3 Documents North Carolinians Need to Add a Spouse to a House Deed

It’s easy to assume adding a spouse to a house deed takes one signature.

In North Carolina, it takes several papers, and missing one may send you back to the start.

Gather this paperwork before you file.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Recording rules and fees are subject to change, so confirm the current requirements with your county register of deeds.

1. Your Recorded Deed

Your house deed already holds the legal description your new deed needs.

The North Carolina Bar Association’s deed guide says every deed must include a legal description, and a physical address or tax parcel number alone isn’t enough.

Copying it word for word from your current deed is the safe way to get it right.

Onslow County’s register of deeds says you can get your parcel number from the tax map section of the county’s Tax Office website.

If your copy’s gone missing, the recorded version sits with your county’s register of deeds, the office that records deeds.

Wake County’s register of deeds, for example, explains how to search its records online.

2. Your New Deed

Adding a spouse to a house deed takes one new deed that runs from you to the two of you.

Your name goes in as the grantor, the person handing over an interest in the house.

The two of you also appear as grantees, the people receiving that interest.

You appear twice.

Unless the deed says otherwise, North Carolina vests the house in you both as tenants by the entirety, a form of ownership for married couples.

Moore County’s register of deeds says a deed must carry the grantee’s mailing address, so your spouse’s goes on it too.

Your signature line should match your ID, with a notation for any earlier name.

Your first page has to name whoever drafted the deed, under G.S. 47-17.1.

Moore County also asks for a return-to name and address on the first page.

3. Notary Acknowledgment

Your deed needs a notary’s acknowledgment, and under G.S. 47-14 it has to include the notary’s signature, commission expiration date and official seal, if required.

The certificate’s wording also names you, states that you signed the deed and carries the date.

Notary law bars a notary who is a signer of, party to or beneficiary of a record from notarizing it.

That means your spouse can’t notarize the deed, even with a notary commission.

Find another notary.

The notary also has to be sure who you are.

North Carolina’s notary law accepts a current document from a federal, state or tribal government agency that bears your photo and either your signature or a physical description.

A driver’s license or a passport fits that description.

The law asks for a current document, so bring one that hasn’t expired.

A notary who knows you personally can rely on that knowledge instead of an ID.

A credible witness who personally knows you can also take an oath to your identity.

The notary has to know that witness personally too.

Recording the Signed Deed

A deed isn't valid against lien creditors or buyers who paid value until it's registered in the county where the land lies, under G.S. 47-18.

Until the register of deeds records it, your signed and notarized deed doesn't protect your spouse against those creditors or buyers.

Signing isn't enough.

If your land sits in more than one county, the deed has to be registered in each of them.

The $26 fee covers the first 15 pages of your deed, and every page after that adds $4.

Our rundown of North Carolina property rules explains how the race to record works.

Does Your County Require a Tax Certification?

Your county decides whether a tax certification joins the deed that adds your spouse.

North Carolina law lets a county board of commissioners bar its register of deeds from accepting a deed without one.

The county tax collector has to certify that no delinquent taxes are a lien on the property.

The law applies only to the counties it lists.

Wake, Mecklenburg and Guilford aren't on that list, but Onslow, Durham and Buncombe are.

Yours might be too.

A county that adopts the rule still has to accept a deed without the certification when a closing attorney submits it with the statement the statute spells out.

Onslow County's register of deeds asks for a Tax Certification Form with the deed.

You'll need your parcel identifier number to request it.

To find out whether your county asks for one, check the recording page on your county's register of deeds website, where Onslow County posts its form.

Do You Owe Excise Tax When You Add a Spouse?

Your deed carries the excise tax amount in its top left corner, according to the deed guide.

Under G.S. 105-228.29, adding your spouse to a deed costs no excise tax when no money or property changes hands.

The same statute exempts gifts.

When money does change hands, G.S. 105-228.30 sets the tax at $1 for each $500 of value.

The person giving up the interest pays it to the register of deeds before the deed is recorded.

What About Your Mortgage Paperwork?

If you're adding a spouse to a house deed while you still owe a mortgage, your loan documents are the papers to check.

A due-on-sale clause lets a lender demand the loan balance if you sell or transfer any part of the property without its written consent.

Federal law generally keeps your lender from enforcing that clause when your spouse becomes an owner of a home you both live in.

The exception covers homes with fewer than five dwelling units, so a single-family house you live in fits.

FAQ

The register of deeds will still record a deed that misses the paper standards in G.S. 161-14, but only after collecting an extra fee for nonstandard documents.

How much does it cost to add a spouse to a house deed in North Carolina?

Recording costs $26 for the first 15 pages and $4 for each additional page.

No excise tax is due when no money or property changes hands.

Where do you record a deed that adds a spouse?

You record it with the register of deeds in the county where the land lies, or in each county if it spans more than one.

Can you add a spouse to a house deed if you still have a mortgage?

Federal law generally keeps your lender from calling the loan due when your spouse becomes an owner of a home you live in.

The home has to have fewer than five dwelling units.

What kind of ownership does your spouse get?