50-state table · estate paperwork
Transfer-on-death car titles: which states allow them
22 states let a title name a beneficiary and skip probate entirely; the rest send heirs through estate paperwork. The full map, sourced.
The one-page way a car skips probate — where it exists
A transfer-on-death designation puts a beneficiary’s name on the title while you are alive; at death the car passes to them directly, no probate, no small-estate affidavit, no court. 22 states offer it on vehicle titles; 28 do not, and their heirs use the small-estate and inheritance paperwork instead — which our per-state forms walkthroughs cover for exactly that reason. If you are in an available state and the car has a likely heir, the designation costs a form and saves that person weeks.
| State | TOD title | The rule, in one line |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Not offered | Not offered: Ala. Code Tit. 32 Ch. 8 has no TOD/beneficiary section; a death transfer runs through Sec. 32-8-46 operation of law, not a designation. ↗ |
| Alaska | Not offered | Not offered: Alaska DMV's Deceased Owner page routes death via OR-title survivorship, probate, or small estate affidavit (estates $150,000 or less). ↗ |
| Arizona | Available | Available: MVD form 96-0561 Beneficiary Designation (A.R.S. 28-2055(B)) - sole owner only; beneficiary takes the car on proof of death, no probate. ↗ |
| Arkansas | Available | Available: DFA Request for Title with Beneficiary (form 108) - one individual beneficiary, none while a lien exists; revoked if the vehicle is sold. ↗ |
| California | Not offered | Not offered: none of the DMV's 306 published forms is a TOD/beneficiary designation; the death route is REG 5, Affidavit for Transfer Without Probate. ↗ |
| Colorado | Available | Colorado offers TOD on vehicle titles via Form DR 2009 (Transfer of Title Upon Death Designated Beneficiary), authority C.R.S. 42-6-110.5. ↗ |
| Connecticut | Available | Yes, but on the registration certificate, not the title: sole owner designates under C.G.S. 14-16(b); beneficiary must apply within 60 days of death. ↗ |
| Delaware | Available | Delaware offers TOD titling via Form MV2025 (Transfer on Death Application), authority 21 Del. C. s. 2304, naming up to three beneficiaries. ↗ |
| Florida | Not offered | Not offered: Fla. Stat. ch. 319 has no TOD section; death is handled by 'or'-title survivorship or HSMV 82152 (deceased co-owner off, spouse, no fee). ↗ |
| Georgia | Not offered | Not offered: O.C.G.A. Title 40 Ch. 3 and the DOR transfer page are silent on TOD; death transfers use post-death Form T-20 Affidavit of Inheritance. ↗ |
| Hawaii | Not offered | No TOD on Hawaii titles: Honolulu CSD's Death of Owner section offers only joint-owner transfer with a death certificate, or a decedent affidavit. ↗ |
| Idaho | Not offered | No TOD title designation in Idaho: ITD's full titling-forms index has only the after-death Affidavit of Inheritance (ITD 3414), no beneficiary. ↗ |
| Illinois | Available | Available via VSD 773 (Beneficiary Affidavit), placing a TOD beneficiary on the face of an Illinois title; 625 ILCS 5/3-104, P.A. 095-0784. ↗ |
| Indiana | Available | Available on the title itself: State Form 9697 carries a TOD beneficiary block, added per BMV's Transfer on Death page via a new-title application. ↗ |
| Iowa | Not offered | No TOD on Iowa titles: Iowa DOT's Title a Vehicle page lists every document for new, Iowa-title and out-of-state transfers with no beneficiary option. ↗ |
| Kansas | Available | Kansas titles can name a TOD beneficiary; Form TR-82 (K.S.A. 8-135(c)(10)) lets them claim the car without probate. ↗ |
| Kentucky | Not offered | No TOD on Kentucky titles yet: KRS 186A.037 (2026 Ky. Acts ch. 134 & 135) creates one effective January 1, 2028. ↗ |
| Louisiana | Not offered | No TOD title in Louisiana; OMV's FAQ moves a deceased owner's car only via succession: judgment of possession or small-succession/heirship affidavit. ↗ |
| Maine | Not offered | No TOD beneficiary titling in Maine; BMV's Death of an Owner page has only post-death routes (spouse/heir affidavit MVT-22), no advance designation. ↗ |
| Maryland | Not offered | No TOD beneficiary titling in Maryland; MVA's deceased-owner guide offers only joint-owner survivorship or estate admin via the Register of Wills. ↗ |
| Massachusetts | Not offered | Not available: MGL c. 90D (Certificate of Title Law) has no TOD/beneficiary section — only §15A's survivorship presumption for a spouse. ↗ |
| Michigan | Not offered | Not available: SOS titles page's 'Deceased owner' section names only joint survivorship, probate, or the TR-40a heir certification — no TOD option. ↗ |
| Minnesota | Available | Available: Form PS2004, Application for Transfer-on-Death Beneficiary, adds a TOD designee to the title, notarized, no probate on death. ↗ |
| Mississippi | Not offered | Not available: DOR's own deceased-owner FAQ covers only OR/AND/AND-OR joint titling and the Affidavit of Heirship (Form 78-014) — no TOD provision. ↗ |
| Missouri | Available | Available: TOD beneficiary is designated via a checkbox and name field on Form 108 (Application for Missouri Title and License), no separate form. ↗ |
| Montana | Available | Available: MV13 Beneficiary Designation for Vehicle or Vessel Title (up to 5 beneficiaries), authorized by MCA 61-3-226. ↗ |
| Nebraska | Available | Available: TOD beneficiary(ies) are named on the Nebraska title application under Neb. Rev. Stat. 30-2715.01; ownership vests at death outside probate. ↗ |
