How to fill out Oregon 735-516

The form that moves a vehicle out of a dead person's name without a probate court, and the only document in the ordinary Oregon set that needs a notary. It works by having every heir sign a sworn statement naming the person the vehicle is going to. DMV is careful to say what it will not do: it cannot determine the heirs for you, and it suggests taking legal advice on who they are, because getting that wrong is the failure this form cannot survive.

Written against 735-516 (7-26), issued under ORS 803.094, with heirs determined under ORS Chapter 112. Revised July 2026. The bullets at the head of the form are the instructions for the whole transaction, not preamble — read all seven before anybody picks up a pen, because alterations are barred and a fresh copy is free.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank 735-516 from the oregon.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.

Every line, in the order you meet it

1. 1
   Somebody else fills this in

   I/We declare that ______ died on the ___ day of ______, 20___

   The opening declaration, naming the deceased owner and the date of death.

   Watch out: The name has to match the front of the certificate. A title issued to a middle initial and an affidavit naming a full middle name is the kind of mismatch that stops an estate transfer.

2. 2
   Somebody else fills this in

   and that the estate has not and will not be probated

   Part of the same sentence, and the condition the whole form rests on.

   Watch out: If probate has started, this is the wrong document. A probated estate needs a copy of the court's letters testamentary or letters of administration and a release from the personal representative.

3. 3
   Somebody else fills this in

   Vehicle description

   Plate number, year, make and VIN, under a line certifying the deceased owned it at the time of death.

   Watch out: Take it off the certificate if you have it and off the registration card if you do not. Both are usually in the same drawer as the death certificate.

4. 4
   Somebody else fills this in

   The other heirs

   Names of any heirs not signing this particular affidavit.

   Watch out: Blank is an answer here, and a strong one: the printed certification says that if there are no names listed, there are no other heirs. Anyone named has to file their own affidavit.

5. 5
   Somebody else fills this in

   I/we release any and all claim to the following party

   The name and full address of the person the vehicle is being assigned to.

   Watch out: Every affidavit in the set, if there is more than one, has to name the same person. That is what the instruction about each affidavit indicating to whom ownership is assigned is guarding against.

6. 6
   Somebody else fills this in

   All heirs must sign below

   Four signature lines, each on an X.

   Watch out: A minor or incapacitated heir does not sign for themselves. The parent or guardian does, in the form's own format, and a guardian attaches a copy of the court papers showing guardianship.

7. 7
   Somebody else fills this in

   The notary block

   State, county, subscribed and sworn before me this day of, the printed name of the signer, and the notary's signature.

   Watch out: This is the only notary in an ordinary Oregon estate transfer, and the form goes out of its way to say the notary does not have to be an Oregon one — useful when heirs are scattered.

What gets this one rejected

• •Not notarised. The form says the affidavit must be signed before a notary, and adds helpfully that the notary does not have to be from the State of Oregon.
• •An heir missing. DMV must receive an affidavit completed and signed by all heirs — separate affidavits are fine, an absent heir is not.
• •No named recipient. Each affidavit must indicate to whom ownership of the vehicle is assigned, and an affidavit that only releases a claim assigns it to nobody.
• •Used where the estate is being probated. This form declares that the estate has not and will not be probated; a probated estate needs the court's letters and a release from the personal representative.
• •A minor or incapacitated heir signing for themselves. The parent or guardian signs, in the form's own style — Jane Q. Public, age 10, by John Q. Public, parent — and a guardian has to attach the court papers.
• •Altered. The instructions say it in capitals: do NOT make alterations, white out, or scratch out information.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

• •Survivorship comes first. Before this form is needed at all, check the SURVIVORSHIP box on the front of the certificate. DMV reads it as a pair — Y/N or Y/Y means the title carries survivorship, N/N or N/Y means it does not — and a title with survivorship needs proof of death rather than an affidavit.
• •A simple estate affidavit filed with the county is a different route. Where one has been filed under ORS 114.515 to 114.555, DMV takes a copy of the court-filed affidavit or a Simple Estate Certification instead.
• •Proof of death is flexible. DMV accepts an original, a certified copy, or a plain photocopy of a death certificate, or documents produced by a municipal or state court indicating the death.
• •The title fee still applies. The affidavit is submitted with the title if it is available, an application for title, and the transfer fee. It is a route around probate, not around the fee.

Every line here was read off 735-516 (7-26) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Oregon Department of Transportation, Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division 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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