Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Jefferson County
Just Got Married
Adding your new spouse to the title after a wedding is one of the most common reasons people file here — it's a straightforward paperwork step, not a real estate transaction.
Going Through a Divorce
Divorce is one of the most common reasons people end up here — removing a former spouse from the title, once the settlement is final.
Inherited Property
Families dealing with an inherited property often end up here — a quitclaim deed can move title into an heir's name once the estate matters are settled.
Gifting to Family
Parents gifting property to their kids, or adding a family member to the title, typically use a quitclaim deed to make it official with the county.
About the Jefferson County Clerk-Auditor-Recorder
Jefferson County was formed February 18, 1913 out of Fremont County and named for Thomas Jefferson. It was settled beginning in the 1880s by Latter-day Saint farming families who built irrigation canals off the Snake River Plain; Rigby, founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1906, became the county seat, while Lewisville, incorporated in 1904, was the county's first incorporated village. The Rigby area is also known as the boyhood home of Philo Farnsworth, who as a teenager on a local farm conceived the scanning-line idea behind electronic television, later built the first working system, and is honored today at Rigby's Farnsworth TV & Pioneer Museum.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Jefferson County, this is the Jefferson County Clerk-Auditor-Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Rigby, Ririe, Menan, Lewisville, Roberts, Mud Lake.
Unincorporated communities: Terreton, Hamer.
Hamer was an incorporated city until residents voted to disincorporate it in 2022; it is now unincorporated.
Office Details
Address: 210 Courthouse Way, Suite 100, Rigby, ID 83442
Phone: 208-745-7756
Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Recording Fee: Recording fees in Jefferson County are set by Idaho state statute (uniform statewide) and are structured as a flat or tiered rate by document type and page count rather than based on the property's value.
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 Jefferson County Clerk-Auditor-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 Jefferson County Clerk-Auditor-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 Jefferson County Clerk-Auditor-Recorder?
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Other Counties in Idaho
Filing somewhere else in the state? Here are a few other county pages:
You are not on the official Jefferson County government website. IdahoQuitclaimDeed.com is a privately owned website and is not affiliated with any government agency.