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