| Nevada | Available | Available: VP 239 Transfer on Death Application (plus VP 241 beneficiary affidavit), authorized by NRS 482.247 and NAC 490.435. ↗ |
| New Hampshire | Not offered | Not available: RSA ch. 261 has no TOD/beneficiary section; survivorship under RSA 261:17 (spousal presumption, joint tenancy) is the only death rule. ↗ |
| New Jersey | Available | Available: Transfer on Death Beneficiary Designation form (up to 3 beneficiaries), authorized by N.J.S.A. 39:3-30.1b. ↗ |
| New Mexico | Not offered | No TOD on NM titles; at death: notarized MVD-10013 claiming-successor affidavit (estate under $50k), heir/spouse transfer without probate, or probate. ↗ |
| New York | Not offered | No TOD on NY titles; notarized MV-349.1 (spouse/child under 21) or MV-349 (next of kin) transfer one vehicle up to $25,000; else Surrogate's Court. ↗ |
| North Carolina | Not offered | No TOD on NC titles; G.S. 20-72(b) passes title only on the owner's notarized assignment and warranty of title executed on the certificate itself. ↗ |
| North Dakota | Not offered | No TOD in NDCC 39-05; the only death form on NDDOT's own index is SFN 2916, the small-estate collection affidavit under NDCC 30.1-23-01. ↗ |
| Ohio | Available | Ohio offers TOD via notarized BMV 3811 (sole owners or joint owners with survivorship only), recorded on the title by a county clerk of courts. ↗ |
| Oklahoma | Available | Oklahoma offers TOD via Service Oklahoma Form 771, a notarized Transfer on Death Notice the owner completes while alive to name a transferee. ↗ |
| Oregon | Not offered | No TOD/beneficiary on Oregon titles; DMV records only a joint-owner SURVIVORSHIP flag, and ORS 803.094 moves unprobated estates by affidavit. ↗ |
| Pennsylvania | Not offered | No TOD on PA titles; after a death MV-39 covers spouse, heirs, estate, unprobated will and JTWROS survivors; JTWROS itself is a tick-box at titling. ↗ |
| Rhode Island | Not offered | No TOD on RI titles; G.L. 31-3.1-37 instead passes the decedent's vehicles to the surviving spouse automatically unless the will says otherwise. ↗ |
| South Carolina | Available | South Carolina offers TOD via SCDMV Form TOD-1: individual owners (no businesses, no AND titles) name a beneficiary on the title for a $15 fee. ↗ |
| South Dakota | Available | South Dakota: Form 1001 title application lists Transfer on Death as an ownership type at the county treasurer; the vehicle must carry no open lien. ↗ |
| Tennessee | Not offered | Tennessee: not available; Tenn. Code Ann. Title 55 Ch. 3 (Certs. of Title, Pts 1-2, 55-3-101 to 210) has no TOD/beneficiary provision. ↗ |
| Texas | Available | Texas: available; Form VTR-121 Beneficiary Designation for a Motor Vehicle, filed at the county tax office before death; owners must be individuals. ↗ |
| Utah | Not offered | Utah: not available; current title app (TC-656) offers only And/Or co-ownership, no beneficiary field; death is a survivorship affidavit, not TOD. ↗ |
| Vermont | Available | Vermont: available via Form VT-007 (Transfer on Death) under 23 V.S.A. s. 2023(f); the designation works only for vehicles titled to one owner. ↗ |
| Virginia | Available | Virginia: available — form VSA 18 (Beneficiary Transaction Request) under Va. Code 46.2-633.2; one individual beneficiary; title must carry no lien. ↗ |
| Washington | Not offered | Washington: not available; RCW ch. 46.12 has no TOD section; DOL forms offer only JTWROS joint tenancy with right of survivorship. ↗ |
| West Virginia | Not offered | West Virginia: not available; W. Va. Code ch. 17A art. 3 has no TOD section; heirs swear affidavit DMV-185-TR after death. ↗ |
| Wisconsin | Not offered | Wisconsin: not available; Wis. Stat. ch. 342 has no TOD section; survivors instead file form MV2300 after death. ↗ |
| Wyoming | Available | Wyoming: available — form MV-308 beneficiary designation under W.S. 31-2-104.1, recorded with the county clerk while the owner is alive. ↗ |
How a designation actually works, where it exists
The mechanics are refreshingly dull. While alive, the owner files the state’s beneficiary form or ticks the transfer-on-death ownership type on a title application — the row above names which — and the title reissues with the beneficiary recorded. At death, the beneficiary brings the death certificate and the title to the counter and retitles the car in their own name; no court is involved. Two traps recur across the states that offer it. A recorded lien usually blocks or complicates the designation — several agencies will not add a beneficiary to an encumbered title at all. And the designation is not a will: in most TOD statutes it overrides one, which surprises families who assumed the will would control. Both are reasons to read the linked statute, not just the form.
How this table was built
Availability was checked per state against the statute that creates the designation or the agency’s own beneficiary form — linked on each row — and the not-offered rows name where we looked rather than merely asserting absence. Estate rules move slowly, but they do move: the linked source is the thing to re-check before acting.
Related: inherited-vehicle paperwork, state by state · what a surviving seller files after the sale.
This is paperwork help, not estate-planning advice; a designation interacts with wills, community property and liens in ways the linked statute, not this table, governs.