Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Madison County
Just Got Married
Just got married and want your spouse's name on the title? A quitclaim deed is the standard way to add them — no sale, no mortgage payoff, just an updated deed on file with the county.
Going Through a Divorce
Going through a divorce and need an ex's name off the title? A quitclaim deed handles that cleanly, once your settlement or court order says who keeps the property.
Inherited Property
Inherited property from a family member? Depending on how the estate was handled, a quitclaim deed may be how ownership formally moves into your name.
Gifting to Family
Adding an adult child to the title, or gifting property to family outright? A quitclaim deed is the usual way to make that transfer official.
About the Madison County Clerk-Auditor-Recorder
Madison County was created February 18, 1913 from Fremont County, becoming Idaho's 33rd county after local voters strongly favored the split. Rexburg, founded in 1883 by Latter-day Saint farmers led by Thomas Ricks, became the county seat. On June 5, 1976, the newly built Teton Dam upstream collapsed, sending a wall of water through Rexburg and the surrounding valley, forcing a mass evacuation and leading to a federal disaster declaration — one of the defining events in the county's modern history. Rexburg has since grown substantially around Brigham Young University-Idaho.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Madison County, this is the Madison County Clerk-Auditor-Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Rexburg, Sugar City, Newdale.
Office Details
Address: 134 East Main Street, Rexburg, ID 83440 (mailing: PO Box 389, Rexburg, ID 83440)
Phone: (208) 359-6200
Hours: Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Recording Fee: Recording fees in Madison 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 Madison 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 Madison 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 Madison 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 Madison County government website. IdahoQuitclaimDeed.com is a privately owned website and is not affiliated with any government agency.