One page that moves a car out of a deceased husband's or wife's name without probate. Massachusetts presumes that a married resident's pleasure vehicle was jointly held with right of survivorship unless a will says otherwise, and this affidavit is how the surviving spouse says so. It works for passenger vehicles and motorcycles, and the Registry waives the title change fee.
Written against TTL103 (TTL103_0123, January 2023), issued under M.G.L. c.90D s.15A.
The affidavit and the assignment are two different signatures with two different meanings. The affidavit says the vehicle passed to you; the assignment on the back of the certificate says you have sold it to somebody. A surviving spouse selling a car does both, and doing only the first leaves the buyer with a certificate nobody has assigned.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank TTL103 from the mass.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is the actual TTL103, 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
Eleven boxes and a signature, and no probate anywhere in it. Read the printed certification above the signature line before signing: it says the vehicle has not been disposed of otherwise by will, which is a statement about the estate rather than about the car.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
Decide which instruction applies
Selling the vehicle, or keeping it. The two numbered instructions at the top of the form lead to different piles of paperwork.
Watch out: Selling is the shorter route: the affidavit, a copy of the death certificate and the assigned certificate all go to the buyer, and the Registry sees them at the buyer's transaction rather than at yours.
2
You fill this in
Section A, the decedent
Last name, first name, middle name and suffix of the registered owner who has died.
Watch out: Spell it as the certificate spells it. If the death certificate and the title disagree, resolve that before anything else.
3
You fill this in
Section B, the vehicle
Registration number, title number, make, year and vehicle identification number.
Watch out: The title number is on the front of the certificate. If the certificate cannot be found, the duplicate application accepts an affidavit of surviving spouse and a death certificate in place of the deceased owner's signature.
4
You fill this in
Read the certification
That the decedent was the registered owner of a pleasure vehicle, that it was not disposed of by will, and that under section 15A the interest passes to you.
Watch out: Sworn under the penalties of perjury, with false statements punishable under chapter 90 section 24B. If there is a will and it mentions the car, this is not the right form.
5
You fill this in
Date, sign, print
Three lines at the foot of the page.
Watch out: No notary. This affidavit is sworn on the form itself, which is unusual for a document doing this much work.
6
You fill this in
Assign the certificate as well, if you are selling
The buyer needs the assignment on the back of the title completed in your name, not the decedent's.
Watch out: You are the owner by operation of section 15A from the moment of death, so the seller's row is yours to sign. The affidavit is what proves it.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
Instruction 1
If you are selling the vehicle: complete this application and give it to the buyer, along with a copy of the death certificate and the assigned certificate of title.
Instruction 2
If you are keeping it: go to an authorised Massachusetts insurance agent, have them fill out, stamp and sign a Registration and Title Application, then sign it yourself.
A, Owner (Decedent) Information
The deceased owner's last name, first name, middle name and suffix.
B, Vehicle Information
Registration number, title number, make, year and vehicle identification number.
C, Certification and Signature
The certification that the decedent was the registered owner of the described passenger vehicle or motorcycle registered and used as a pleasure vehicle in the Commonwealth, that the vehicle has not been disposed of otherwise by will, and that under chapter 90D section 15A the interest passes to the surviving spouse. Date, signature and printed name.
What gets this one rejected
•A commercial vehicle or a truck. The certification is limited to a passenger vehicle or motorcycle registered and used as a pleasure vehicle.
•A vehicle the will deals with. The affidavit certifies that the vehicle has not been disposed of otherwise by will, and if it has, the executor handles it instead.
•Anyone other than the surviving spouse signing. The section is titled signature of surviving spouse and the presumption in section 15A runs to a spouse alone.
•Filing it without a copy of the death certificate.
•Handing the buyer the affidavit but not the assigned certificate. Instruction 1 asks for all three: the affidavit, the death certificate and the certificate of title with the assignment completed.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•Two routes, and the form tells you which is which. Selling means giving the buyer this affidavit, the death certificate and the assigned title. Keeping means an insurance agent stamping a Registration and Title Application and a trip to a Service Center with all four documents.
•The fee is waived. Where a certificate of title has already been issued for the vehicle, section 15A says a new certificate shall issue to the spouse and the title change fee for such spouse shall be waived.
•The registration does not die with the owner. Chapter 90 section 2 keeps a deceased owner's registration in force until the expiry date on the certificate of registration or until the legal representative transfers ownership, whichever comes first.
•Lienholders get told. Section 15A requires notice of the transfer to be sent to any lienholder of record, so a car with a loan still on it does not simply pass quietly.
Every line here was read off TTL103 (TTL103_0123, January 2023) 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.
