How to Transfer a Car Title After Death in Connecticut

When it applies: Connecticut does not put a transfer-on-death beneficiary on the title. Instead, under C.G.S. section 14-16(b), a car owned by one person (not a business, no co-owner) can name a beneficiary in a space on the registration certificate. The owner signs the designation in front of a witness, and the beneficiary cannot be the witness.

The deadline is short. The beneficiary must apply to the DMV no later than 60 days after the owner's death. After that, the right is lost and the car goes through the small-estate or probate route. A 2026 bill to lengthen this window did not become law, so the 60-day rule still applies. The beneficiary takes the car subject to any recorded loan.

The DMV's main deceased-owner page does not describe this route, and its beneficiary form is dated 2015. Contact the DMV to confirm what to bring and whether current registration certificates still include the beneficiary space.

Steps

• Find the original registration certificate and check that the beneficiary section is filled in, signed by the owner and witnessed.
• Get a death certificate for the owner.
• Fill out Form H-13B in your name.
• Apply to the DMV within 60 days of the death.

Forms

• Application for Registration and Title (H-13B)
• Beneficiary Designation for a Motor Vehicle (as posted by the DMV)

Documents the law lists

• The original registration certificate naming you as beneficiary
• A death certificate for the owner
• Proof of your identity
• The current certificate of title
• A completed Form H-13B and the fees

When it applies: the title lists two owners. What happens depends on the word between their names.

• "OR" (for example, "John Jones or Mary Jones"): the DMV calls this joint ownership. The surviving owner gets the deceased owner's share automatically, without probate. The DMV says only one signature is needed to change ownership.
• "AND" (for example, "John Jones and Mary Jones"): the DMV calls this common ownership. There is no right of survivorship. The Probate Court appoints an executor or administrator to sign over the deceased owner's share, and a copy of the probate document is attached to the title. For a small estate, the court may authorize the transfer by letter instead.

Steps

• Check the Connecticut title for "or" or "and" between the names.
• For "AND": get the probate document or the court's small-estate letter and attach a copy to the title.
• Fill out Form H-13B and make a DMV appointment.

Forms

• Application for Registration and Title (H-13B)
• Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration (PC-212), for an "AND" title when the estate qualifies as small

Documents

• The Connecticut certificate of title
• For "AND": a copy of the probate document or the court's small-estate letter
• Form H-13B
• A current Connecticut insurance card in the new owner's name
• ID

When it applies: your spouse owned the car. Connecticut has no spouse-only car transfer form and no spouse-specific dollar limit. A surviving spouse uses one of the general routes:

• "OR" title with both spouses: the car passes to you automatically.
• Named as beneficiary on the registration: apply within 60 days of the death.
• Small estate ($40,000 or less in solely owned personal property, no solely owned Connecticut real estate): you are first in line to file the small-estate affidavit (PC-212) with the Probate Court.
• Otherwise: an executor or administrator signs the title over.

Sales tax: a spouse or civil union partner is immediate family, so the transfer is free of Connecticut sales and use tax if the car was registered in your spouse's name for at least 60 days and was taxed on its last sale. Claim it in Section 5 of Form H-13B.

Keeping the registration: by statute, if the car goes to the owner's spouse, child, parent, brother or sister, the registration can stay in force until it expires for a $20 fee. During a probate, the court may let the family use the family car if the executor or administrator asks in writing.

Forms

• Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration (PC-212)
• Request for Order of Distribution (PC-212A)
• Application for Registration and Title (H-13B)

Documents for the DMV

• The title, signed over by the person the court authorized (or by the surviving "or" co-owner)
• A certified probate document authorizing the transfer
• Form H-13B with Section 5 completed
• A current Connecticut insurance card in your name
• The most recent registration certificate and ID
• A permission letter, if you want to keep the same plates

When it applies: the car was titled only in the deceased's name, there is no beneficiary or "or" co-owner, and the estate is small. Connecticut has no DMV-only heirship affidavit. The no-probate route runs through the Probate Court's small-estate procedure under C.G.S. section 45a-273.

Who qualifies: the deceased's solely owned personal property, not counting assets that pass outside probate, is worth $40,000 or less, and the deceased had no solely owned real estate in Connecticut.

Who may sign: the surviving spouse first. If there is no spouse, any next of kin. If there is neither, or they refuse, any person the court finds has a sufficient interest, including a creditor.

Timing: there is no wait before filing. The court cannot issue its decree until 30 days after it sends a copy of the affidavit to the Department of Administrative Services.

Steps

• Complete Form PC-212. List the car by VIN and value, along with other solely owned assets, expenses and debts.
• Attach a copy of the death certificate with the Social Security number blacked out, and PC-212A if needed.
• File with the Probate Court for the district where the deceased lived.
• After the decree, ask the court for a certified document stating that transfer of the vehicle is allowed.
• The person named by the court signs the title over for the estate. The new owner fills out Form H-13B.
• Make a DMV appointment.

Forms

• Affidavit in Lieu of Probate of Will/Administration (PC-212)
• Request for Order of Distribution (PC-212A)
• Application for Registration and Title (H-13B)

Documents for the DMV

• A certified court document authorizing the transfer. The DMV accepts a PC-212B petitioner's probate certificate only if it states that transfer of ownership is allowed, and also lists PC-264 or PC-264S. Ask the court which document it issues.
• The title assigned by the person the court authorized
• Form H-13B
• A current Connecticut insurance card in the new owner's name
• The most recent registration certificate and ID

A Connecticut estate tax return is still required for a small estate.

