How to Transfer a Car Title After Death in Massachusetts

Massachusetts does not offer a transfer-on-death (beneficiary) designation for car titles. The state's title law has no beneficiary section, and a 2023 bill to create one (House Bill 3403) was not passed. The RMV's deceased-owner page lists only three people who can transfer a title after a death: a surviving spouse, the personal representative of the estate, or a court-appointed personal representative. See the surviving spouse, small estate, and executor situations below.

Official RMV pages do not explain what happens when one of two owners on a Massachusetts title dies, or how "and" or "or" wording on the title is treated.

What the RMV does say: removing an owner from a title is not a simple correction. It is a transfer of ownership, and a new original title must be applied for.

• If the surviving co-owner was the spouse, follow the surviving spouse steps below.
• For any other co-owner, contact the RMV before you go in and ask what they need. Official sources do not list the documents.
• Expect to apply for a new title in your name with a Registration and Title Application (RTA).

Documents: the Massachusetts certificate of title and a completed RTA. Contact the office to confirm anything else you need, such as a death certificate.

Massachusetts has a no-court route for a surviving spouse. Under state law, a passenger car or motorcycle registered and used as a pleasure vehicle passes to the surviving spouse unless the will says otherwise. There is no value limit, and the title fee is waived.

Who qualifies: you must have been married to the owner at the time of death. Live-in partners and ex-spouses do not qualify. The route covers private passenger vehicles and motorcycles only, not commercial vehicles, campers, trailers, mopeds, or business-owned vehicles. A disability plate cannot be transferred to the spouse.

Steps

1. Get a copy of the death certificate that lists you as the spouse.
2. Complete and sign the Affidavit of Surviving Spouse. In it you certify the car was not left to someone else by will.
3. To keep the car registered, have a licensed Massachusetts insurance agent fill out, stamp, and sign a Registration and Title Application (RTA), then sign it yourself. To title the car without registering it, complete and sign the RTA yourself (no insurance stamp needed).
4. Sign over (assign) your spouse's certificate of title. If it is an Electronic Title (E-Title), skip this step.
5. Bring everything to any RMV Service Center. The new title is mailed to you, typically in 6 to 8 weeks.

Some insurance agents can process this transfer electronically, but only with a physical Massachusetts paper title (not an E-Title or a lost title), no active lien, a vehicle that is not leased and is owned by an individual, and a Massachusetts license or ID or an unexpired out-of-state license.

In most cases you keep the same plate and pay no tax, title, or registration fee.

Forms

• Affidavit of Surviving Spouse (TTL103)
• Registration and Title Application (RTA)
• Replace/Convert Your MA Certificate of Title (TTL120), only if you need a paper title from an E-Title or a lost title replaced

Documents

• Signed RTA (insurance-stamped if the car will stay registered)
• Your spouse's title, signed over by you (not needed for an E-Title)
• Affidavit of Surviving Spouse
• Copy of the death certificate listing your name as spouse. The RMV's agent guide says a photocopy is acceptable; a certified copy is required if you also need a duplicate or converted title.
• Photo ID (if an insurance agent processes the transfer: a Massachusetts license or ID, or an unexpired out-of-state license)

Apart from the surviving spouse affidavit, Massachusetts has no affidavit you take straight to the RMV for a car. For small estates, the simpler court route is voluntary administration.

When it applies: the person who died lived in Massachusetts and left only personal property worth $25,000 or less, not counting the value of a car (M.G.L. c. 190B, section 3-1201). You must wait at least 30 days after the death, and no other probate case can have been filed.

Who can file: an "interested person," such as a spouse, child, other heir, or someone named in the will. A creditor does not count. The filer becomes the "voluntary personal representative."

Steps

1. Confirm the estate fits the limit and 30 days have passed.
2. Before filing, send a copy of the Statement and the death certificate by certified mail to MassHealth's Estate Recovery Unit, as the court instructions (MPC 961) require.
3. File the Voluntary Administration Statement (MPC 170) with the Probate and Family Court in the county where the person lived, with a certified death certificate, the original will (if any), and the $115 fee.
4. Receive an attested copy of the Statement. The court does not appoint a voluntary personal representative and does not issue Letters of Authority, but you can ask the Register of Probate for a certificate of appointment.
5. Contact the RMV to confirm it will accept the attested Statement before you sign the title over to yourself, an heir, or a buyer.

Contact the RMV to confirm. The RMV's deceased-owner page says a "personal representative of the decedent's estate" can transfer the title, but it does not mention voluntary administration. The court's procedural guide says a voluntary personal representative is treated as the personal representative for vehicle registration purposes, but the RMV's own acceptance is not stated.

