How to Transfer a Car Title After Death in South Carolina

When it applies: the title shows a beneficiary and a "Transfer on Death" designation. South Carolina has allowed TOD vehicle titles since July 1, 2025. The car passes to the beneficiary outside probate, but only after all owners on the title have died.

A few rules from SCDMV and state law:

• A TOD can be on a title with one owner or with co-owners joined by "OR". It cannot be added to an "AND" title.
• If no named beneficiary is alive when the last owner dies, the car belongs to the owner's estate instead. See the no-probate or executor situations below.
• If two or more beneficiaries survive, they are titled together in an "and" relationship, in equal shares with no right of survivorship.

How the process works:

• Get a certified death certificate for each owner on the title.
• Complete Title and/or Registration Application (Form 400) in the beneficiary's name. SCDMV says TOD beneficiaries follow the normal titling and registration process.
• Bring or mail the title, Form 400, the certified death certificate(s) and the $15 title fee to SCDMV.
• To drive the car, register it: pay the county vehicle property tax first and bring the paid receipt.

Forms: Title and/or Registration Application (Form 400). The owner uses Application for Transfer on Death (Form TOD-1) while alive to add or remove a beneficiary. The beneficiary does not need it after the death.

Documents: the original title showing the TOD beneficiary, a certified death certificate for each owner, Form 400, and the $15 title fee.

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

• "OR" means joint tenants with right of survivorship. SCDMV says the surviving owner can take any action on the car as if the other owner had not died. No court is needed.
• "AND" means tenants in common. The survivor does not automatically get the other owner's share. SCDMV says you must follow the direction of the Probate Court. Contact the Probate Court in the county where the deceased owner lived.

How the process works for an "OR" title:

• You can keep using the car as it is.
• To put it in your name only, SCDMV says to follow its steps for selling a vehicle: complete the back of the title and Title and/or Registration Application (Form 400), and pay the $15 title fee. Ask the branch exactly how to sign for the deceased co-owner.
• SCDMV's page does not say whether a death certificate is needed for this retitling. Contact SCDMV to confirm.
• If the title also names a TOD beneficiary, the car stays with the surviving "OR" owner. The beneficiary takes it only after all owners have died.

If there is a lien: SCDMV says no changes can be made to the people on the title without involving the lienholder. See "The Car Still Has a Loan."

Forms: Title and/or Registration Application (Form 400).

Documents: the original title, Form 400 and the $15 title fee (only if retitling). For an "AND" title, the papers the Probate Court provides.

When it applies: you were married to the person who died. Which route you use depends on how the car was titled:

• You're a co-owner on an "OR" title: you keep the car. See "The Car Was Co-Owned."
• You're the TOD beneficiary: claim it with the death certificate. See "The Title Names a Beneficiary (TOD)."
• The car was in your spouse's name alone, or on an "AND" title: the county Probate Court is involved. Use the small estate affidavit if the whole probate estate is $45,000 or less after liens, or have a personal representative appointed.

How the process works:

• Complete Title and/or Registration Application (Form 400). In the IMF/Sales Tax section, check the box showing the car came from your spouse, or that it was transferred to you as a legal heir, beneficiary or distributee. Transfers to a spouse are excluded from the 5% Infrastructure Maintenance Fee.
• Bring the title, Form 400, any Probate Court papers, a certified death certificate and the $15 title fee to an SCDMV branch, or mail them.

Forms: Title and/or Registration Application (Form 400). If needed, Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property Pursuant to Small Estate Proceeding (SCCA 420ES), filed with the county Probate Court.

Documents: the original title, Form 400, the $15 title fee, a certified death certificate (required if you are the TOD beneficiary), and, if you were not on the title, the Probate Court papers (the personal representative's certificate or the judge-approved small estate affidavit).

When it applies: the car was in the deceased person's name, there was no TOD beneficiary or surviving "OR" owner, and the estate is small. South Carolina's small estate route is not filed at SCDMV. It runs through the county Probate Court first.

Requirements under S.C. Code § 62-3-1201 and the court's form:

• The entire probate estate, less liens, is $45,000 or less. The cap rose from $25,000 on May 8, 2025, so older guides may show the old figure.
• The estate includes no real estate.
• At least 30 days have passed since the death.
• No one has applied to be, or been appointed, personal representative.
• The affidavit is signed by a successor (an heir or devisee). A person who paid reasonable funeral expenses also counts.
• The probate judge in the county where the person lived must approve and countersign it.

How the process works:

• Complete Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property Pursuant to Small Estate Proceeding (SCCA 420ES). List the car (VIN, year, make, model and value), sign before a notary, and file it with the Probate Court.
• Get the judge-approved, countersigned affidavit back from the court.
• Complete Title and/or Registration Application (Form 400) in the name of the person the court named, and check the IMF exemption box for a legal heir, beneficiary or distributee, or the family relationship.
• Bring or mail the title, the approved affidavit, Form 400 and the $15 title fee to SCDMV.

