How to fill out Illinois VSD 774

The other end of the beneficiary route. Where a title already names a transfer-on-death beneficiary, this is what that person files after the owner dies. One page, one signature, and a short list of things to staple to it.

Top of the blank Illinois VSD 774, Beneficiary Claim Form, as the agency publishes it

Step 1 · the form itself Blank VSD 774 — Beneficiary Claim Form PDF at ilsos.gov · new tab View the blank VSD 774

Top of our filled-in example of Illinois VSD 774, Beneficiary Claim Form

Step 2 · how to fill it in Our filled-in VSD 774 guide PDF · 2 pages · 530 KB · new tab See our filled-in example

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank VSD 774 from the ilsos.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our VSD 774 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Written against VSD 774 (VSD 774.5, March 2026), issued under 625 ILCS 5/3-104. Bring it to a facility rather than posting it. The instruction on the form is to submit the completed affidavit and its documentation to an Illinois Secretary of State facility when applying for an application for title.

Last updated August 22, 2026.

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is the actual VSD 774, rendered from the PDF the Illinois Secretary of State 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

An Illinois VSD 774 Beneficiary Claim Form filled in: Roland K. Petrakis certifying as transfer-on-death beneficiary of Dorothea M. Petrakis, who died on 4 March 2026, for a 2014 Honda CR-V with VIN 5J6RM4H5XEL068213, a title number given, an odometer reading of 74208 with the actual mileage box ticked, and signed and dated 20 March 2026. — The actual VSD 774. The odometer block here has three boxes and the instruction check only one - unlike the certificate itself, which has two and treats an empty pair as the actual-mileage answer. Note the tick box beside the title number: Illinois expects that a beneficiary may not have the paper title, and gives them a way to say so.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
The buyer fills this in
Your name, then the deceased owner's
Both inside the opening certification: the individual named as Transfer on Death Beneficiary certifies that the applicant is the TOD Beneficiary of the named deceased.
Watch out: Your name has to match the title's beneficiary block exactly. If it does not, the fix is a VSD 393 at item 6 and it is easier to bring both than to be sent away.
2
The buyer fills this in
who departed this life on
The date of death, in the sentence.
Watch out: As the certified death certificate has it. The two documents are read together.
3
The buyer fills this in
The vehicle
Year, make, model and body type across a row, then the VIN in its comb.
Watch out: One character per box in the VIN row. It is the only combed field on the sheet.
4
The buyer fills this in
Current Title Number, and the box beside it
The number from the certificate - or the tick box for being unable to surrender it.
Watch out: If you tick the box, attach something showing the vehicle was last titled in Illinois. A Secretary of State title screen print is named as acceptable.
5
The buyer fills this in
The odometer statement
The reading with no tenths, and one of three boxes: actual mileage, in excess of mechanical limits, or not the actual mileage.
Watch out: Check only one, and check one - unlike the title, an empty set of boxes here is an unanswered question rather than an answer.
6
The buyer fills this in
Sign, print and date
One signature. The line above swears the statement is true and correct and acknowledges severe penalties for false statements under oath.
Watch out: Then assemble the rest: proof of the Illinois titling and the beneficiary designation, a certified death certificate, a VSD 190 with the title fee, and the tax form with a cheque to the Department of Revenue.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
The certification sentence	The individual named as Transfer on Death Beneficiary (TOD), ______, certifies that the applicant is the TOD Beneficiary of ______, name of deceased.
who departed this life on	The date of death, inside the sentence.
Year, Make, Model, Body Type	Four boxes across a row.
Vehicle Identification Number	A comb of character boxes.
Current Title Number	Plus a tick box beside it: check box if you are unable to surrender the current title.
The odometer certification	Check only one of three: actual mileage, in excess of its mechanical limits, or not the actual mileage - warning, odometer discrepancy. Plus the reading itself, no tenths.
Applicant Signature, Printed Name and Date	The beneficiary's, at the foot.

What gets this one rejected

•Filing it without the death certificate. The instructions ask for a copy of a certified death certificate for the owner shown on the Illinois title.
•Filing it alone. It goes in with a completed VSD 190, the applicable title fee, any registration fee if plates are wanted, and a tax form with a cheque payable to the Illinois Department of Revenue.
•Expecting the plates too. The instructions say plainly that the beneficiary does not have rights to the deceased owner's vehicle registration.
•A name that does not match. If the beneficiary's name on the title is not identical to the name on their own paperwork, the instructions send them to VSD 393, item number 6.
•Ticking two odometer boxes, or none. The line says check only one.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•Three boxes here, two on a title. This form gives the odometer statement three options rather than the certificate's two, because it adds an explicit actual mileage box. On the title, actual mileage is what you are certifying by leaving both boxes empty. Here you have to say it.
•The title can be missing. There is a tick box for being unable to surrender the current title, which is more forgiving than most of the Illinois set. Attach documentation that the vehicle was last titled in Illinois instead - the instructions accept a Secretary of State title screen print.

Every line here was read off VSD 774 (VSD 774.5, March 2026) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Illinois Secretary of State pages. This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ, theirs governs.

Forms that go with this one

Named as the beneficiary and living near Belleville? The Belleville Secretary of State facility that does title transfers is listed on our page, with its phone number.

Back to all Illinois seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Illinois involves.

How to fill out Illinois VSD 774

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

Your name, then the deceased owner's

who departed this life on

The vehicle

Current Title Number, and the box beside it

The odometer statement

Sign, print and date

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

Forms that go with this one

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