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Cook County recording
An Illinois quitclaim deed uses ‘convey and quit claim’ and carries no covenants. This page is for property in Cook County, including Chicago: record with the Cook County Clerk and complete MyDec before recording.
Is this the right deed type? A quitclaim deed transfers only the interest the grantor may have, if any — it includes no title warranties.
This download includes 2 documents in editable Word format. Complete them on your own computer, then print, sign, and record.
Packet is delivered in Word format; no blank PDF of the deed is included.
A simple three-step workflow; the packet guides you through each one.
Gather the current deed or title record and the exact legal description of the property before you start.
Complete the blank deed and follow the included state guidance for signing, acknowledgment, and related requirements.
Confirm your county recorder's cover sheets, transfer forms, fees, and local practices, then submit the executed deed.
Cook County deeds — including Chicago — are recorded with the Cook County Clerk. Complete MyDec before recording. Chicago property has extra city stamp prerequisites.
All of Cook County, including Chicago
118 N. Clark Street, Room 120, Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 603-5050
Monday–Friday 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.; last customer 4:45 p.m.
Record with the Cook County Clerk. Complete MyDec for the state and county transfer declaration. Exempt deeds also need the Clerk’s Grantor/Grantee Affidavit. If the property is the grantor’s Illinois homestead, the non-titled spouse must join.
In addition to MyDec, Chicago transfers need the City transfer-tax declaration in MyDec and any required municipal transfer-tax stamp. Before city stamps issue, obtain a Full Payment Certificate from the Department of Finance. A certificate of zoning compliance is also required for some 1-, 2-, or 5-or-fewer-unit residential buildings.
See page 1 of the actual blank form and review a plain-language outline of what appears on page 1. The complete formatted packet is delivered after checkout.
ILLINOIS QUITCLAIM DEED.
Recording and return information: fields for the preparer and return-to recipient names, mailing addresses, and related recording details, with a 3.5×3.5 inch recorder / Cook County Clerk stamp band.
Party information: grantor and grantee names, mailing addresses, marital status, vesting, and the grantee mailing address required by 55 ILCS 5/3-5026.
Consideration and optional 31-45 notation: a nominal consideration recital and an optional 35 ILCS 200/31-45 face-of-deed exemption field. Categories (b), (k), and (m) still need PTAX-203 / MyDec.
Property description: the legal description of the property, or a reference to an attached exhibit.
Statutory quitclaim conveyance: the grantor does hereby convey and quit claim under 765 ILCS 5/10, with no covenants of title and no after-acquired title, plus the customary homestead-release insert.
About this Illinois form
An Illinois quitclaim deed is the statutory 765 ILCS 5/10 form. The operative words are “convey and quit claim.” Those words transfer all then-existing legal or equitable rights of the grantor and carry no covenants of title. They do not pass after-acquired title unless words expressing that intent are added. This is not a warranty deed and not a special-warranty deed.
An Illinois statutory warranty deed (765 ILCS 5/9) uses “conveys and warrants” and imports three combined covenants. An Illinois quitclaim (765 ILCS 5/10) uses “convey and quit claim” and imports none. Illinois has no separate “grant deed” category; do not treat a grant-deed label as a middle-tier Illinois product. Special warranty under 765 ILCS 5/8 is a different instrument and is not this packet.
PublicLegal-authored self-help deed form. Provided for customers to complete with their own transaction information and submit to the proper local recording office. Recorder offices and state agencies may require separate supplemental forms, taxes, fees, or cover sheets, and requirements vary by jurisdiction and transaction. Review the product notes and confirm local recording requirements before relying on any completed deed.
ILRG provides self-help deed forms and download support. Attorney-reviewed PublicLegal-authored deed forms are provided for you to complete with your own transaction information. Deed recording requirements, supplemental forms, transfer taxes, title-company practices, and legal suitability vary by jurisdiction and transaction. If you are not 100 percent satisfied after purchasing from us, contact us for a refund.
No. You receive the statewide Illinois deed packet. This page adds Cook County recording guidance. Only the documents listed under Included documents are included.
Record with the Cook County Clerk, Recordings Division, 118 N. Clark Street, Room 120, Chicago. Complete MyDec before recording. Chicago property also needs the City declaration in MyDec and any required municipal transfer-tax stamp. Exempt deeds need the Clerk’s Grantor/Grantee Affidavit.
Usually yes. File PTAX-203 in MyDec in participating counties, or the official paper form where the county has not transitioned. A signed dated 31-45 exemption notation on the deed face may substitute only for categories (a), (c)–(j), and (l). Categories (b), (k), and (m) still need the declaration even if the transfer is tax-exempt. Do not author a homemade declaration.
Statewide tax is $0.50 per $500 plus county $0.25 per $500. Chicago adds municipal tax — commonly $6.00 per $500 total in the City (City plus CTA components). Confirm the current local split before recording. Cook and Chicago municipal overlays, including Chicago Form 7551, are local and are not this packet.
Record with the County Recorder of the county where the land lies. In Cook County, record with the Cook County Clerk. In some smaller counties the county clerk is the recorder.
No. A deed transfers title. It does not release a borrower from an existing mortgage, remove liens, or replace lender consent, payoff, refinance, or assumption.
If the property is the grantor’s Illinois homestead, the non-titled spouse must join. The customary homestead-release words on the deed release only the signer’s homestead and are not a substitute for the other spouse’s signature. A titled spouse, or a spouse needed to convey a tenancy by the entirety, signs as a grantor.
PublicLegal provides this self-help deed form template for customers to complete with their own transaction information. For transaction-specific legal, title, tax, or recording guidance, consult an attorney, title company, tax professional, or the local recording office.
A quitclaim deed transfers whatever right, title, or interest the grantor may have in the property, if any. It does not include warranties about ownership or title condition, so the grantee accepts the title risk.
Quitclaim deeds are commonly used between parties who already know each other — for example certain family transfers, moving property into a trust, or adding or removing a name — where everyone understands there are no title warranties. They are often not the first choice for an arm's-length sale.