How to Transfer a Car Title After Death in Montana

Montana lets an owner (or all joint owners) name up to five beneficiaries for a vehicle title on Form MV13 (Montana Code § 61-3-226). The designation only counts if it was on file with MVD before the owner died. A will does not override it. If there are several beneficiaries, all of them apply together, sign, and are listed on the new title.

Steps

• Ask MVD or your county treasurer whether a beneficiary designation is on the vehicle record.
• Get a copy of the death certificate for every owner listed on the Montana title.
• To keep the car: complete Form MV1 in the beneficiaries' names. Every beneficiary must be listed and must sign.
• To sell the car instead: all beneficiaries sign a Bill of Sale (MV24) to the buyer, and the buyer completes Form MV1 in their own name.
• Bring government-issued ID for every beneficiary (or every buyer, if selling).
• Submit the paperwork to MVD, your county treasurer's office, or an MVD authorized agent, and pay the title fee.

Forms

• Beneficiary Designation for Vehicle or Vessel Title (MV13): filed by the owner before death; it includes the steps beneficiaries follow
• Certificate of Title for a Motor Vehicle Application (MV1)
• Bill of Sale (MV24): only if the beneficiaries are selling

Documents

• Death certificate copies for every owner on the title
• Form MV1 signed by all beneficiaries (or by the buyer)
• ID for each beneficiary (or each buyer)
• Lien release, if a lien is recorded. A loan recorded before the death still has to be dealt with.

When a Montana title lists more than one owner, state law presumes they own it with right of survivorship (Montana Code § 61-3-202). MVD's Title Manual says a copy of the death certificate is all it takes to release the deceased owner's interest, even if the owners were not family. If both owners have died, the car passes through the estate of the owner who died second.

Steps

• Get a copy of the deceased co-owner's death certificate.
• To keep the car: complete the title application section on the back of the title and apply for a new title at your county treasurer's office.
• To sell the car: sign the title as seller and include the death certificate copy.
• Title lost and keeping the car: apply with Form MV12. You can add a second person to the new title on that form.
• Title lost and selling: first get a replacement title with Form MV7 (with the death certificate), then sign it over.

Forms

• Application for Title by Non-Probate Transfer (MV12): only if the title is lost and you are keeping the car
• Certificate of Title Replacement Application (MV7): only if the title is lost and you are selling

Documents

• Montana title (or MV12 / MV7 if lost)
• Copy of the death certificate
• Lien release, or the lender's consent letter if the loan stays on the title

How a spouse transfers the car depends on whose name is on the title.

• You are a co-owner on the title: follow the co-owned steps above. The car passes to you with a copy of the death certificate, and no value limit applies.
• The car was in your spouse's name only and no probate is open: you can usually use Form MV12, if the whole estate is $100,000 or less after liens and you are entitled to the car under the will or state inheritance law.
• A probate case is open: the personal representative signs the title (see "An Executor Has Been Appointed").

Using Form MV12

• Confirm no personal representative has been appointed and the whole estate is $100,000 or less after liens.
• On MV12 you certify that no probate has been opened, that the car was not left by will to anyone else, your relationship to the deceased, and that your right to the car is greater than anyone else's.
• Choose title only (the old registration and plates are cancelled) or title while keeping the registration and plates.
• Submit MV12 and the title fee to MVD (address on the form) or your county treasurer's office.

One limit from MVD's Title Manual: if the car was left by will to minor children, a surviving spouse cannot sign away the children's interest unless the spouse is also their court-appointed guardian.

Form: Application for Title by Non-Probate Transfer (MV12)

Documents: Form MV12, the title if you have it, a death certificate copy, your driver license or other ID number (MV12 asks for a driver license, tribal ID, FEIN, or corporate ID number), and a lien release if there is a loan.

Montana heirs can transfer a car without probate using Form MV12 (Application for Title by Non-Probate Transfer). It works when:

• No executor or personal representative has been appointed.
• The entire estate, including the car, is $100,000 or less after liens and loans (Montana Code § 61-3-222 and § 72-3-1101).
• The car was not left by will to someone other than the person applying.

MVD's Title Manual words the limit as the combined value of the vehicles, but the statute and Form MV12 both look at the whole estate. Plan on the whole-estate test.

Waiting period: plan on waiting 30 days after the death. The vehicle law points to the state's small-estate rules, which require 30 days. Form MV12 and the Title Manual don't mention it, so contact your county treasurer to confirm how they handle it.

Steps

• Get a copy of the death certificate.
• Complete Form MV12: the deceased owner, vehicle details, and your relationship to the deceased. You sign under penalty of law; no notary is needed.
• Choose title only (the old registration and plates are cancelled) or keep the registration and plates (you may need to register in your name at the county treasurer).
• If there is a loan, get a lien release or a letter of permission from the lender.
• Submit MV12, the title if you have it, and the title fee to MVD at the address on the form or to your county treasurer's office.

If the title is in the deceased's name only, the heir must title the car in their own name with MV12 before selling it. MVD's Title Manual says MVD will also accept an Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property under § 72-3-1101 in some cases.

