How to Transfer a Car Title After Death in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has no transfer-on-death option for car titles. PennDOT's list of death-transfer procedures does not include a beneficiary route, so there is no TOD form to file. The way to have a car pass automatically is a joint title with right of survivorship. If the deceased owned the car alone, see the spouse, no-probate and executor situations on this page.

When it applies: the title lists more than one owner. Check the face of the title:

• "Joint tenants with right of survivorship", or a husband-and-wife title: the car passes automatically to the surviving owner.
• No special endorsement: the owners were "tenants in common." The deceased owner's share passes to their heirs or estate, so use the spouse, no-probate or executor route instead.

Steps for a survivorship or spouse title

1. Do not sign or write anything on the back of the title.
2. Complete Form MV-39, checking Block 1 (surviving spouse who is a co-owner) or Block 2 (joint tenant with right of survivorship).
3. Attach an original death certificate, or have the attending physician or funeral director complete the proof of death section of MV-39.
4. If the car is registered, list the insurance company, policy number, and effective and expiration dates.
5. Submit with the title and any fee. A spouse pays no title fee; other surviving owners pay the $72 title fee. The current registration moves to the surviving owner automatically.

If the survivor wants to transfer the car to someone else, the title must be assigned and Form MV-4ST is required.

Forms

• Notification of Assignment/Correction of Vehicle Title Upon Death of Owner, Form MV-39

Documents

• Original Pennsylvania title, with nothing written on the back
• Original death certificate (copies are not accepted)
• Insurance information, if the car is registered

If you are on the title with your spouse: a husband-and-wife title is treated as joint ownership with right of survivorship. File Form MV-39 Block 1 as described under "The Car Was Co-Owned." No title assignment and no title fee.

One exception: if a final divorce decree was entered before the death, the survivor is treated as a tenant in common unless the decree says otherwise.

If the car was in your spouse's name only, with no will and no administrator: Pennsylvania law (75 Pa.C.S. § 1114) lets a surviving spouse take the title without letters of administration, even if there are minor children, as long as the spouse files an affidavit that all the debts of the decedent have been paid.

1. The surviving spouse and every child 18 or older sign (assign) the title.
2. Complete Form MV-39 Block 3. List all heirs, and include the sworn statement that all debts of the decedent have been paid. All signatures in these sections must be notarized.
3. Attach an original death certificate, or have the physician or funeral director complete the proof of death section of MV-39.
4. An authorized PennDOT agent completes Form MV-4ST. Bring the deceased's registration card if you are keeping the plate.
5. Fees: no title fee if the car is titled solely to you; $11 to transfer the plate, if keeping it.

Forms

• Form MV-39, Notification of Assignment/Correction of Vehicle Title Upon Death of Owner
• Form MV-4ST, Vehicle Sales and Use Tax Return/Application for Registration (only available from authorized PennDOT agents)

Documents

• Original title, signed by you and all adult children
• Form MV-39 with notarized signatures and the debts-paid statement
• Original death certificate
• Registration card, if transferring the plate, and proof of insurance if registering

PennDOT's heir, spouse and unprobated-will procedures state no dollar limit and need no court filing. Which route applies depends on the family:

• Unprobated will: works only if the will leaves the car to the surviving spouse or children (PennDOT's fact sheet also lists parents; confirm with PennDOT at 717-412-5300). The person the car was willed to signs the title, and a copy of the will is attached. If the car was willed to a minor child, a surviving spouse must sign for the child. If the car was willed to anyone else, the will must be probated.
• No will, surviving spouse: see "You're the Surviving Spouse."
• No will, no spouse, no minor heirs: all heirs sign the title, in this order of priority: adult children, or if none, parents, or if none, brothers and sisters, or if none, aunts and uncles (blood only), or if none, first cousins (blood only). If one of these heirs has died, that person's children sign in their place (this does not apply to parents).
• Minor heirs and no spouse: someone takes out letters of administration, a court-appointed guardian of the minor signs along with the adult heirs, or a small-estate petition is filed in court.
• Family exemption: the executor, administrator, or the person entitled to the family exemption (the spouse, or if none, a child or parent living in the household) can sign the title, with an affidavit of entitlement. The family exemption is capped at $3,500.
• Court small-estate decree: a small-estate petition can be filed in the Orphans' Court when personal property (not counting real estate) is worth $50,000 or less. The person the court order gives the car to signs the title.

Steps

1. The right person or people sign (assign) the back of the original title to the new owner.
2. Complete Form MV-39. Block 5 (no will, no spouse): list all heirs; all signatures must be notarized. If the heirs cannot appear before the same notary, attach additional notarized statements. Block 6 (unprobated will): attach a copy of the will. Form MV-39 is not required when a court order has been issued under the family exemption or small-estate procedure.
3. Attach an original death certificate, or have the physician or funeral director complete the proof of death section of MV-39.
4. Take everything to an authorized PennDOT agent, who completes Form MV-4ST and submits it.
5. Pay the $72 title fee (none if the car is titled solely to the surviving spouse) and $11 to transfer the plate, if keeping it.

