus the auditor's $0.50 transfer fee. A sale adds $1 to $4 per $1,000 of value depending on the county; a qualifying gift adds nothing.