Important limit: SCDMV says the affidavit only lets the car be titled in the name of the person the Probate Court named. That person cannot sign the title straight over to someone else.

Documents: the original title, the court-approved affidavit, Form 400 and the $15 title fee. Ask the Probate Court whether it needs a death certificate with the affidavit.

When it applies: the Probate Court has appointed a personal representative (PR), also called an executor or administrator. SCDMV says it generally does not interpret or accept wills for titles, so the PR's court appointment is what lets the car move.

How the process works:

• If not yet appointed, the PR applies to the county Probate Court using Application (Informal) / Petition (Formal) for Probate of Will or Appointment (SCCA 300ES).
• Give SCDMV the certificate from the Probate Court showing you are the PR.
• Sign the back of the title as "seller" in your own name with (PR) beside it.
• The new owner (an heir or a buyer) completes Title and/or Registration Application (Form 400). An heir checks the IMF exemption box. A buyer pays the IMF on the sale.
• Submit the title, the court certificate, Form 400 and the $15 title fee at a branch or by mail.
• To title the car in the PR's own name, SCDMV says to follow the same steps and also sign the back of the title as "buyer."

SCDMV notes that PRs in South Carolina are typically appointed for about a year.

Forms: Application (Informal) / Petition (Formal) for Probate of Will or Appointment (SCCA 300ES) (Probate Court) and Title and/or Registration Application (Form 400) (SCDMV).

Documents: the original title signed by the PR, the Probate Court certificate, the new owner's Form 400, and the $15 title fee.

When it applies: a lender is listed on the title. SCDMV does not publish a death-specific lien process. Its general rule is that no changes can be made to the people on the title without involving the lienholder.

How the process works:

• Contact the lender about the loan before trying to change the title.
• If the car is being financed again, the new lienholder goes in the lien section of Title and/or Registration Application (Form 400).
• If the title is lost and there is a lien, SCDMV sends any duplicate title to the lienholder.
• For a TOD on a title with a lien, SCDMV asks for a statement on the lienholder's letterhead giving permission to add the beneficiary. The lien stays the same.

Forms: Title and/or Registration Application (Form 400).

• Title fee: $15 (S.C. Code § 56-19-420). An expedited title costs $35 total and is available only at a branch office, for title transactions only.
• Infrastructure Maintenance Fee (IMF): most private transfers pay 5% of the price, up to $500. Transfers to a legal heir, legatee or distributee, and to immediate family (spouse, parents, children, siblings, grandparents and grandchildren), are excluded. Check the matching box in the IMF/Sales Tax section of Title and/or Registration Application (Form 400). A buyer who purchases the car from the estate pays the IMF.
• Registration (only if you'll drive the car): paid every two years. Most passenger cars are $40, $38 at age 64, and $36 at 65 or older or with a disability. Hybrids add $60 and electric vehicles add $120.
• County property tax: before registering, pay the county vehicle property tax and bring the paid receipt.
• Late registration: if not registered within 45 days, penalties run from $10 to $75.
• Card payments: SCDMV adds a $1 + 1.7% service fee for debit or credit cards.
• License plates: SCDMV says plates cannot transfer from one person to another if the original person is not on the title. Contact SCDMV to confirm plate options for your situation.
• Probate Court fees (if you use the court): a small estate affidavit is charged on the estate fee scale for the property value shown: $25 under $5,000, $45 for $5,000 to under $20,000, and $67.50 for $20,000 to under $60,000 (S.C. Code § 8-21-770).

SCDMV: title paperwork can be handled at any SCDMV branch office or by mail. Form 400 lists this mailing address, and SCDMV's fees page says to use the address printed on the form you are submitting:

SCDMV, 10311 Wilson Blvd., Blythewood, SC 29016-0038

Mailed payments must be a check or money order made out to SCDMV. Do not mail cash.

SCDMV's pages do not say whether title work at a branch needs an appointment, or whether a deceased owner's title can be transferred online. Contact SCDMV to confirm before you go.

Probate Court: the small estate affidavit and personal representative appointments are handled at the Probate Court in the county where the person lived. See SCDMV's Inheriting a Vehicle page for its overview.

How the car is sold depends on who has the right to sign:

• Personal representative: sign the back of the title as "seller" with (PR) beside your name and fill in the odometer reading, date of sale and price. Give SCDMV the Probate Court certificate. File a Notice of Vehicle Sold (SCDMV Form 416) at a branch or by mail, and surrender any plate you are not transferring. See SCDMV's buying or selling a car page.
• Small estate affidavit: SCDMV says the affidavit does not let the court-named person sign the title to someone else. That person titles the car in their own name first, then sells it as a private seller.
• TOD beneficiary or surviving "OR" owner: once the car is in your name, sell it the usual way.

The buyer completes Form 400, pays the $15 title fee and the IMF (5%, up to $500), and must register within 45 days.

If probate is needed, our South Carolina probate guide walks through it.