Forms

• Form MV-39, Notification of Assignment/Correction of Vehicle Title Upon Death of Owner
• Form MV-4ST (only available from authorized PennDOT agents)

Documents

• Original title, signed by the required heirs or beneficiaries
• Original death certificate
• Copy of the will (unprobated-will route only)
• Affidavit of entitlement (family exemption route only)
• The court order (small-estate petition route only), or a certified copy of the guardian appointment order (minor heirs route only)

When it applies: the Register of Wills has appointed an executor or administrator.

1. Get a Short Form Certificate from the county Register of Wills. It is proof of the appointment.
2. The executor or administrator signs (assigns) the title to the new owner. The assignment on the title is completed in full, including the odometer reading, purchaser name and address, signatures, and notary information.
3. The new owner completes Form MV-4ST through an authorized PennDOT agent.
4. Pay the $72 title fee (none if the car goes to the surviving spouse) and $11 to transfer the plate, if keeping it.

Form MV-39 is not required in this case unless the car is being titled in the estate's name. To title it in the estate (MV-39 Block 4), a title fee is required but no assignment is needed. Titling in the estate is not required to renew the registration.

Forms

• Form MV-4ST (only available from authorized PennDOT agents)
• Form MV-39, only if titling the car in the estate's name

Documents

• Original title, signed by the executor or administrator
• Short Form Certificate from the Register of Wills

PennDOT does not publish a separate death-transfer procedure for a car with a loan. What its general rules say:

• If the lender holds the title electronically, a paper title must be obtained before ownership can be transferred.
• There is no additional PennDOT fee to remove a lien that has been satisfied.

On the surviving-spouse route for a car in the deceased's name only (MV-39 Block 3), the spouse states under oath that all debts of the decedent have been paid, so an unpaid car loan may matter on that route. PennDOT does not address car loans directly, so contact PennDOT at 717-412-5300 to confirm.

Many families start by calling the lender for the payoff amount and to ask how the lien will be released. Then follow whichever situation above fits.

If the title is lost, the owner-side form is MV-38O, Application for Duplicate Certificate of Title by Owner (PennDOT titling FAQ).

• Title fee: $72. Waived when the car is titled to the surviving spouse, including spouses on a joint title. Other heirs, non-spouse joint owners, and titles in the estate's name pay it.
• Plate transfer: $11. The plate can transfer only to the deceased's spouse, parents, children, children-in-law, parents-in-law, step-children or step-parents. Otherwise it is not transferable.
• Duplicate registration card: $2 each, at the time of a plate transfer.
• Recording a lien: $36 per lien.
• Agent fees: authorized agents may charge their own service fee on top of PennDOT's fees.

Sales tax: under Department of Revenue regulation 61 Pa. Code § 31.48(2), a transfer to an heir or a beneficiary under a will or intestacy is not a taxable transfer. Transfers between spouses are also not taxable. The exemption is claimed on Form MV-4ST at the agent; ask the agent which exemption code applies. A sale by the estate to a buyer is taxed to the buyer at 6% of the purchase price or current market value (7% for Allegheny County residents, 8% for City of Philadelphia residents).

Inheritance tax: the car is part of the estate for Pennsylvania inheritance tax: 0% on transfers to a surviving spouse, 4.5% to direct descendants and lineal heirs.

Title transfers are completed by an authorized PennDOT agent, tag service, or motor vehicle dealer that is an authorized agent. Form MV-4ST is only available from authorized agents. Agents may charge a service fee, and whether they require appointments varies, so call ahead.

Form MV-39 lists a mailing address: Department of Transportation, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, 1101 S. Front St., Harrisburg, PA 17104. Because most death transfers also need Form MV-4ST from an agent, it is unclear whether a transfer can be done entirely by mail. Contact PennDOT to confirm.

PennDOT: pa.gov/dmv, 717-412-5300 (TTY: dial 711).

The person with authority to transfer the car signs the title as the seller:

• Executor or administrator: signs the title to the buyer and attaches the Short Form Certificate from the Register of Wills.
• No executor: the people entitled under PennDOT's heir procedures sign. For an unprobated will, that is the spouse or child the car was willed to (PennDOT's fact sheet also lists parents; confirm with PennDOT at 717-412-5300). With no will and a spouse, the spouse and all adult children sign. With no will and no spouse, all heirs sign, with Form MV-39 and notarized signatures.
• Surviving joint owner: assigns the title; Form MV-4ST is required.

The seller lists the buyer's name and address, signs and prints their name, and records the odometer reading in front of an authorized agent. After the transfer, the seller removes the plate. The buyer completes Form MV-4ST and pays sales tax on the purchase price.

Trading in to a dealer: PennDOT Bulletin 23-19 tells dealers taking a trade-in from a deceased owner's family or estate to title the car into the dealer's name right away.

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