Transfer a Car Title After Death in Texas: Forms, Fees

Updated November 8, 2026. Quick answer: in Texas most heirs go to the county tax assessor-collector’s office with the Affidavit of Heirship for a Motor Vehicle (Form VTR-262) and a title application. The form says “If there has been no administration on the estate, and no administration is necessary, the heirs may complete this form, and no further documentation is required.” If the estate was probated, the executor or administrator transfers the title with the court’s letters instead, and a surviving owner under a rights of survivorship agreement or a named beneficiary can transfer without either.

The routes, in the order most families use them

1. A rights of survivorship agreement on the title. The TxDMV Title Manual says “Upon the death of one or more of the persons named in a rights of survivorship agreement, a title issues to the survivor(s) or to the survivor(s)’ transferee upon application with the county tax assessor-collector’s office and a copy of the deceased person’s death certificate if:” Without that agreement the rule changes: “If a vehicle is titled in two individual’s names and one passes away, the surviving heir of the deceased must provide either an Heirship Affidavit or Letters Testamentary and reassign the original title or provide a Bill of Sale naming the new purchaser/owner of the vehicle.”
2. A beneficiary designation. “Sec. 501.0315. BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION. (a) The owner of a motor vehicle may designate a sole beneficiary to whom the owner’s interest in the vehicle transfers on the owner’s death as provided by Chapter 115, Estates Code, by submitting an application for title under Section 501.023 with the designation.” On the deadline, the statute says the application must be filed “not later than the 180th day after the date of the owner’s death or, if the vehicle is owned by joint owners, the last surviving owner’s death”.
3. The heirship affidavit (Form VTR-262), when no administration is needed. “The heir(s) (up to three) must complete the ‘Surviving Heir(s) of Decedent’ section on page 1.” “If one of the heirs is a surviving spouse, that heir is the only heir needing to complete this form unless there are surviving children of the decedent with a parent who is other than the surviving spouse in which case all surviving children must also complete this form.” “If there is no surviving spouse, all children of the decedent (if any) must sign as affiants.” “Each heir (up to three) must sign this form before a notary. All signatures must be notarized.” The TxDMV Title Manual adds: “The deceased owner’s death certificate is not required and should not be requested to transfer ownership when Affidavit of Heirship for a Motor Vehicle (Form VTR-262) is submitted.”
4. A small-estate affidavit. Under Texas Estates Code section 205.001 the distributees of an intestate estate can claim it without a personal representative after 30 days, where the estate assets, excluding homestead and exempt property, do not exceed $75,000 and no petition for a personal representative is pending or granted. For a title transaction the Title Manual says “Such affidavit must be approved by the judge having jurisdiction and recorded in the ‘Small Estates’ records by the clerk of the court. A copy of the affidavit, certified by the court clerk, must accompany the title transaction.” “Note: A decedent whose assets do not warrant the minimum eligibility under the Small Estates statute must follow the Affidavit by all Heirs procedure.”
5. An executor or administrator. “If the estate of the deceased was probated and an executor or administrator was appointed, that person may transfer ownership of the vehicle using a bill of sale and attaching evidence of their appointment by the probate court.” “The court may find there is no necessity for administration of an estate, and admit a will (whether or not the written will is found) to probate as a muniment of title. The order admitting the will constitutes sufficient authority to transfer title.”

If the surviving owner is a spouse

What the agency’s own materials say about a surviving spouse:

• “Vehicle owner dies and is survived by spouse only or is survived by spouse and their children; therefore, the community property estate of the deceased spouse passes to the surviving spouse, and only that heir must sign.”
• “Vehicle owner dies, and the surviving spouse is not the mother or father of the decedent’s surviving children; therefore, one-half of the estate passes to the surviving spouse and the other one-half passes to the surviving children. All must sign as heirs.”
• “The surviving spouse (even if sole heir) must provide a separate reassignment for their part of ownership of the vehicle in addition to an Heirship Affidavit or Letters of Testamentary.”

