Transferring a vehicle in Delaware after someone dies

The paths this state offers

Every route Sahvelo has verified for transferring a vehicle after a death in this state, side by side. The guided questions identify which one applies to you.

What to do, step by step

The order of operations for each path. Only one of these applies to you — the guided questions will say which.

Documents and forms

Each name below links to the official form or the agency page that issues it.

Needed on every path

• The certificate of title (opens in a new tab)

  The center of Delaware's system: the Department may not register or renew a vehicle until a certificate has been granted or previously issued to that owner, and any transfer-on-death beneficiary is written on the certificate itself.

  Link checked 2026-08-18

• Application for a certificate of title (opens in a new tab)

  On a form furnished or approved by the Department. It must give a full description of the vehicle and a full and complete statement of each and all liens or encumbrances, and it carries the transfer-on-death information where one is wanted.

  Link checked 2026-08-18

• Proof of liability insurance and Delaware identity (opens in a new tab)

  The Division requires the buyer to provide proof of liability insurance and a Delaware driver's license, or two accepted proofs of residency, when applying for title.

  Link checked 2026-08-18

• A death certificate (opens in a new tab)

  Only in some situations

  Not named in the sections read here for the vehicle, and the Division publishes no deceased-owner document list — but expect to be asked for one, and order certified copies early.

  Link checked 2026-08-18

• The lien statement on the application (opens in a new tab)

  Only if yes

  Every application must carry a full and complete statement of each and all liens or encumbrances on the vehicle, and a transfer-on-death designation operates subject to all lienholders' rights whenever created.

  Link checked 2026-08-18

Needed on some paths

• Affidavit under 12 Del. C. § 2306 (opens in a new tab)

  Only if yes

  Applies to Six conditions and an affidavit — no letters needed

  Executed under oath attesting to all six conditions, and furnished to any person owing money, holding property, or acting as registrar or transfer agent of any evidence of the decedent's property.

  Link checked 2026-08-18

Where and how to file

• In person

  A Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles office

  The Division recommends that all parties appear at its office to complete a transfer, and requires proof of liability insurance and a Delaware driver's license or two accepted proofs of residency from the person applying for title.Call first. The Division publishes no deceased-owner procedure, so what it wants alongside a section 2306 affidavit or a transfer-on-death designation is a question rather than a published list.The vehicle may not be operated until the new title is issued in the new owner's name, so do not plan on driving it away from the counter.

  Find an office (opens in a new tab)

  Applies to every path

• By mail

  Whoever holds the decedent's property

  The affidavit is furnished to "any person owing any money, having custody of any property or acting as registrar or transfer agent of any evidence of interest, indebtedness, property or right of the decedent" — banks, employers, and the titling office among them.Whoever acts on it is released as if they had dealt with a personal representative and need not inquire into the truth of any statement in it.If somebody refuses, the property may be recovered or its transfer compelled in an action brought in the Court of Chancery, on proof of the facts the affidavit had to state.

  See the mailing instructions (opens in a new tab)

  Applies to Six conditions and an affidavit — no letters needed

What it costs

Fees change, and the agency's own schedule is the only current source. Where Sahvelo cannot verify a fixed amount, it links the schedule rather than quoting a number.

After you file

• Nothing can be driven on the strength of the paperwork alone. The Division states that the vehicle may not be operated until a new title is issued in the new owner's name, and the statute goes further — nobody may operate a Delaware-registered vehicle knowing the owner has failed to obtain a certificate of title.Registration follows title rather than the other way round: the Department may not register or renew until a certificate has been granted or previously issued to that owner.

  Applies to every path

• The affidavit closes the exposure of whoever handed the property over, not yours. They are released as if they had dealt with a personal representative and need not inquire into the truth of anything sworn.You stay answerable to any person having a prior right, and accountable to any intestate distributee or to any personal representative appointed afterwards. If somebody may later open the estate, that sentence is the reason to settle things first.

  Applies to Six conditions and an affidavit — no letters needed

• A recorded lien survives everything on this page. A transfer-on-death designation is expressly subject to the rights of all lienholders whenever the lien arose, and every title application must state each and all liens or encumbrances.Check the new certificate against what you believe about the loan when it arrives.

  Applies to every path

• Two thirty-day clocks run in Delaware and they are unrelated. The affidavit cannot be sworn until thirty days have elapsed since the death. And the Division charges a late fee where a title is not transferred within thirty days of purchase.A third expires rather than accrues: the right to remove belongings from the decedent's rental unit must be exercised within thirty days of the death.

  Applies to every path

Official links you'll need

Every link goes directly to the issuing agency and opens in a new tab.

• 21 Del. C. § 2304 — certificate of title in transfer-on-death form (opens in a new tab)

  Official instructions Delaware General Assembly delcode.delaware.gov

  Applies to The title names a beneficiary — ownership vests in them on the death

• 12 Del. C. § 2306 — distribution without grant of letters (opens in a new tab)

  Official instructions Delaware General Assembly delcode.delaware.gov

  Applies to Six conditions and an affidavit — no letters needed

• The Division's transfer instructions (opens in a new tab)

  Official instructions Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles dmv.de.gov

  Applies to every path

• 12 Del. C. § 2307 — effect of distribution without letters (opens in a new tab)

  Official instructions Delaware General Assembly delcode.delaware.gov

  Applies to Six conditions and an affidavit — no letters needed

• 21 Del. C. § 2305 — the fee for a certificate of title (opens in a new tab)

  Fee schedule Delaware General Assembly delcode.delaware.gov

  Applies to every path

If your situation doesn't fit one of these paths

Common complications, and what each one changes.

