How to fill out South Dakota Form 1013

Where there is no probate, this single page moves a South Dakota vehicle out of a dead owner's name - and it does something most states' small-estate affidavits will not: it can transfer the title straight to a purchaser rather than only to an heir. The form prints both options as ticks, and the manual explains the difference in tax. Transfer to a successor is exempt from the motor vehicle excise tax; transfer to a purchaser is taxed on the purchase price, or on current book value where the price is nominal. The conditions are the small-estate ones under SDCL 29A-3-1201: thirty days elapsed since the death, an estate under $100,000 net of liens, and no personal representative appointed or applied for anywhere.

Written against Form 1013 (no revision printed), issued under South Dakota Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division, made under SDCL 29A-3-1201 and 29A-3-1202. The straight-to-purchaser tick is what makes this form unusual, and it is also where families get the sequence wrong. The vehicle does not have to pass through an heir's name first - one affidavit can name the buyer, the date they bought it and the price, and the title issues to them. But the buyer's excise tax then rides on that price, so a nominal figure written to be kind will be replaced with book value at the counter. And whichever tick is used, the affidavit is sworn: the estate threshold, the thirty days and the absence of a personal representative are all statements made under oath by people who will be signing an indemnity in the same breath.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank Form 1013 from the sddor.seamlessdocs.com copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our Form 1013 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank Form 1013 — Succession Affidavit PDF at sddor.seamlessdocs.com · new tab Step 2 · how to fill it in Our filled-in Form 1013 guide PDF · print and keep beside you

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is the actual Form 1013, rendered from the PDF the South Dakota Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle 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

A completed South Dakota Succession Affidavit, Form 1013. The first affiant block names Marlene D. Tschetter of Brookings, South Dakota, and the second affiant block is shaded grey. The title property block identifies a 2011 Ford Escape XLT by licence number, year, make, model, vehicle identification number and title number. The statement names the decedent, Alvina M. Tschetter, with a date of death of 05/02/2026. Under Transfer Information the second option is ticked, transferring ownership to a named purchaser who bought the vehicle on a stated date for a stated price. The affiant signature line is blank, the date is completed, and the notary block at the foot is shaded grey. — Completed on the route that surprises people - straight to a purchaser rather than to an heir first. The second affiant block is washed grey because one heir is signing; the notary block is grey because it belongs to whoever takes the acknowledgement, and on this form that may be a county treasurer rather than a notary public.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
You fill this in
Who is swearing to this
Name and full address for each affiant. Two blocks are printed so more than one heir can sign.
Watch out: Every affiant is taking on the same liability - to a personal representative, to anyone with a superior right, and to the department. Do not add names for completeness.
2
You fill this in
The vehicle, and its licence number
Licence number, year, make, model, VIN or HIN and title number. This form asks for the plate as well as the title.
Watch out: One vehicle per affidavit. A second car in the same estate needs a second form, however identical the facts are.
3
You fill this in
The decedent's name and the date of death
Written into the affirmation, which continues that at least thirty days have elapsed since that death.
Watch out: Count the thirty days properly. It is the first sworn statement on the page and the easiest one to get wrong by a week.
4
You fill this in
Read the eight bullets before signing anything
The estate under $100,000, no personal representative anywhere, no Department of Social Services debt for institutional care, entitlement as heir or devisee, and the responsibility for creditors and allowances.
Watch out: The Social Services bullet is the one families miss. A nursing-home medical assistance debt is a bar to this route, not a detail to be tidied up later.
5
You fill this in
Successor, or purchaser - one tick
Either names the successors and their addresses, or names the purchaser with the date they bought it and the price.
Watch out: The tick decides the tax. A successor takes it exempt; a purchaser pays 4% of the price, or of book value if the price is nominal.
6
You fill this in
Sign, and date
The affiant signature and date, above the indemnity paragraph.
Watch out: Do not sign it at home. The next block is an acknowledgement, and a signature made before the notary or county treasurer sees it is the commonest reason these come back.
7
Somebody else fills this in
The notary or county treasurer block
Subscribed and sworn to, with the county, the officer's signature and the expiry of their commission.
Watch out: The form offers a county treasurer as an alternative to a notary public - and the affidavit has to reach a county treasurer anyway, along with the surrendered title.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
Affiant Information, two blocks	Name, address, city, state and zip code for each affiant. Two are printed because more than one heir may be entitled and signing.
Title Property Data	Licence number, year, make, model, VIN or HIN and title number - the vehicle being moved.
I/we, the affiant, hereby affirm that ___ died on ___	The decedent's name and the date of death, written into the statement, followed by the affirmation that at least 30 days have elapsed since that death.
The sworn statements	Eight printed bullets: the value of the entire probate estate wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $100,000; no application or petition for the appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction; the decedent has not incurred any indebtedness to the Department of Social Services for medical assistance for nursing home or other institutional care; the affiants are entitled to payment or delivery of all property held by others in the sole name of the decedent pursuant to SDCL 29A-3-1201; entitlement is based on status as an heir or as a devisee in the decedent's will; the affiants accept responsibility for applying the property to liens and encumbrances, homestead allowance, exempt property, family allowance, funeral expenses, expenses of administration and creditor claims; the affiants submit personally to the jurisdiction of the courts of South Dakota; and the person transferring the property is discharged under SDCL 29A-3-1202.
Transfer Information - choose one	Either the ownership of the title property be transferred to named successors, with their addresses; or transferred to a named purchaser, who purchased the vehicle on a stated date for a stated price.
Affiant Signature, Date	Above the acknowledgement that the affiants may be liable and accountable to any personal representative of the estate or any other person having superior right to title, and the agreement to indemnify the Motor Vehicle Division.
Notary block	Subscribed and sworn to before me this day, State of South Dakota, County of ___, then Notary Public or County Treasurer Signature and the date the commission expires.

