How to Transfer a Car Title After Death in Nebraska

When it applies: the face of the Nebraska title lists you with the tag "Transfer on Death" (TOD), and the owner (or the last surviving joint owner with right of survivorship) has died.

Nebraska owners can name one or more TOD beneficiaries on the title application, and a trust can be a beneficiary. The owner could change the beneficiary at any time without the beneficiary's consent. When the owner dies, ownership passes to the beneficiary, subject to any lien. You can keep the car or sell it directly.

How the process works:

• Get a death certificate or abstract of death for the owner, and for any joint owner who died earlier.
• To keep the car: complete Application for Certificate of Title (Form RV-707) in your name. Take the title, the death certificate(s) or abstract(s), the application and the $10 title fee to a county treasurer.
• To sell the car: sign the title as TOD, attach the death certificate(s) or abstract(s), and give it to the buyer.
• If the title is lost: a TOD beneficiary can apply for a duplicate with Application for Duplicate Certificate of Title (Form RV-707a) ($14) once the death certificate(s) are presented.

Documents: the title showing the TOD beneficiary, the death certificate(s) or abstract(s) of death, Form RV-707, the $10 fee, and a lien release if a lien shown on the title has been paid off.

When it applies: the title lists two or more owners and one has died. In Nebraska, the word between the names decides the route.

Names joined by "OR", or marked "With Rights Of Survivorship" (WROS): no probate is needed.

• To sell: sign the title over to the buyer and give the county treasurer a copy of the death certificate or abstract of death.
• To keep: give the county treasurer the title, the death certificate or abstract of death, Application for Certificate of Title (Form RV-707) and the proper fee ($10) for a new title in your name only.

Names joined by "AND" or "AND/OR": the title does not carry survivorship rights. Nebraska DMV says the survivor cannot get a title in their name until a county judge decides, in probate, that the survivor owns the car. The title application (RV-707) says the same: names joined by "And" mean probate will be required.

Official sources disagree on one point here. An older DMV county treasurer manual (2015) said the small estate affidavit could be used for "AND" titles, but the current DMV page says probate is required. Call Nebraska DMV at 402-471-3918 to confirm the route for your title.

Documents: the original Nebraska title, a copy of the death certificate or abstract of death, and Form RV-707 with the fee if you are retitling. For an "AND" title, the court's probate documents.

When it applies: your spouse owned the car, alone or with you.

We did not find a Nebraska rule or fee waiver just for surviving spouses, so the same routes available to anyone else apply. Start by checking how the names appear on the title:

• You and your spouse, joined by "OR" or WROS: follow the co-owner steps. A death certificate or abstract of death is enough.
• You and your spouse, joined by "AND": Nebraska DMV says probate is required.
• Your spouse alone, and the estate's personal property is $100,000 or less after liens: after 30 days you can use the Affidavit for Transfer of Decedent's Vehicle/Motorboat. See the no-probate section.
• Otherwise: a court-appointed personal representative signs the title. See the executor section.

One rule to know: Nebraska DMV says spouses cannot sign as an agent for one another when transferring ownership. If you are unsure whether any spouse-specific option applies, call Nebraska DMV at 402-471-3918 to confirm.

Documents: the title (if available), a death certificate or abstract of death, the notarized affidavit (no-probate route) or the court's letter of appointment (probate route), and Application for Certificate of Title (Form RV-707) with the $10 fee.

When it applies: the title is in the deceased person's name alone (or all owners have died), there is no TOD beneficiary, and:

• the value of all personal property in the estate, wherever located, less liens, is $100,000 or less (real estate is not counted),
• at least 30 days have passed since the death, and
• no petition to appoint a personal representative is pending or has been granted (unless the estate has been closed for more than ten years).

The person or people entitled to the car (the successors) sign the Affidavit for Transfer of Decedent's Vehicle/Motorboat. The form has space for two claimants, and each states their relationship to the deceased or the basis of their claim. Signatures must be notarized by a notary or designated county official. An older DMV manual still shows a $50,000 limit; the current statute and DMV form say $100,000.