Forms and where to file

Fees, tax and deadlines

• Title fee. The Title Manual quotes the statute: “(a) An applicant for a title, other than the state or a political subdivision of the state, must pay a fee of: (1) $33 if the applicant’s residence is a county located within a nonattainment area” and “(2) $28 if the applicant’s residence is any other county.”
• Motor vehicle tax. Since September 1, 2025 the statute reads “Sec. 152.094. MOTOR VEHICLE TRANSFERRED FROM DECEDENT. (a) In this section: (1) ‘Distributee’ has the meaning assigned by Section 22.010, Estates Code. (2) ‘Estate’ has the meaning assigned by Section 22.012, Estates Code. (b) The taxes imposed by this chapter do not apply to the transfer of a motor vehicle: (1) from an estate to a distributee; or (2) under a rights of survivorship agreement described by Section 501.031, Transportation Code.” The TxDMV buying-and-selling page still says “A $10 gift tax applies to a person who receives the vehicle from a: spouse, parent or stepparent, grandparent or grandchild, child or stepchild, sibling, guardian, decedent’s estate, or a non-profit 501(c)(3).” The two do not match; the statute is the law, and the counter will tell you what it charges.
• Late-filing penalty. The Title Manual exempts “Vehicles transferred by Operation of Law (for example repossessions, Affidavit of Heirship) unless a sale (public or auction) has occurred” “The person to whom a vehicle is transferred by operation of law (refer to Transfer of Vehicle by Operation of Law) is exempt from the thirty day filing period. For example, the person designated as purchaser on an affidavit of heirship is not subject to the penalty”

Liens, odometer, plates and insurance

• Lien. “If the lienholder recorded on a title is deceased and the estate has not been probated and there is no need for administration on the estate, but a release of lien or a certified copy of title (CCO) is required, an affidavit of heirship can be executed by the heir(s) instead of a release of lien, provided the Affidavit of Heirship for a Motor Vehicle (Form VTR-262) is marked ‘issued free and clear of liens’.”
• Odometer. “Federal and state law require that you state the mileage upon transfer of ownership.” “The ‘Odometer Disclosure Statement’ section must be completed by an heir (or any agent of an heir) and the purchaser of the motor vehicle if the vehicle is subject to odometer disclosure.”
• Insurance. The form lists “A copy of current proof of liability insurance in the applicant’s name (if applying for registration).”
• Where to file. “If additional copies of this form are completed, all copies must be submitted by the transferee (or purchaser) with the title application at the time of application to a county tax assessor-collector’s office.”
• Documents with the affidavit. The form’s own list: Application for Texas Title and/or Registration (Form 130-U); Affidavit of Heirship for a Motor Vehicle (Form VTR-262); Title and/or registration verification if the vehicle was last titled out of state; Release of Lien (if a lien is recorded on the title record).

Keep it or sell it

Whether the car stays in the family or is sold, the federal tax starting point is the same. Under 26 U.S.C. 1014(a)(1), property acquired from a decedent takes as its basis the fair market value of the property at the date of the decedent’s death. A later sale is therefore measured against the value at death, not against what the decedent paid, so a date-of-death value for the vehicle is worth writing down before the title moves. How that applies to your return is a question for a tax preparer; the vehicle is also often the small part of a larger estate, and the Texas probate cost page covers the rest of that picture.

What the state’s own pages do not settle

We read the agency’s pages, forms and the cited statutes on November 8, 2026. These points were not stated in them, so we do not state them either; confirm them with the office before you go:

• A dollar threshold or waiting period for the Form VTR-262 route: neither the form nor the Title Manual states one (the 30-day and $75,000 conditions belong to the separate Estates Code small-estate affidavit).
• Whether Texas titles print a transfer-on-death notation: the Title Manual text we read never mentions beneficiary designations, so the statute is the only source here.
• Any title-fee waiver for heirs: the statute states the fee for an applicant for a title, with exceptions only for the state and its political subdivisions.
• Any rule about the decedent’s license plates.

Common mistakes

• Trying to use the heirship affidavit when the title was never put in the dead owner’s name. “An Affidavit of Heirship for a Motor Vehicle (Form VTR-262) cannot be used because the affidavit requires the title to be in the owner’s name, which in this situation it is not since the transfer was not completed prior to the purchaser’s death.”

Related: Texas small estate affidavit, Texas probate cost, whether you have to probate a will in Texas, deadlines after a death calculator, and car title after a death, by state.

Sources

• 26 U.S.C. 1014, Basis of property acquired from a decedent (Cornell LII): law.cornell.edu page
• TxDMV, buying or selling a vehicle: txdmv.gov page
• Texas Estates Code chapter 205: statutes.capitol.texas.gov page
• TxDMV Form 130-U, Application for Texas Title and/or Registration: txdmv.gov PDF
• Texas Tax Code chapter 152: statutes.capitol.texas.gov page
• TxDMV Motor Vehicle Title Manual (August 2026): txdmv.gov PDF
• Texas Transportation Code chapter 501: statutes.capitol.texas.gov page
• TxDMV Form VTR-262, Affidavit of Heirship for a Motor Vehicle: txdmv.gov PDF

Read from the state agency pages, forms and statutes linked above on November 8, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and the motor vehicle office, the probate court clerk or an attorney is the right place to confirm anything consequential.