When it applies: the Probate Court has appointed an executor (named in a will) or administrator (no will). For DMV purposes, the estate is the seller and the person receiving the car is the purchaser. If there are two executors, both must sign.

Steps

• Get a certified copy of the probate document naming the executor or administrator from the Probate Court.
• List the car on the estate inventory (Form PC-440), which is due within two months of appointment.
• The executor or administrator signs the title over to the new owner. For a car registered in Connecticut that does not need a title, the seller completes Form Q-1 instead and provides the most recent registration certificate.
• The new owner fills out Form H-13B, completing Section 5 if claiming the immediate-family sales tax exemption.
• The new owner gets Connecticut insurance and makes a DMV appointment.
• If emissions testing is due, have it done within 30 days of registration.

Forms

• Application for Registration and Title (H-13B)
• Supplemental Assignment of Ownership (Q-1), linked from the DMV transfer page
• Petition/Administration or Probate of Will (PC-200)
• Inventory (PC-440), on the Probate Court forms list

Documents

• The Connecticut title, assigned by the executor(s) or administrator
• A certified copy of the probate document. The DMV lists PC-160, PC-212B (only if it states transfer is allowed), PC-260, PC-264 or PC-264S, and PC-450.
• Form H-13B
• A current Connecticut insurance card in the new owner's name
• The most recent registration certificate and ID
• A permission letter to keep the same plates (optional)

When it applies: there is a loan (lien) on the car. A loan does not go away when the owner dies. A beneficiary named on the registration takes the car subject to any recorded lien.

How it works

• If the loan was already paid off, the title stamped "paid" by the lender can be used to transfer the car. You do not need a new title.
• Otherwise, get a lien release letter from the lender on its letterhead. It should name the owner, describe the vehicle (year, make, VIN), say the loan is paid in full or the lender has no interest in the car, and be signed by an authorized agent.
• If a lien stays on the new title, the title is mailed to the lienholder.
• Connecticut does not use electronic titles or electronic liens. Noting a lien on a title costs $10.

Forms

• Application for Registration and Title (H-13B)
• Application for Replacement Certificate of Title (H-6B). Section 2 can show a lien is satisfied if the loan started more than ten years ago.

DMV fees (from the DMV fee schedule)

• Title: $25, plus $10 if a lien is noted
• Regular passenger car registration: $120 registration fee, $5 plate fee, $10 administrative fee, $15 Clean Air Act fee and a Passport to the Parks fee ($24 as of July 1, 2025)
• Emissions exemption fee: $40 if the car is four model years old or newer
• Replacement title (Form H-6B, if the original is lost): $25
• Keeping the deceased owner's registration in force when the car goes to a spouse, child, parent, brother or sister: $20

The DMV accepts cash, exact-amount money orders, personal or bank checks payable to "DMV", credit cards and most debit cards.

Sales and use tax

Connecticut charges 6.35% on private vehicle purchases (7.75% over $50,000). Two exemptions cover most inherited cars:

• Immediate family: spouse or civil union partner, mother, father, son, daughter, brother or sister. The car must have been registered in the deceased's name for at least 60 days and taxed on its last sale. Claim it in Section 5 of Form H-13B with code "1" and the relationship.
• Small estates: transfers under the small-estate statute are exempt by law.

The DMV will not register a family-exempt car until delinquent property tax and parking tickets are cleared and any registration suspension is lifted. For heirs outside the immediate family (a grandchild, niece or friend) going through full probate, official guidance does not say whether tax is due. Contact the DMV or the Department of Revenue Services to confirm.

Probate Court fees are set by statute and based on the estate's value. For deaths on or after July 1, 2016, for example: $25 for estates of $0 to $500, and $150 plus 0.35% of the amount over $10,000 for estates of $10,000 to $500,000. If a full estate is opened with a value under $10,000, the minimum fee is $150.

The DMV says you must make an appointment at a DMV hub or branch office to transfer a car from a deceased family member's estate. Walk-in service is not available at the Cheshire, Putnam and Stamford locations, or on Saturdays at any location.

Official DMV pages do not describe an online or mail option for this transfer.

Small-estate affidavits and probate filings go separately to the Probate Court for the district where the deceased lived.

The DMV says a new title usually arrives about 30 days after the car is registered.

The executor or administrator, or the person a small-estate decree authorizes, can sell the car for the estate.

• In a probate: the Probate Court says an executor or administrator may turn personal property into cash without court permission, unless it was specifically left to someone in the will. A fiduciary who is not named as executor in the will and is not a family member must first send interested parties a notice of intent to sell. They have five days to object.
• In a small estate: the court's decree can transfer the car to the person who filed the affidavit, to be sold and the proceeds paid to those entitled.

How the sale works

• Sign the Connecticut title over to the buyer (both executors, if there are two).
• Give a bill of sale with the make, year, model, VIN and odometer reading, both parties' names, addresses and signatures, and the price and date.
• If the title is lost, complete Form H-6B and Form Q-1 for the buyer. A $25 replacement title fee applies.
• Connecticut does not title vehicles over 20 model years old. For those, the registration certificate plus Form Q-1 shows ownership.
• Remove the plates and cancel the registration. Until it is cancelled, the car stays subject to town property tax. Keep insurance in place until then.

If probate is needed, our state probate guide walks through it.