Oregon QuitClaim Deed

Transfer Oregon Property the Way the County Clerk Expects

An Oregon quitclaim deed is one of the simplest ways to transfer property between people who already know and trust each other — no title search, no complicated paperwork, just a straightforward way to update who's on the title. Families use it all the time for the kind of changes covered in the common scenarios below. Every Oregon county clerk has specific requirements for what needs to appear on a deed's first page, but our recording requirements guide walks you through exactly what's needed, so nothing catches you by surprise.

Need help filling out your quitclaim deed? See our simple step-by-step instructions here.

What an Oregon Deed Needs to Get Recorded

A typical quitclaim deed has three parts a clerk will check before accepting it:

First-Page Content: The transaction title, direct and indirect parties (grantor/grantee), the true consideration, and a tax-statement mailing address — all required on the first page, or bundled into an attached cover sheet if the deed itself doesn't already carry them.
Legal Description: The property's legal description and both parties' names, spelled out on the deed itself rather than buried in a separate exhibit.
Notarization: Signed and acknowledged before a notary — either an Oregon notary in person, or, if the signer prefers, an Oregon-commissioned notary handling it remotely through the state's online notarization option.

Grantor and Grantee, Quickly

The terms grantor and grantee come up constantly and are easy to mix up:

Grantor: The individual transferring ownership rights — the party whose name needs to match the current title exactly.
Grantee: The individual receiving those rights, who has the strongest interest in getting the deed recorded quickly.

Think of “grantor” as the one who gives, and “grantee” as the one who receives.

Why a Quitclaim Deed, Specifically, in Oregon?

Oregon law bars cities and counties from imposing a real estate transfer tax, with a single grandfathered exception in Washington County — so in the other 35 counties, filing a deed means paying only the county's own recording fee, nothing more. Those recording fees aren't set statewide the way some states do it; each of Oregon's 36 counties sets and periodically adjusts its own rate, so check your county's current fee schedule (linked from its page in our county directory) rather than assuming a number. What Oregon does require statewide is that same first-page information mentioned above — and it applies to every filing, no exemptions to track. Once your deed is complete, it's recorded with the County Clerk in the county where the property sits, and a handful of counties layer on their own local quirks beyond the statewide standard.

Common Scenarios for Using a Quitclaim Deed

Transferring Property into a Living Trust: If you've set up a revocable living trust for estate planning, transferring title of your property into the trust's name is what actually makes it work — your family can skip probate court after you're gone instead of the property sitting tied up for months. It's a straightforward filing in Oregon, since the state doesn't require a separate sale-price disclosure form the way some others do.
Divorce: During a divorce, property transfers can be complex. A quitclaim deed can simplify the process when:
- One name must be removed from the title.
- Both names are on the mortgage, requiring additional steps like refinancing or selling the property.
Name Corrections: Correcting misspelled names, adding or removing middle initials, or updating a title after marriage or divorce are other common uses.

How to Get Started