Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Elmore County
Just Got Married
A lot of couples wait until well after the wedding to update the title, and a quitclaim deed works just as well then as it would right away.
Going Through a Divorce
Some people are surprised a divorce decree alone doesn't update the deed — that last step is a quitclaim deed, filed separately.
Inherited Property
An inherited property's title doesn't update on its own — a quitclaim deed is the document that makes the county's records catch up.
Gifting to Family
If you're signing property over to a relative as a gift, a quitclaim deed is the document that records it with the county.
About the Elmore County Clerk, Auditor and Recorder
Elmore County was created February 7, 1889 out of Alturas County, taking its name from the Ida Elmore mine, a major gold and silver producer of the 1860s located near Silver City in what is now Owyhee County. Rocky Bar served as the original county seat before the seat moved to Mountain Home in 1891. Roughly 60% of the county's more than 3,000 square miles is mountainous, with the remainder sloping down to the Snake River Plain; the Shoshone and Bannock tribes historically wintered along the Snake River and returned to the Camas Prairie each spring before settlement.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Elmore County, this is the Elmore County Clerk, Auditor and Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Mountain Home, Glenns Ferry.
Unincorporated communities: Atlanta, Dixie, Featherville, King Hill, Pine, Tipanuk.
The county's own website lists 'Clerk' and 'Recorder' as separate department pages, but both are currently held by the same elected official (Julie Kennedy) — consistent with Idaho's standard combined Clerk/Auditor/Recorder office, not a sign of two separate elected positions.
Office Details
Address: 2280 American Legion Blvd, Mountain Home, ID 83647
Phone: (208) 587-2130, ext. 6500
Hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 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. Not based on the property's sale price or value.
E-recording: Simplifile
How to File a Document
- Sign in Front of a Notary: Idaho law requires a deed to be acknowledged before a notary public before the Elmore 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Record with the County Recorder: Bring, mail, or (where the county supports it) e-file the signed and notarized deed with the Elmore 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 Elmore 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:
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