• The person owned a house, or a share of one, in Delaware

  That closes the affidavit route on its own. The sixth condition is that the “Decedent did not own real estate in Delaware, either solely or as tenants in common.”

  Note what it does not say. Real estate outside Delaware is not mentioned, and neither is property held in a way that is not sole ownership or a tenancy in common — but do not read either silence as permission; take advice on the specific holding.^{Source 4}

• There are unpaid bills

  Delaware's affidavit is not a promise to pay them. The condition is stated in the past tense: “All known debts of the decedent are paid or provided for.” They must be dealt with before it is sworn.

  The surviving spouse's allowance is treated the same way — it must have been “paid, provided for, waived or has expired by lapse of time” before the affidavit can be executed.^{Source 4}

• The named beneficiary died before the owner

  The statute answers it: “If no beneficiary survives the death of the owner or the last to die of all multiple owners with right of survivorship, then such interest in the motor vehicle belongs to the estate of the deceased owner”.

  So the designation lapses rather than passing to the beneficiary's own estate, and the vehicle becomes an ordinary estate asset — which puts it back on the affidavit or letters routes.^{Source 1}

• The beneficiary named on the title is a trust

  Delaware allows it in terms: “A trust may be the beneficiary of a transfer-on-death certificate of title.” The same section also lets the trustee of a trust created by the decedent act on the small estate affidavit route.

  And the designation is not tested as a will: “A certificate of title in transfer-on-death form shall not be considered a testamentary disposition.”^{Source 1Source 4}

• The funeral home is asking about the estate

  In Delaware that is not overreach. A funeral director licensed in this State is on the statutory list of people entitled to the personal estate for the purpose of making distribution, and appears last in the order of preference after the family.

  It exists so that a funeral bill can be dealt with where nobody has been appointed. It does not displace a family member who is willing to act.^{Source 4}

• Two names on the title, joined by AND

  The Division reads that wording, but only for a sale: all sellers must sign where ownership is indicated as “AND”, and only one owner need sign where it is “AND/OR”.

  What it means after a death is not published. The transfer-on-death section does mention owners holding “as tenants in common, tenants by the entirety or joint tenants with right of survivorship”, but nothing read here says how the Division determines which of those a certificate records. Ask before assuming survivorship.^{Source 3Source 1}

• Somebody else has the car and will not hand it over

  Delaware grants a right here that most states leave to negotiation: the named executor and the next of kin “shall have the right upon the death of the decedent ... To take possession of the decedent's motor vehicle or vehicles.”

  It is a right to possession rather than to ownership, and it operates from the death — before any affidavit, and before letters.^{Source 4}

Questions people ask about this

• Can we take the car straight away?

  Delaware says yes, as to possession. The named executor and the next of kin “shall have the right upon the death of the decedent: (1) To take possession of the decedent's motor vehicle or vehicles.”Driving it is a different question. The vehicle may not be operated until a new title is issued in the new owner's name, and the statute forbids anybody from operating it knowing the owner has not obtained a certificate of title.^{Source 4Source 3Source 2}

• The title says "TOD" and a name. What does that mean?

  It is a transfer-on-death designation, and it works: on the death, ownership “shall vest in the designated beneficiary or beneficiaries”, subject to the rights of all lienholders.The beneficiary had no interest while the owner lived, and the owner could have changed it at any time without telling them. A trust can be the beneficiary, and the designation is not treated as a testamentary disposition.^{Source 1}

• How small does the estate have to be to skip letters?

  The personal estate, excluding jointly owned property and the property described in section 1901(b) and (c), must not exceed $50,000.But the value is only one of six conditions. Thirty days must have elapsed, no petition for a personal representative may be pending or granted, all known debts must already be paid or provided for, the surviving spouse's allowance must be dealt with, and there must be no Delaware real estate.^{Source 4}

• Can a funeral director really collect the estate?

  In Delaware, yes. “a funeral director licensed in this State” is on the statutory list of people entitled to the personal estate for the purpose of making distribution, and appears last in the order of preference — after the named executor, spouse, children, parents, siblings, grandchildren and grandparents.It is there so a funeral bill can be dealt with where nobody has been appointed, and it does not displace a family member who is willing to act.^{Source 4}

• Does the title need to be notarized?

  No. The Division states that “Delaware titles do not require notary.”The section 2306 affidavit is a different document and is executed under oath, so that one does involve swearing.^{Source 3Source 4}

• What does it cost?

  $35 for the certificate of title, “in addition to any fee charged for registration of the vehicle”. A separate motor vehicle document fee under Title 30 must also have been paid before the Department will register the vehicle.And there is a penalty for waiting: the Division says failure to transfer a title within 30 days of purchase will result in a late fee.^{Source 2Source 3}

• What does the DMV want to see for a deceased owner?

  Sahvelo could not find out. Delaware's Division of Motor Vehicles publishes titling pages for transfers, out-of-state vehicles, duplicates, leases, salvage, antiques, name changes and odometer questions — and none of them addresses a death.So this page states what the Delaware Code decides and stops there. Call the Division before assembling anything, and expect to be asked for the certificate of title and a death certificate at least.^{Source 3}

What the terms mean

See the full glossary across every state