Utah Quitclaim Deed Recording Requirements

Step-by-Step Guide to Recording Quitclaim Deeds

Utah's county recorder formatting standards are set out in Utah Code § 17-21-20

Margin and Format Requirements

To be accepted for recording, a deed presented to a Utah county recorder must meet these standards:

• Paper: 8.5 x 11 inches, white paper only — Utah doesn't accept legal-size (8.5 x 14) pages the way some states do.
• Printing: single-sided only, in black ink, with text no smaller than seven lines per vertical inch.
• Margins: at least 1 inch on the left, right, and bottom of every page; at least 1 inch at the top of every page after the first.
• Recorder's stamp space: the first page needs a blank area at least 2.5 inches down and 4.5 inches across in the upper right-hand corner, reserved for the recorder's stamp.
• Binding: pages must not be continuously bound together at the side, top, or bottom.
• Grantee information: a complete legal description of the property and the grantee's mailing address for tax assessment purposes must both appear in the document.

A county recorder can reject a deed outright for missing any of these — there's no equivalent to the "grandfather" exemption some states give to older documents, so double-check formatting even on a deed drafted from an older template.

Notarization

A Utah quitclaim deed must be signed and acknowledged before a notary public — Utah Code § 57-3-101 requires acknowledgment for any document affecting real property. Utah has also permitted remote online notarization (RON) since November 2019: the notary must be commissioned and physically located in Utah at the time of the signing, but the person signing the deed can join from anywhere over a real-time audio-video connection, with identity confirmed through credential analysis and knowledge-based authentication. See our notary information page for details, or notarize a deed online directly through our online notary partner.

Water Rights Aren't Automatically Included

Unlike the land itself, water rights in Utah are a separate legal property interest — a quitclaim deed doesn't automatically carry them along with the property. Water rights that are "appurtenant" (legally attached) to your land can pass together with it when both are owned by the same person, but that's not something to assume happens on its own, and it's an easy detail to get wrong.

If your property has water rights you want to address as part of the transfer — whether you're conveying them, keeping them, or just confirming there aren't any — Utah has a dedicated official form for it: the Water Rights Addendum to Water Deeds, from the Utah Division of Water Rights. Recorded alongside your deed, it documents exactly what's included, and the county recorder forwards a copy to the state engineer to keep ownership records current. If you're not sure whether your property has associated water rights, the Division of Water Rights or a water-rights attorney can help you check before you file.

No State Transfer Tax

Utah does not impose a state-level real estate transfer tax on deed transfers.

Recording Fee

Utah's recording fee is a flat amount charged per document — not a percentage of the property's value — and it's set by state statute (Utah Code § 17-71-407) rather than by each county setting its own rate. Salt Lake County and Utah County are carved out of the statewide amount and charge a different figure than the rest of the state. That statute has already been amended once by the legislature (HB 38, 2026), so don't rely on an old printed fee schedule — check with your county recorder for the current amount before mailing a check or filing in person.

Electronic Recording

Many, but not all, Utah counties accept e-recording through vendors such as Simplifile. Availability — and whether it's open to individual filers versus only title companies and attorneys — varies by county, so check your county's page or call ahead before assuming e-recording is an option.