Idaho Quitclaim Deed

Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Custer County

Just Got Married

If marriage is the reason you're here, you're not alone — adding a spouse to the title is one of the simplest, most common uses of a quitclaim deed.

Going Through a Divorce

If your divorce settlement awarded you the property, a quitclaim deed is how you actually get your ex's name off the title.

Inherited Property

If you're sorting out property after losing a family member, a quitclaim deed is often the last step in getting the title updated to reflect the new owner.

Gifting to Family

Whether you're adding your child to the title or handing the property over outright, a quitclaim deed is the standard way families make that change here.

About the Custer County Clerk, Auditor and Recorder

Custer County was formed January 8, 1881 from parts of Alturas and Lemhi counties, with Challis as its seat. It is named for the General Custer mine, itself named in honor of George Custer after his death at the Little Bighorn. Prospectors found gold in the Yankee Fork drainage in 1867, and the town of Custer — founded in 1879 after rich silver and gold strikes — briefly supported about 500 residents with a school, mills, and businesses at its 1880s peak before the ore played out and the county's economy shifted toward livestock and, later, tourism and recreation around the Sawtooth and Salmon River country.

Cities and Communities Served

Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Custer County, this is the Custer County Clerk, Auditor and Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:

Incorporated cities: Challis, Mackay, Stanley, Clayton, Lost River.

Unincorporated communities: Chilly, Ellis.

Lost River is a genuinely incorporated city in Custer County but is extremely small (roughly 40-45 residents) and is flagged by some federal data sources as an inactive/nonfunctioning governmental unit — worth a human double-check before treating it as a normal full-service town. Clayton is similarly tiny (about a dozen residents). The ghost towns of Custer, Bonanza, and Bayhorse are also within the county but are not current municipalities.

Office Details

Address: 801 E Main Ave #385, Challis, ID 83226 (mailing: P.O. Box 385, Challis, ID 83226-0385)

Phone: (208) 879-2360

Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Recording Fee: Set by Idaho state statute rather than by the county — flat fees keyed to document type (deeds vs. trust deeds/mortgages vs. other instruments) for the first 30 pages, with a small added per-page charge beyond that, plus separate charges for copies and certificates. Not based on the property's sale price or value.

E-recording: Simplifile

Official Website Get Directions

How to File a Document

  1. Sign in Front of a Notary: Idaho law requires a deed to be acknowledged before a notary public before the Custer County Clerk, Auditor and Recorder can record it (Idaho Code § 55-805). The deed is actually valid between you and the person you're transferring to as soon as it's signed and delivered — the notarized acknowledgment is what makes it eligible for recording, which is the step that protects you against someone else claiming the property later.
  2. Give the Grantee's Full Mailing Address: Idaho requires the deed itself to state the complete mailing address of the person receiving the property, not just their name. This is a simple detail that's easy to miss and a common reason a deed gets sent back.
  3. Attach a Full Legal Description, Not Just an Address: A street address alone isn't enough — Idaho deeds need the property's actual legal description (the metes-and-bounds, government survey, or platted-lot description used in the county's own records). You can usually copy this directly from the deed that transferred the property to you.
  4. Consider Online Notarization if an In-Person Visit Is Hard: Idaho has allowed remote online notarization since 2020, so if getting to a notary's office in person is difficult, a signer may be able to complete the acknowledgment through video with an Idaho-commissioned online notary instead.
  5. Record with the County Recorder: Bring, mail, or (where the county supports it) e-file the signed and notarized deed with the Custer County Clerk, Auditor and Recorder for the county where the property sits. Idaho charges a flat recording fee set by state statute and based on the document and page count, not a percentage of the property's value — and unlike some states, Idaho has no separate real estate transfer tax or transfer declaration form to file alongside the deed.

Still Have Questions About Filing With the Custer County Clerk, Auditor and Recorder?

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Other Counties in Idaho

Filing somewhere else in the state? Here are a few other county pages:

See all Idaho counties

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