How to fill out Hawaii CS-L(MVR)39

When a Hawaii vehicle is registered only in the name of someone who has died, this sworn affidavit is how the successor collects it without probate. It is short and it is precise about what it is: the affiant deposes that they are the successor of the named decedent, that a certified copy of the death certificate is submitted with it, and that they are entitled to delivery of the vehicle by virtue of Section 560:3-1201. It then reprints Section 560:3-1202 in full on the sheet, which is the protection for the county - the person delivering the property is discharged and released to the same extent as if the person dealt with a personal representative of the decedent. If the car was jointly owned, none of this is needed: the survivor transfers it themselves.

Written against CS-L(MVR)39 (04/2026), issued under Sections 560:3-1201 and 560:3-1202, Hawaii Revised Statutes, both cited on the face of the affidavit, filed with the City and County of Honolulu Division of Motor Vehicles. The form deliberately does not tell you whether the estate qualifies. It cites the statute rather than reproducing its conditions, and it prints the protection for the person handing the car over rather than the test for the person receiving it. If the estate's size or the time since the death is in any doubt, that question is answered before the affidavit is sworn, not after.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank CS-L(MVR)39 from the www4.honolulu.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our CS-L(MVR)39 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Every line, in the order you meet it

1. 1
   You fill this in

   The estate, and the venue caption

   The two facing blocks at the head of the page. The left names the estate of the deceased; the right is the State of Hawaii and the City and County of Honolulu, pre-printed.

   Watch out: Name the estate as the decedent's full legal name, matching the death certificate rather than the certificate of registration if the two differ.

2. 2
   You fill this in

   Affiant's name

   The successor, on the line before being first duly sworn on oath. One person swears this affidavit.

   Watch out: Where several people are successors, the county's instruction to call for guidance is worth taking - the form has a single affiant line and no obvious way to add another.

3. 3
   You fill this in

   Date of death

   Two boxes: the day and month on the first rule, the year after the printed 20. A certified copy of the death certificate is submitted with the affidavit.

   Watch out: Take the date from the certificate, not from memory. The two documents are read together and a mismatch is the sort of thing that stops a file.

4. 4
   You fill this in

   Plate, make and body type

   Three boxes identifying the vehicle being claimed, using the county's usual description shorthand.

   Watch out: If the registration has lapsed since the death, deal with that expectation early - a transfer still needs current registration and a current safety check.

5. 5
   You fill this in

   Vehicle identification number

   One long rule. The county's own sheet misspells the label as INDENTIFICATION; the field is the ordinary VIN.

   Watch out: It is the field that identifies the car if the plates have already been surrendered or the registration is years out of date.

6. 6
   You fill this in

   Explain the relationship to the decedent

   A free-text line, and the substance of the affidavit. It is what turns the affiant into a successor entitled to delivery under section 560:3-1201.

   Watch out: Be specific - surviving spouse, sole surviving child, named beneficiary. A one-word answer like family is not a statement of entitlement.

7. 7
   Somebody else fills this in

   The reprinted statute and the jurat

   Section 560:3-1202 is printed in full on the lower half of the sheet, and the affidavit closes with further, affiant sayeth naught above the swearing block.

   Watch out: Nothing there is yours to complete, but paragraph three says you have read and understood it - so read it before you swear that you have.

What gets this one rejected

• •A photocopied death certificate. Honolulu's instruction on the survivor route says it plainly - a state-certified copy of the decedent's official death certificate, and photocopies are not acceptable.
• •Using it where the vehicle was jointly owned. The survivor completes Section A on the front and Section D on the back of the certificate; the affidavit is for a vehicle registered only in the decedent's name.
• •Leaving the relationship line vague. The form asks the affiant to explain their relationship to the decedent, and that sentence is the basis of the entitlement being sworn to.
• •Signing it without a notary. The affidavit is sworn on oath and closes with the formal jurat, so it is executed in front of an officer authorised to administer one.
• •Treating it as a transfer document on its own. It puts the vehicle in the successor's hands; the certificate of title still has to be endorsed and the buyer still applies in Section D.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

• •It is Hawaii's small-estate route, and the statute governs it. The entitlement is by virtue of section 560:3-1201, and the form does not restate that section's own conditions - so read the statute, or ask the county, before assuming the estate qualifies.
• •Section 560:3-1202 is on the sheet for the county's benefit. It discharges the person delivering the property to the same extent as if they had dealt with a personal representative, and adds that they are not required to inquire into the truth of any statement in the affidavit.
• •It has teeth on the other side too. The reprinted statute says a person to whom payment, delivery, transfer or issuance is made is answerable and accountable to any personal representative of the estate or to any other person having a superior right.
• •Honolulu asks you to call first. The county's own instruction on this route is to download and print the affidavit and then call the motor vehicle office or go to a satellite city hall for guidance on transferring ownership.
• •Every county publishes its own. Maui describes its version as used when the registered owners of a vehicle are deceased and the successor of the estate wants to claim ownership, and asks for an original notarised affidavit.

Every line here was read off CS-L(MVR)39 (04/2026) itself — the PDF is here — and off the City and County of Honolulu Division of Motor Vehicle, Licensing and Permits pages. This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ, theirs governs.

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