How to fill out Pennsylvania MV-39

One form covering six different family situations, chosen by a tick in Section C. It tells PennDOT who is entitled to sign a dead owner's title, and depending on which box is ticked it either replaces probate entirely or sits alongside a Short Form Certificate from the Register of Wills.

Written against MV-39 (1-25), issued under 75 Pa.C.S. 1114 and 20 Pa.C.S. 3121. Read the reverse of the form before you tick anything. Each of the six blocks in Section C names a different combination of sections to complete, and getting the block wrong means completing the wrong half of the form - the commonest version is ticking the estate block when what was wanted was a transfer to the surviving spouse.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank MV-39 from the pa.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.

Every line, in the order you meet it

1. 1
   You fill this in

   Section A, the vehicle

   Title number, make, VIN and registration plate number, copied from the certificate and the registration card.

   Watch out: The title has to be attached to this form. The instruction line says so in capitals across the top of the reverse.

2. 2
   You fill this in

   Section B, the informant

   Whoever is entitled to complete the form: name, PA driver's licence or photo ID number, date of birth and address.

   Watch out: The informant named here must always sign in Section I. A form completed by one relative and signed by another is not a form PennDOT will process.

3. 3
   You fill this in

   Section C, which of the six

   One tick. Co-owner spouse, joint tenant with right of survivorship, spouse who is not a co-owner, titling in the estate, all heirs, or a will that is not being probated.

   Watch out: Each block lists the sections to complete on the reverse. Block 1 and block 3 look almost identical and require completely different halves of the form.

4. 4
   You fill this in

   Section D, the heirs

   Part I for heirs signing the title itself; Part II for those signing here instead, with address, relationship and age for each.

   Watch out: Where a car is titled jointly with right of survivorship the survivor does not assign the certificate at all - the fact sheet says to make no entries on the reverse side of the title.

5. 5
   You fill this in

   Sections E and F, the sworn blocks

   The self-certification of the surviving spouse or adult heir, and a one-line affidavit that all debts of the decedent have been paid.

   Watch out: On the no-will routes these signatures must be notarised, and the debts affidavit is what stands in for probate. Do not sign it lightly.

6. 6
   You fill this in

   Section G, proof of death

   Attach an original death certificate, or have the attending physician or funeral director complete block 3 with the decedent's name, the date of death and their signature.

   Watch out: The second route is the useful one. A funeral director will usually complete it on the spot, and it saves surrendering an original certificate you need elsewhere.

7. 7
   You fill this in

   Sections H and I

   Insurance company, policy number and dates if the vehicle is being registered in the informant's name, then the informant's signature and telephone number.

   Watch out: The certification above the signature is a false-swearing declaration under 18 Pa.C.S. 4903(a)(2), carrying a fine not exceeding $5,000 or up to two years.

What gets this one rejected

• •A photocopied death certificate. Copies are not acceptable - it is an original, or the physician or funeral director completes block 3 of Section G instead.
• •Filing it at all where an executor has been appointed. If an executor or administrator has been appointed, or a court order is issued under family exemption or small estate procedure, this form is not required unless the vehicle is to be titled in the name of the estate.
• •Signatures that have not been notarised on the routes that demand it. On the no-will routes the form marks it with an asterisk: all signatures in Sections D and F must be notarised.
• •Missing an heir. On a transfer by all heirs, everyone in the category has to sign - and where one of them has died, that person's children must sign in their place.
• •An informant who is not entitled to be one. The list is a joint tenant with right of survivorship, a surviving spouse, or if there is no spouse an adult child, or if no children a parent, or the executor or administrator.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

• •Who signs when there is no will and no spouse. In order, and only moving down when the category is empty: all adult children, then parents, then brothers and sisters, then blood aunts and uncles, then blood first cousins.
• •The heirs do not have to share a notary. If all heirs cannot appear before the same notary or attesting officer, the form allows additional notarised statements listing the vehicle information, the person the vehicle is going to, and the signatures of the heirs.
• •No title fee for a surviving spouse. A title fee is required except where the transfer is to a surviving spouse - a rule that repeats down every branch of the department's death procedure.
• •Whose plate it is now. A registration plate is transferable only to the spouse, children, parents, parents-in-law, children-in-law, step-children or step-parents of the deceased. Otherwise it is not transferable at all.
• •The car can still be driven. Section 1315 lets an heir or personal representative operate the vehicle for the rest of the current registration period and through the next, provided the registration is renewed in the estate's name.

Every line here was read off MV-39 (1-25) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation 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 Pennsylvania seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Pennsylvania involves.