How to fill out New York MV-349.1

The affidavit a surviving spouse - or the guardian of a surviving child under twenty-one - uses to move one vehicle out of a dead owner's name without going near a court. It is sworn before a notary, it is capped at $25,000, and it is the form to use when there is a surviving spouse. When there is not, New York sends you to a different one.

Written against MV-349.1 (4/25), issued under New York Estates, Powers and Trusts Law section 5-3.1. The $25,000 line is a value test, not a price test. It is what the vehicle was worth at the date of death, and a car that has appreciated - or one valued optimistically - takes the whole transfer out of this form and into the Surrogate's Court.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank MV-349.1 from the dmv.ny.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our MV-349.1 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank MV-349.1 — Affidavit for Transfer of Motor Vehicle PDF at dmv.ny.gov · new tab Step 2 · how to fill it in Our filled-in MV-349.1 guide PDF · print and keep beside you

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is the actual MV-349.1, rendered from the PDF the New York State Department 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

A New York MV-349.1 filled in: Gerald P. Havemeyer, sworn in Ulster County, states he is the surviving spouse of Marion E. Havemeyer who died on 12 March 2026; the vehicle is a 2012 Honda CR-V four-door with identification number 5J6RM4H53CL034918; it is being transferred to Rosalind T. Havemeyer at a Kingston address; the box certifying a value of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars is ticked; and the jurat is completed by a notary public with a commission expiry date. — The actual MV-349.1 at revision 4/25. The guardian limb in paragraph 1 and the over-threshold payment line in paragraph 5 are greyed because a surviving spouse under the cap uses neither. The signature rule above the jurat is left blank: it carries no field on the agency's PDF and no box on its own row to derive one from, and nothing on these samples is placed by eye.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
You fill this in
The deponent
Your name on the line before "being duly sworn, deposes and says", with the county of the oath above it.
Watch out: The county here is where the affidavit is sworn, not where the deceased lived or where the car is. It is the notary's jurisdiction.
2
You fill this in
Paragraph 1, which limb
Surviving spouse of the deceased, or duly appointed guardian of the surviving minor children.
Watch out: Complete one and leave the other alone. Filling in both makes the affidavit internally inconsistent, and it is sworn.
3
You fill this in
Paragraphs 2 and 3, the death and the vehicle
The date of death, then year, make, model, type and the vehicle identification or serial number.
Watch out: Take the identification number from the certificate rather than the car, because the certificate is what accompanies this affidavit to the counter.
4
You fill this in
Paragraph 4, who it goes to
The name and address of the person the vehicle is being transferred to.
Watch out: It does not have to be you. The form allows a transfer to another party for the benefit of the surviving spouse or the children, which is how a car gets sold straight out of an estate.
5
You fill this in
Paragraph 5, the value
Tick the box for not more than twenty-five thousand dollars, or the second box and pay the estate the excess.
Watch out: Be able to say where the figure came from. A trade valuation printed on the day is a better answer than a number that felt about right.
6
You fill this in
The jurat
Sign in full, then a notary public or commissioner of deeds completes the sworn-to block and the commission expiry.
Watch out: Sign in front of the notary, not before you get there. A signature already on the page is the commonest reason a notary refuses to complete the block.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
The instructions across the head	This form, along with the title or transferable registration properly completed, may be used to transfer a motor vehicle having a value of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) or less, owned by a person at the time of the person's death, to a surviving spouse or child or children under the age of twenty-one years. A copy of the death certificate must be provided.
State and county, and the deponent	The jurisdiction of the oath, then the name of the person swearing it, on the line before "being duly sworn, deposes and says".
Paragraph 1, which limb applies	(a) I am the surviving spouse of ____, or (b) I am the duly appointed guardian of ____, the surviving minor child or children of ____. One or the other, never both.
Paragraph 2, the death	The deceased's name, and the day, month and year they died.
Paragraph 3, the vehicle	The deceased was the owner of a vehicle described by year, make, model and type, with its vehicle identification or serial number underneath.
Paragraph 4, who it goes to	The name of the person to whom the vehicle is being transferred, and their address. It does not have to be the deponent - the form permits a transfer to another party for the benefit of the surviving spouse or children.
Paragraph 5, the value	One of two boxes: the vehicle is worth not more than $25,000, or it exceeds $25,000 and the deponent has paid the estate the difference under section 5-3.1(a)(4).
Paragraphs 6 to 9	That it is the only vehicle being transferred under section 5-3.1; that the deponent qualifies; that they are not a disqualified spouse under section 5-1.2; and that the affidavit is made to secure the transfer.
Certification and jurat	The deponent signs in full, and a notary public or commissioner of deeds completes the sworn-to block with the date their commission expires.

What gets this one rejected

•An unsworn affidavit. The DMV's own page says it in four words - the form must be notarized - and a jurat is the whole difference between an affidavit and a statement.
•More than one vehicle. Paragraph 6 certifies this is the only motor vehicle belonging to the decedent being transferred under section 5-3.1.
•An out-of-state certificate. The DMV states that neither this affidavit nor its next-of-kin sibling can be used to transfer ownership of an out-of-state title in a deceased owner's name - that needs an executor or an administrator.
•Anything that is not a motor vehicle. Manufactured homes, snowmobiles, boats, trailers and all-terrain vehicles pass only through an estate set up by order of a Surrogate's Court.
•No death certificate. A copy of the death certificate or a certification of death has to be provided, and the DMV accepts a photocopy.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•What the spouse does on the certificate itself. The DMV's instruction is precise: print the decedent's name in the Seller's Name (Print in Full) section on the back of the title, and sign your own name in the Seller's Signature section followed by the words "as surviving Spouse".
•When there is no surviving spouse. The vehicle passes to surviving children under twenty-one, and the spouse or the legal guardian of one of them signs the certificate, indicating the relationship - a guardian writes "guardian of" and then the name and relationship of the child to the deceased owner.
•When the estate is bigger than one car. If there is more than one vehicle, or one vehicle worth more than $25,000, the vehicles become part of the estate and neither this affidavit nor the next-of-kin form can be used. That route needs Letters Testamentary, Letters of Administration or a voluntary administrator's affidavit from the Surrogate's Court.

Every line here was read off MV-349.1 (4/25) itself — the PDF is here — and off the New York State Department 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.

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

How to fill out New York MV-349.1

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

The deponent

Paragraph 1, which limb

Paragraphs 2 and 3, the death and the vehicle

Paragraph 4, who it goes to

Paragraph 5, the value

The jurat

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

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