Why People File a Quitclaim Deed in Valley County
Just Got Married
Weddings prompt a lot of small administrative updates, and updating the property title with a quitclaim deed is one of the most common.
Going Through a Divorce
A quitclaim deed is often the very last document tied to a divorce that people get around to filing.
Inherited Property
Property left behind after a death often needs a quitclaim deed before a bank, buyer, or title company will treat the new owner as official.
Gifting to Family
Some relatives use a quitclaim deed to formalize an informal arrangement — property that's been "understood" to belong to someone for years.
About the Valley County Clerk, Auditor and Recorder
Valley County was formed February 26, 1917 out of parts of Idaho and Boise counties, and it takes its plain, descriptive name from Long Valley, the broad north-south valley that dominates the county's geography along the North Fork Payette River. The county's economy and identity split between two very different halves: Cascade, the county seat, grew up around timber and later a reservoir/dam project, while McCall, on the shore of Payette Lake, developed into one of Idaho's best-known mountain resort and second-home towns. Much of the county's southern and eastern backcountry, including the area around Yellow Pine, remains remote, roadless-adjacent wilderness.
Cities and Communities Served
Recording jurisdiction runs countywide, not by city limits — if the property sits anywhere within Valley County, this is the Valley County Clerk, Auditor and Recorder that will accept the deed. That includes:
Incorporated cities: Cascade, McCall, Donnelly.
Unincorporated communities: Yellow Pine, Lake Fork, Smiths Ferry, Warm Lake.
Donnelly was incorporated in 1914, three years before Valley County itself was created.
Office Details
Address: 219 N. Main Street, Cascade, ID 83611 (mailing: P.O. Box 1350, Cascade, ID 83611)
Phone: 208-382-7100, option 2
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.
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 Valley 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 Valley 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 Valley County Clerk, Auditor and Recorder?
Ask below and get an instant answer on Idaho quitclaim deeds.
Other Counties in Idaho
Filing somewhere else in the state? Here are a few other county pages:
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