Forms

• Voluntary Administration Statement (MPC 170)
• Instructions for Voluntary Administration (MPC 961)
• Affidavit as to Cause of Death (MPC 475), only if the death certificate lists the cause of death as "homicide" or "pending"
• Registration and Title Application (RTA), for the new owner
• Form MVU-27, for the sales tax exemption (see Fees and Taxes)

Documents: the attested copy of the Statement, the title signed over by the voluntary personal representative, and an RTA for the new owner.

If the owner was not married, or the will left the car to someone other than the spouse, the estate's personal representative (executor or administrator) transfers the car. Massachusetts law lets a personal representative sell estate property or give it to an heir.

Steps

1. Sign the deceased owner's certificate of title over to the heir or buyer.
2. Give the new owner a copy of your appointment and the signed title.
3. For an heir, both the personal representative and the heir sign Form MVU-27 and attach a copy of the Probate Court's Notice of Appointment, so the heir does not pay sales tax.
4. The new owner applies for a title (and registration, if wanted) with a Registration and Title Application (RTA) at an RMV Service Center and pays the $75 title fee plus any registration fee.

Official sources do not say whether the RMV needs a certified or recently dated copy of the appointment. Contact the office to confirm.

Forms

• Registration and Title Application (RTA)
• Form MVU-27, sales tax exemption for an heir or beneficiary

Documents

• Copy of the personal representative's appointment
• Title signed over by the personal representative
• RTA for the new owner (insurance-stamped if registering)
• Form MVU-27 with a copy of the Notice of Appointment, for an heir

A car loan does not go away when the owner dies. If a lender is holding the title, the RMV says to contact the lienholder to get it. For a surviving spouse transfer, the RMV sends notice of the transfer to any lienholder of record.

• Paid off: get the lien released on the title, or get a lien release letter for each lien.
• Lender holds the title: ask the lender to send or release it.
• Spouse transfer with an active lien: an insurance agent cannot process it electronically. The RMV's agent guide says you may be able to complete it at an RMV Service Center with a temporary release of the lien for registration purposes.
• New owner keeps a loan: the new title is mailed directly to the lienholder.

Form: lienholder details go in Section H of the Registration and Title Application (RTA).

• Title fee: $75 (RMV fee schedule). Waived for a surviving spouse.
• Registration: a standard passenger plate is $60 for two years. A surviving spouse who keeps the plate usually pays nothing, but pays a renewal fee if the registration has expired. Moving the spouse's own plate onto the car is $25.
• Duplicate title (lost title): $25.
• Converting an E-Title to paper: $25.
• Voluntary administration court filing: $115.
• The fee schedule also lists a $25 "Registration Gift Transfer Fee." Official sources do not say whether it applies to inherited cars. Contact the RMV to confirm.
• After registration, the car needs an inspection sticker within 7 days.

Sales tax: Massachusetts sales tax is normally 6.25%, but a car passed at death to an heir, legatee, or beneficiary is exempt under 830 CMR 64H.25.1. To claim it, the personal representative and the heir sign Form MVU-27. A surviving spouse uses the Affidavit of Surviving Spouse instead and pays no sales tax.

Where sources differ: Form MVU-27 says a copy of the Probate Court's Notice of Appointment "must be attached." The regulation says it is needed only "if applicable." If you used voluntary administration and have no Notice of Appointment, contact the RMV to confirm what it will accept.

RMV Service Center, in person. The RMV's deceased-owner page says a surviving spouse submits the paperwork in person at any RMV Service Center. For title transfers in general, walk-ins are welcome, but people with appointments are seen first.

Insurance agents. Agents in the RMV's electronic registration program can process a surviving spouse transfer, but not with an E-Title or lost title, an active lien, or a leased or business-owned vehicle.

Online or by mail. No official source describes an online title transfer after a death. Official sources do not say whether a deceased-owner transfer can be mailed. Contact the RMV to confirm before sending anything.

Surviving spouse: you can sell without putting the car in your name first. Give the buyer the title signed over to them, the Affidavit of Surviving Spouse, and a copy of the death certificate. If the title is an E-Title, you first need a paper title using the Replace/Convert application and the $25 fee. The RMV's page wording on this step is unclear, so contact the RMV to confirm.

Executor or administrator: sign the title over to the buyer and give the buyer a copy of your appointment. A voluntary personal representative may also sell personal property received under the Statement, though the RMV has not said what it accepts from one.

The buyer then titles and registers the car and pays 6.25% sales tax on the purchase price or the NADA trade-in value, whichever is higher (RMV private sale page).

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