What gets this one rejected

•Filing it inside thirty days of the death. The affirmation on the form is that at least 30 days have elapsed, and it is sworn.
•An estate over $100,000. The threshold is net of liens and encumbrances and covers the entire probate estate wherever located, not just the car.
•A probate already open. No application or petition for the appointment of a personal representative may be pending or granted in any jurisdiction - if one is, the personal representative signs the assignment instead.
•An affiant who is neither an heir nor a devisee. The manual is explicit that the affiant must be an heir of the deceased or a devisee in the deceased's will.
•Using it for a vehicle titled in another state. The manual's rule: the South Dakota affidavit of succession should only be used for South Dakota titled vehicles, and a vehicle titled elsewhere is applied for through the state where the deceased lived.
•One affidavit for two vehicles. If more than one vehicle is involved, a separate affidavit must be completed for each.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•It is notarised, and a county treasurer will do. The block reads Notary Public or County Treasurer Signature. Since the affidavit has to reach a county treasurer anyway, that is usually one trip rather than two.
•The title has to be surrendered, but a duplicate does not. The county treasurer must require the surrender of the South Dakota title. If the title is not available, it must be indicated on the affidavit - and a duplicate title application is not required.
•No will, no bill of sale. The manual states that a copy of the will and a separate bill of sale are not required to be submitted with the affidavit.
•The tax follows the tick. Transfer to a successor is exempt from the motor vehicle excise tax. Transfer to a purchaser is taxed on their purchase price - and where that price is of no or nominal consideration, tax is due on current book value.
•What the affiants are taking on. They acknowledge they may be liable and accountable to any personal representative of the estate or any other person having superior right to title, and agree to indemnify the department.

Every line here was read off Form 1013 (no revision printed) itself — the PDF is here — and off the South Dakota Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division 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 South Dakota seller paperwork, or what selling a car in South Dakota involves.

How to fill out South Dakota Form 1013

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

Who is swearing to this

The vehicle, and its licence number

The decedent's name and the date of death

Read the eight bullets before signing anything

Successor, or purchaser - one tick

Sign, and date

The notary or county treasurer block

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

Want the paperwork handled instead?

Or send the details — we'll come to you