A half-page certification for the case where a small estate has already been through the county rather than through probate. Oregon calls the document filed there a simple estate affidavit, and only somebody who signed it — an affiant — may sign this. It is the shortest route through an estate that Oregon offers, and it exists so that DMV does not need the whole court file to transfer one car.
Written against 735-6797 (3-26), issued under ORS 114.515 to ORS 114.555, and ORS 803.075.
Revised March 2026. Which estate form you need is decided by what has already happened at the county, not by the size of the estate — check that first, because the three routes do not overlap.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank 735-6797 from the oregon.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is the actual 735-6797, rendered from the PDF the Oregon Department of Transportation, Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division 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
The 735-6797 at revision 3-26, signed by the claiming successor who was an affiant on the county filing. The personal representative rows below are greyed because this estate has no personal representative — nobody was appointed, which is the point of a simple estate.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
Somebody else fills this in
I certify that I am a claiming successor or the personal representative
The opening of the certification, naming which of the two roles the signer holds.
Watch out: They are different jobs. A claiming successor takes property under a simple estate affidavit; a personal representative is appointed by a court, and if one has been, the estate is probated and this form is the wrong one.
2
Somebody else fills this in
for the estate of ______, who died on (date) ______
The deceased's name and the date of death.
Watch out: Match the name to the front of the certificate rather than to the death certificate if the two differ — and where they differ, expect to explain it.
3
Somebody else fills this in
and am an affiant on the simple estate affidavit filed in ______ county
The county where the affidavit was filed with the court.
Watch out: Only an affiant may sign. If you were named in the affidavit but did not sign it, you cannot sign this, and the person who did has to.
4
Somebody else fills this in
The vehicle description
Plate, year, make, body style and VIN, tying the certification to one vehicle.
Watch out: It has to be a vehicle described in the simple estate affidavit itself, as ORS 114.525 requires. A car left out of the county filing is not covered by this.
5
Somebody else fills this in
Signature of claiming successor, date and printed name
The first pair of rows at the foot, with a note to add the business name if the successor is a business.
Watch out: Two rows because a simple estate can have more than one affiant, and the form says it may be signed by one or more of them.
6
Somebody else fills this in
Signature of personal representative
Two further rows in the same shape.
Watch out: Empty where nobody has been appointed. Filling both halves in describes an estate that is being probated and not probated at the same time.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
The certification sentence
I certify that I am a claiming successor or the personal representative for the estate of ______, who died on (date) ______. I have complied with the provisions of ORS 114.515 through ORS 114.555 and am an affiant on the simple estate affidavit filed in ______ county.
The vehicle sentence
I further certify that at the time of death, the deceased was the owner of the following vehicle as described in the simple estate affidavit as required under ORS 114.525.
Vehicle description
Plate number, year, make, body style and the vehicle identification number, on one band.
Signature of claiming successor
Two rows, each with a signature on an X, a date and a printed name, with a note to indicate the business name if the successor is a business.
Signature of personal representative
Two more rows in the same shape, for a personal representative rather than a claiming successor.
The certification against ORS 803.075
I understand that it is a crime under ORS 803.075 to certify the truth of a statement when I know the statement is not true, punishable by a jail sentence of up to one year, a fine of up to $6,250, or both.
What gets this one rejected
•Signed by somebody who did not sign the simple estate affidavit. The instruction is explicit: only a person who has signed the simple estate affidavit — an affiant — may sign this certification.
•Used where no simple estate affidavit was ever filed. This certification is to be used when a simple estate affidavit has been filed with the county, and where none exists the route is the Inheritance Affidavit or probate documents.
•No county named. The certification turns on the affidavit having been filed somewhere, and the county is how DMV knows where.
•A vehicle that is not the vehicle in the affidavit. The second certification ties the two together: the deceased owned the vehicle as described in the simple estate affidavit, as required under ORS 114.525.
•Filed on its own. It supports an application for Oregon title, in its own words, and does nothing without one.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•It is an alternative to sending the court file. DMV's titling page offers both: a copy of the court-filed affidavit, or a Simple Estate Certification completed by the affiant. This form is the second option and it is usually the faster one.
•More than one affiant may sign. The form says it may be signed by one or more affiants, which is why there are four signature rows on a half-page document.
•No notary. Unlike the Inheritance Affidavit, this one is a certification rather than a sworn affidavit. It carries the ORS 803.075 warning instead, and needs no notary at all.
