How to fill out Texas VTR-262

Moves a vehicle out of a deceased owner's name where there is no probate. Every surviving heir signs it, in front of a notary, and it stands in place of a court order.

Top of the blank Texas VTR-262, Affidavit of Heirship for a Motor Vehicle, as the agency publishes it

Step 1 · the form itself Blank VTR-262 — Affidavit of Heirship for a Motor Vehicle PDF at txdmv.gov · new tab View the blank VTR-262

Top of our filled-in example of Texas VTR-262, Affidavit of Heirship for a Motor Vehicle

Step 2 · how to fill it in Our filled-in VTR-262 guide PDF · 2 pages · 620 KB · new tab See our filled-in example

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank VTR-262 from the txdmv.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our VTR-262 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Written against VTR-262 (Rev 11/20), issued under Texas Transportation Code 501.074 and Estates Code 201. This is a sworn statement about who is entitled to inherit, signed under a certification that state law makes falsifying information a third degree felony. If the family is not in agreement about who the heirs are, this form is not the place to settle it.

Last updated August 22, 2026.

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is the actual VTR-262, rendered from the PDF the Texas 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 Texas VTR-262 affidavit of heirship filled in: a 2011 Buick LaCrosse with VIN 1G4GC5E38BF167294 and Texas plate CVR-8210, a date of death of 17 February 2026 in Bexar County, recorded owner Odette M. Fontenot, three surviving heirs with their addresses, a transferee, the no will box ticked, the notary sentence naming each heir, a Bexar County notary line dated 4 March 2026, and an odometer disclosure of 134206 miles signed by an heir and the transferee. — The actual VTR-262, page one. The affiant signature rules above the notary block are printed rules with no field behind them, so they are shown empty here on purpose: every heir signs them in front of the notary, together, on the same date. The odometer disclosure at the foot of the same page is a separate act and may be completed after the notarisation.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
You fill this in
Vehicle and decedent information
VIN, year, make, body style, model, the title or document number if known, and the plate state and number if there is one.
Watch out: This block does double duty - it identifies the vehicle and it opens the sworn statement. Everything below it refers back to the motor vehicle described above.
2
You fill this in
Date and location of death
The date, and the county and state where the death occurred.
Watch out: County and state, not a hospital or a street. The certification recites that the recorded owner died on the date and at the location listed above, so the two lines have to agree with the death certificate.
3
You fill this in
Recorded owner
The decedent's first, middle and last name with any suffix, exactly as the department's record carries them.
Watch out: As the title has it, not as the family says it. A middle initial on the record and a full middle name here is the kind of difference that sends the file back for a statement of fact.
4
You fill this in
Surviving heirs
Up to three heirs, each with a full name and address. All of them sign, and all of them appear before the same notary.
Watch out: Three is the ceiling on one sheet. More than three heirs, or heirs who cannot reach one notary on one date, means additional copies of the form - and every copy goes in with the title application.
5
You fill this in
Transferee
Whoever the vehicle is being transferred to, with room for a second name and one address.
Watch out: An heir may also be listed as a transferee, which is the ordinary case where the family agrees one of them keeps the car. It can equally be a buyer who has nothing to do with the estate.
6
You fill this in
Will or no will
Two boxes inside a long certification: the deceased left no will, or a will was left but no application for administration or probate has been filed.
Watch out: Read the whole sentence rather than the two labels. It also has the affiants agreeing the will shall not be offered for probate, and swearing they are the sole and only known heirs at law.
7
You fill this in
The notary block
State of Texas, county, the notary's signature and the date, with each heir named in the sentence above it.
Watch out: All signatures must be notarised and this section may not be completed by execution of a power of attorney. Nobody signs it in advance and brings it along.
8
You fill this in
Odometer disclosure statement
At the foot of the same page: the reading with no tenths, two mileage boxes, the date of transfer, and signatures from an heir and from the transferee.
Watch out: Only one seller or heir is required to execute this part, and the transferee signs to say they are aware of the certification. It is easy to miss because it sits below the notary block and reads like a different document.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
Vehicle and decedent	VIN, year, make, body style, model, title or document number if known, plate state and number, the date of death and the county and state where it happened.
Recorded owner	The decedent's name exactly as the title records it, not as the family says it.
Will or no will	Two tick boxes, and read the whole sentence they sit in rather than just the labels. It runs: the deceased left no will, or a will was left but no application for administration or probate has been filed, or a court has determined no administration is necessary. A will does not rule this form out - an open probate does.
Surviving heirs	Three blocks - Heir 1, Heir 2 and Heir 3 - each with a full name and address. All of them sign.
Transferee	Who the vehicle is going to, with room for a second. It can be one of the heirs or somebody else entirely.
Notary block	State of Texas, County of ___. Every heir appears before the notary; the block names Heir 1, Heir 2 and Heir 3 individually.
Odometer disclosure statement	A separate block at the foot of the same page, easy to miss and not optional. The seller, heir or agent certifies the reading is the actual mileage unless one of two boxes is ticked - Mileage Exceeds Mechanical Limits, or Not Actual Mileage, which the form labels as an odometer discrepancy warning.
The two signatures under the odometer block	Signature of seller, heir or agent with the date of transfer, and the transferee's signature acknowledging the certification. Both, on the same page as the affidavit.

What gets this one rejected

•A missing heir. The affidavit certifies that the affiants are the sole and only known heirs at law and that no other known heir has prior right to the estate - one left off makes that statement untrue.
•Using it where probate has been opened. An estate in probate is handled by the court's documents, not by an affidavit.
•Signing before you reach the notary.
•Naming the decedent as the family knew them rather than as the title has them printed.
•Leaving the odometer disclosure at the foot of the page empty. It carries the same federal warning as every other transfer: providing a false statement or failing to complete it may result in fines and/or imprisonment.

Every line here was read off VTR-262 (Rev 11/20) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Texas 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.

Forms that go with this one

After every heir signs, the title still has to move into a new name, and our page covers the Bexar County Tax Office in San Antonio, where that transfer is filed.

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

How to fill out Texas VTR-262

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

Vehicle and decedent information

Date and location of death

Recorded owner

Surviving heirs

Transferee

Will or no will

The notary block

Odometer disclosure statement

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Forms that go with this one

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