How the process works:

• Get a certified copy of the death certificate or an abstract of death.
• Complete the affidavit and sign it in front of a notary or designated county official.
• Complete Application for Certificate of Title (Form RV-707) in the successor's name.
• If you don't have the Nebraska title, contact Nebraska DMV (402-471-3918) so it can confirm a Nebraska title exists, and also complete an Odometer Disclosure Statement.
• Submit everything to the county treasurer in the county where the successor lives, and pay the $10 title fee.

The new title must be issued in the successor's name. It cannot be issued straight to a buyer. Any unreleased lien on the old title carries over to the new one.

Documents: the Nebraska title (if available), a certified death certificate or abstract of death, the notarized affidavit, Form RV-707, an Odometer Disclosure Statement (if the title is missing), and the $10 fee.

When it applies: the title is in the deceased person's name alone (or all owners have died), there is no TOD or survivorship, and the estate is going through probate. In that case, only the person the court appointed to administer the estate (the personal representative) can transfer the car.

How the process works:

• Get the letter of appointment from the county court naming you personal representative.
• Sign the seller's section of the title in the format "John Q. Public by John Doe, PR" and assign it to the heir or buyer. Complete the odometer section.
• Attach the court's letter of appointment to the title. It must be attached when the title is presented to the county treasurer.
• The new owner completes Application for Certificate of Title (Form RV-707) and takes the title, the letter of appointment and the $10 fee to a county treasurer within 30 days.

If the deceased person's title is from another state and the heir lives in Nebraska, Nebraska accepts the out-of-state title if it is assigned by the court-appointed administrator with the letter of appointment attached.

If the original title is lost: call Nebraska DMV at 402-471-3918 before you start. The duplicate-title form (Application for Duplicate Certificate of Title (Form RV-707a), $14) lists only the owner, a lienholder or a TOD beneficiary as applicants, so ask DMV how a personal representative should replace a lost title.

Documents: the original title assigned by the personal representative, the court's letter of appointment, Form RV-707, the $10 fee, and a lien release if applicable.

When it applies: the title shows a lien, or the car still has a loan.

A loan does not go away when the owner dies. Nebraska DMV says any open lien must be released by the lienholder and county official on the face of the title before the title is reassigned to a new owner. If records show a lien, the new title will show it unless you bring proof it has been paid off. A TOD beneficiary also takes the car subject to any lien.

• If the loan is paid off: get the lien released on the title, or bring proof of the release to the county treasurer.
• If the loan is not paid off: on the small estate affidavit route, the DMV form says any unreleased lien carries over to the new title.

Noting a new lien on a title costs $7. If you take over a loan on an inherited car, the amount owing is subject to sales tax (see Fees and Taxes).

Documents: a lien release or released title from the lender, plus the death-transfer documents for your route.

• Title fee: $10 for a certificate of title issued by a county, paid to the county treasurer.
• Lien notation: $7.
• Duplicate title (if the original is lost): $14.
• Registration and motor vehicle tax: due when the car is registered. Amounts vary; contact the county treasurer to confirm.

Sales tax: a car received by inheritance is generally exempt from Nebraska sales tax when the prior owner paid tax on the previous transfer. You claim this as exemption category 10 on Nebraska Form 6, and documentation is required. If the person receiving the car takes over a lien or loan, the amount owing is subject to sales and use tax.

Titles in Nebraska are issued by county treasurers, in person. For the small estate affidavit, Nebraska DMV says to submit the paperwork to the county treasurer in the county where the successor lives.

We did not find an official source saying a death transfer can be done online or by mail, or whether appointments are needed. Contact your county treasurer's office to confirm before you go.

For questions about a deceased owner's vehicle, call Nebraska DMV at 402-471-3918, or see the DMV transfer of ownership page.

Whether you can sell directly depends on your route:

• Probate: the personal representative signs the title as seller ("Owner by Name, PR") and assigns it straight to the buyer, with the court's letter of appointment attached.
• TOD beneficiary: sign the title as TOD, attach the death certificate(s) or abstract(s), and give it to the buyer.
• Surviving "OR" or WROS co-owner: assign the title to the buyer and give the county treasurer a copy of the death certificate.
• Small estate affidavit: the new title must be issued in the successor's name first. It cannot be issued to a buyer, so the heir titles the car and then sells it.

The seller gives the buyer a bill of sale or a completed Nebraska Form 6, and the buyer must apply for a title within 30 days of the purchase.

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