The affidavit that stops the Department of Revenue taxing a car on its book value when it moves between close relatives. It is signed by both sides, and the signature that matters first is the prior owner's - the exemption is theirs to certify, and the relationship box is a closed list of seven.
Written against MVU-26 (Rev 6/04), issued under 830 CMR 64H.25.1.
This is a Department of Revenue form, not a Registry one, and the Registry only records the exemption code the Service Center enters into Section I4 of the application. Keep your own copy: if the exemption is later queried it is the affidavit that answers it, and the RMV is not the office that queries it.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank MVU-26 from the mass.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is the actual MVU-26, rendered from the PDF the Massachusetts Registry 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
Seven boxes, one of which has to be true. The Department of Revenue's list stops at parents, children, siblings and a spouse - and every transfer that falls outside it is taxed on the greater of what was paid and what the book says the car is worth.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
The vehicle
Year, make, model, vehicle identification number and title number, printed or typed.
Watch out: The title number is the eight-character code at the top left of the certificate, not the control number printed in red at the foot.
2
You fill this in
Prior owner and address
Your name and full address as the person giving up the vehicle.
Watch out: It should match the owner block on the front of the certificate. A married name here and a maiden name there is a discrepancy the Registry will make you resolve first.
3
The buyer fills this in
New owner, address and date
The relative taking the car, their address, and the date the transfer happened.
Watch out: Use the same date you wrote in the DATE OF SALE box on the back of the certificate. Two different dates on two documents about one transfer is an invitation to be asked about it.
4
You fill this in
Tick the relationship
Spouse, son, daughter, mother, father, sister or brother.
Watch out: There is no box for anything else and no space to write one in. If the relationship is not on the list the transfer is taxable, and pretending otherwise is a false statement made under the pains and penalties of perjury.
5
You fill this in
Both signatures
The prior owner signs and dates, then the new owner signs and dates.
Watch out: Signatures are the only thing on this form that may be handwritten. Everything above them is to be printed or typed.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
Motor vehicle transferred
Year, make, model, vehicle identification number and title number, printed or typed.
Prior owner(s) and address
The name and full address of whoever is giving up the vehicle.
New owner(s) and address
The same for whoever is taking it, plus the date of the transfer.
The relationship
Seven tick boxes and no others: spouse, son, daughter, mother, father, sister, brother.
Declaration
Signed by the prior owner and by the new owner, under the pains and penalties of perjury.
What gets this one rejected
•A grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, cousin, niece, nephew or in-law. The seven boxes on the form are the whole list, and a relationship that is not one of them is a taxable sale.
•A transfer where the person giving up the vehicle never paid Massachusetts sales or use tax on it themselves - the exemption assumes the tax has already been paid once.
•Handwritten entries other than the signatures. All entries must be printed or typed except for signatures.
•A missing title number, which is on the front of the certificate at the top left and not on the registration.
•One signature. The declaration has two lines and both are required.
Every line here was read off MVU-26 (Rev 6/04) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Massachusetts Registry 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.
