Idaho Quitclaim Deed

Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Nez Perce 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 Nez Perce County Clerk, Auditor and Recorder

Nez Perce County traces its origin to December 20, 1861, when the Washington Territorial legislature created it — making it one of the handful of Idaho counties older than Idaho itself, formed while the region was still part of Washington Territory ahead of Idaho's own 1863 territorial organization. Lewiston, the county seat, was founded that same year on land that was, at the time, still part of the Nez Perce Reservation; town promoters secured a temporary lease of a square mile of reservation land for the townsite. The county and its seat are named for explorer Meriwether Lewis and for the Nez Perce people, whose reservation still occupies much of the surrounding Camas Prairie country today.

Cities and Communities Served

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

Incorporated cities: Lewiston, Culdesac, Lapwai, Peck.

Unincorporated communities: Sweetwater, Jacques Spur, Southwick.

Nez Perce County contains a substantial portion of the Nez Perce Reservation (Lapwai is the reservation's historic administrative center). Real property recording for land within reservation boundaries generally still runs through this county recorder's office, but any nuances around trust/allotted land and BIA involvement were not independently verified here and should be checked before publishing anything that implies jurisdictional specifics.

Office Details

Address: Nez Perce County Courthouse, 1st Floor, 1230 Main Street, Lewiston, ID 83501 (mailing: P.O. Box 896, Lewiston, ID 83501)

Phone: 208-799-3020

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

Recording Fee: Recording fees follow a tiered, per-document schedule set by state statute (Idaho Code) based on document type and page count, rather than on the value of the property being conveyed. The office also charges an additional per-square-inch surcharge for documents larger than standard letter/legal size.

E-recording: Simplifile

Good to know before you go: The Clerk/Auditor/Recorder's counter handles document recording and copy requests on a walk-in basis, but the same office processes marriage licenses and passport applications by appointment only — worth knowing if your visit involves more than dropping off a deed.

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 Nez Perce 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 Nez Perce 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 Nez Perce 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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