A permission slip, not a transfer. When a Delaware registered owner dies the registration expires by operation of law - but the statute lets the surviving spouse, the children and the immediate members of the household keep driving the car until the current registration period runs out, once due and proper notice has been given to the Department. This is the form that notice is given on and the permission recorded on.
Written against MV14 (September 2022), issued under 21 Del. C. s. 2506, printed in full on the form itself.
Deal with the plate at the same time. A Delaware registration expiring at the end of its period is not the same thing as a plate being surrendered, and a household that stops insuring the car when it stops driving it - without handing the plate in - is exactly the situation the Division's uninsured-motorist penalties are built for.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank MV14 from the dmv.de.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our MV14 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.
This is the actual MV14, rendered from the PDF the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.
Amber — you write it
Grey — not yours to fill
Numbered — explained below
Everything above the DMV line is the household's; everything below it is the Division's. Underneath both, the form reproduces 21 Del. C. s. 2506 in full - which is worth reading, because the sentence that lets the family keep driving is the second one, and the first says the registration has already expired.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
Somebody else fills this in
Registered owner's name
The person who has died, as the registration record holds the name.
Watch out: This is a notification as well as a permission. The form's opening line certifies that proper notification has been provided to the Division regarding the death.
2
Somebody else fills this in
Registered owner's street address and city
One line, from the registration card.
Watch out: The address on the record, which may not be where the car is now. Say so at the counter if they differ.
3
Somebody else fills this in
Plate number and VIN
Two boxes on the same row identifying the vehicle the permission attaches to.
Watch out: One vehicle per form. A household with two cars in the deceased's name needs two.
4
You fill this in
The usual driver's name
Whoever will actually be driving it, written into the printed sentence granting the Director's permission.
Watch out: The permission also covers the immediate members of the family residing in the household - the named driver is not the only person it reaches.
5
You fill this in
Whose relationship is
Son, daughter, spouse - the relationship to the deceased.
Watch out: The statute limits this to the surviving spouse, the children and immediate family residing in the household. If none of those describes you, this is not your form.
6
Somebody else fills this in
Registration period ending
The expiry date of the current registration, which is the date the permission stops.
Watch out: Write it in your diary too. Nothing renews here - when the sticker runs out, the car is off the road until a title transfer happens.
7
You fill this in
Delaware driver's licence for usual driver
The licence number of the person named above.
Watch out: It has to be a valid Delaware licence. This is a permission to drive, and the Division checks the person it is granted to.
8
You fill this in
Signature of usual driver
One signature, on the line under the licence number.
Watch out: No notary. This is the least ceremonious form in the Delaware death set, which is deliberate - it is meant to be done quickly.
9
Somebody else fills this in
DMV Associate Authorization
The Division's own signature block at the foot, granting the Director's permission.
Watch out: Leave it alone. A form that arrives with this filled in is going straight back across the counter.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
Registered owner's name
The person who has died, as the registration carries the name.
Registered owner's street address and city
One line, from the same record.
Registered owner's plate number and VIN
Two boxes on one row - the car the permission attaches to.
The usual driver
The Director hereby grants permission for the usual driver ______ (name), whose relationship is ______ of the deceased, as well as the immediate members of the family residing in the household, to operate the above vehicle.
The remainder of the current registration period ending
An expiry date. The permission runs out with the sticker and not a day later.
Delaware driver's license for usual driver
The licence number of the person named.
Signature of usual driver
One signature.
DMV Associate Authorization
A second signature block, completed at the Division. It is the Director's permission, granted through an associate, and it is not yours to sign.
21 Del. C. s. 2506, printed in full
The whole statute is reproduced on the form under the signature blocks, including the 125-mile allowance for an administrator, executor, trustee or sheriff moving the vehicle to a garage or place of storage on a temporary or limited permit.
What gets this one rejected
•Treating it as a title transfer. It transfers nothing. The registration still expires at the end of the current period and the vehicle still cannot be operated after that until somebody applies for registration, inspection and a transfer of title.
•A driver outside the household. The statute reaches the surviving spouse, the children of the deceased and the immediate members of the deceased's family residing in the household - not a friend, not a neighbour, not an executor who lives elsewhere.
•Filing it and driving indefinitely. The permission ends on the date written into the registration period ending box.
•Signing the DMV associate block. That authorisation is the Division's, and a form that arrives with it already completed is a form that has been filled in by the wrong person.
•Using it to move a car to storage. The statute has a separate route for that: an administrator, executor, trustee, sheriff or legal representative may operate the vehicle for a distance not exceeding 125 miles to a garage, warehouse or other place of keeping, on a temporary or limited permit, displaying the number plates issued for it.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•What the statute actually says. In the event of the transfer by operation of law of the title or interest of an owner - upon transfer-on-death, inheritance, devise or bequest, order in bankruptcy or insolvency or execution sale - the registration expires, and the vehicle shall not be operated upon the highways until the person entitled applies for and obtains registration, inspection and a transfer of title. The household exception is the sentence after that one.
•Insurance does not pause. A Delaware vehicle with a live registration has to carry liability insurance at all times, and the Division audits for it. A car being driven on this permission is a registered car.
•The other end of the road. When the registration does expire, the car needs a transfer of title like any other - and if the vehicle is going to be sold rather than kept, the plate still has to come off it and go back to the Division or into retention.
Every line here was read off MV14 (September 2022) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles pages.
This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ,
theirs governs.