Forms

• Application for Title by Non-Probate Transfer (MV12)
• Release of Security Interest or Lien Application (MV37A): signed by the lender, only if there is a loan

Documents

• Form MV12 signed by the heir
• Montana title, if available (MV12 can be used when the title is lost)
• Copy of the death certificate
• Your driver license or other ID number (MV12 asks for a driver license, tribal ID, FEIN, or corporate ID number)
• Lien release, if a lien is recorded
• Guardianship papers, if the heir is under a guardianship or conservatorship

When the district court has appointed a personal representative (executor or administrator), that person signs any title held in the deceased's name, unless a surviving co-owner takes it by survivorship. An executor named in a will has no authority until the will is filed and they are appointed with the Clerk of District Court. The personal representative must sign themselves and cannot use a power of attorney.

Steps

• Get the court papers appointing you as personal representative from the Clerk of District Court.
• Sign the title as seller in the form "John Doe by Jane Smith, PR". If co-representatives are joined by "and", all must sign; if joined by "or", one can sign.
• The new owner (an heir or a buyer) completes the title application, usually on the back of the title or on Form MV1.
• Title lost, deceased's name only: get a replacement title with Form MV7, or use the dealer Statement of Sale on Form MV1. On MV1, cross out "Dealer" and write "Personal Representative" or "Executor".
• Title lost, two names on it: get a replacement title (MV7). The surviving owner and the personal representative both sign as sellers.
• Submit the title, court papers and fees at the county treasurer's office in the new owner's county, or to MVD.

Montana law treats an inheritance as an involuntary transfer (§ 61-3-221). MVD mails notice to owners and lienholders of record at least 5 days before issuing the new title.

Forms

• Certificate of Title for a Motor Vehicle Application (MV1)
• Certificate of Title Replacement Application (MV7): only if the title is lost

Documents

• Title signed by the personal representative (or MV7 / MV1 if lost)
• Copy of the court papers appointing the personal representative
• Death certificate copy, to remove a deceased co-owner
• Guardianship papers, if a minor child's interest is being signed away
• Lien release, if a lien is recorded

A death does not cancel a car loan. Montana's transfer-on-death law does not limit the rights of a lender whose lien attached before the death, and small-estate titles are issued subject to any recorded liens. When a title with a lien is transferred, MVD asks for a lien release. If the lien was not released and no release is submitted, it can only be removed by a district court order.

Steps

• Contact the lender for the payoff amount and ask how they will release the lien, or whether they will consent to the loan staying on the car.
• Once the loan is paid, get a signed lien release (the lender can use Form MV37A) or confirm the lender released it electronically.
• Submit the lien release with the title application (MV1, MV12, or the signed title).
• If the loan will stay on the new title, include the lender's consent letter and list the lien on the title application. Each lien filed costs $8.24.
• If the lender was a private person who has died, their heir (if no probate) or personal representative (if probate) can sign the release.

Lenders that are paid off must file a release within 21 days.

Form: Release of Security Interest or Lien Application (MV37A)

• Title fee: $12.36 for light vehicles and trucks or buses under one ton; $10.30 for all other vehicles. These include a 3% administration fee. The base fee in § 61-3-203 is set to drop on July 1, 2028.
• Replacement title (MV7): $10.30.
• Lien filing: $8.24 for each lien listed on the new title.
• Registration: if the new owner registers the car, registration fees and the county option tax apply. They depend on the vehicle; MVD has a fee estimator.
• Sales tax: none. Montana has no general sales tax, so there is no tax on inheriting a car and no exemption form.

Montana charges a $10 late penalty when a buyer doesn't title a car within 40 days of a sale. No official source says whether it applies to heirs or beneficiaries, so contact your county treasurer to confirm.

Montana title forms cannot be submitted online. Print, sign, and deliver or mail them.

• County treasurer's office: handles title and registration in the owner's county. Policies vary, so check whether your county needs an appointment.
• MVD authorized agent: can also accept death-related paperwork.
• By mail to MVD: P.O. Box 201431, Helena, MT 59620-1431. Phone (406) 444-3661, email mvdtitleinfo@mt.gov.

Notary: MVD's 2026 Title Manual says notarization is not required in Montana, and its buying and selling guide says titles no longer need a notary as of October 2025. One older passage in the Title Manual still mentions notarizing a surviving owner's signature, so call your county treasurer if you're unsure.

Who signs depends on how the car passes:

• Beneficiary (MV13): all beneficiaries sign a Bill of Sale (MV24). The buyer submits death certificate copies for all owners, an MV1 in their name, and ID.
• Surviving co-owner: sign the title as seller and include a copy of the death certificate.
• No probate, deceased's name only: the heir first titles the car in their own name with Form MV12, then sells it like any owner.
• Probate open: the personal representative signs as "Deceased's name by PR name, PR" and attaches the court papers. If the title is lost, use a replacement title (MV7) or the Statement of Sale on Form MV1.

The seller keeps the plates, keeps a copy of both sides of the signed title, and completes the odometer disclosure for vehicles newer than nine years. The buyer has 40 days to title and register the car at their county treasurer's office.

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