Sahvelo

Transferring a vehicle in Hawaii after someone dies

Hawaii has no state motor vehicle department for titles. The four counties issue registrations and record transfers themselves, so the first question here is not what happened to the owner — it is which island's office holds the record. This page is the City and County of Honolulu's published procedure, because Honolulu's is the one that could be read.

State Hawaii

The procedure is set by the state that issued the title, not by where the owner lived.

Sahvelo publishes 50 states for this topic. If the title came from another state, that state's motor vehicle agency is the authoritative source until we publish it. See what's published.

Paths
2 in this state

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.

Path When it applies Court involvement Tax owed Speed Authority
Surviving joint owner The vehicle was jointly owned and one owner is still living, and it was last registered in the City and County of Honolulu None Transfer fee, plus the annual registration renewal where it falls due and any delinquent taxes for prior years One appointment, once the safety check and the certified death certificate are in hand City and County of Honolulu — vehicle ownership transfer, death of owner
Affidavit for collection of personal property The vehicle was registered only in the name of the person who died, and was last registered in the City and County of Honolulu None on the county's published route — the affidavit is sworn rather than filed with a court As above Not published. The county asks you to print form CS-L(MVR)39 and call before assembling anything else Form CS-L(MVR)39; City and County of Honolulu — vehicle ownership transfer

Four counties, four records, and no state DMV

In most states one agency issues every certificate of title. Hawaii's counties do it. You can see the consequence in the ordinary instructions rather than in any statement of principle: a seller's notice of transfer is submitted “within 10 days to the county where the vehicle was last registered”, and notarizing a signature, though optional, “will prevent rejection for irregular signature(s) upon comparison with the signature(s) on file or for signature verification when transfer is recorded in another county.”2

Honolulu also publishes a separate set of directions for a vehicle physically located on Oahu that was last registered in Kauai, Maui or Hawaii County — which is what it looks like when four offices hold four sets of records for one state.2

This page is Oahu. The County of Hawaii's website refuses automated retrieval and Kauai County serves its motor vehicle page as a script shell with no procedural text in it, so their deceased-owner procedures are unread. Sahvelo does not restate Honolulu's forms as though they were the state's — form CS-L(MVR)39 is printed with the City and County of Honolulu's name at the top and its post office box beneath it.3

Two answers for a dead owner's vehicle, and the second is a telephone number

Honolulu's deceased-owner guidance splits on whether anybody else was on the title. Where the vehicle “is jointly owned , the survivor may transfer ownership” — and does both halves of the paperwork alone: Section A on the front as the outgoing owner, Section D on the back as the new registered owner.1

Where it was not, the whole published instruction is a single sentence: “If the vehicle is registered only in the name of the decedent, download and print the Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent (CS-L (MVR) 39) form, and call (808)768-4324 or go to a satellite city hall for guidance on transferring ownership.”1

Treat that call as the procedure rather than as a hint. The county has published the form and told you to ring before using it, which is a more honest instruction than a checklist that turns out to be incomplete at the counter.1

Nothing about either route is a walk-in. Vehicle ownership transfer is not an Express Window transaction and requires an appointment.1

A lapsed safety check stops the transfer

Three documents follow every vehicle on Oahu: “All vehicles on Oahu are required to have a valid Registration, Certificate of Title, and State of Hawaii Safety Inspection Certificate”. The third is the one that stops an inherited car, because the county checks it against its own records rather than taking the sticker's word for it: “When renewing the registration or transferring the title to a new registered owner, if the city's computerized records indicate an expired safety check, the owner must present proof of current safety inspection.”2

A car that has sat in a carport since the death will usually have lapsed. Book the inspection before the appointment, not after.2

Two other bills travel with the transfer. The fee itself is $10, rising by a fifty dollar penalty where the transfer is not completed within thirty days of the seller's date of transfer — by mail the county states the late figure as sixty dollars outright. And where the last-issued registration has expired or will expire within 45 days, the annual renewal is due at the same time; where the registration is delinquent, the new owner “will be assessed for all delinquent taxes for prior years that the vehicle has not been legally registered.”21

Photocopies are not acceptable

Honolulu lists what a surviving joint owner brings, and the last item carries its own footnote: “A state-certified copy of the decedent's official death certificate. * Photocopies are not acceptable.”1

Order more than one certified copy while you are ordering any. The affidavit route asks for one too — “A certified copy of the death certificate is submitted herewith” — and the copy is surrendered with the paperwork rather than shown and returned.3

The affidavit protects the office, and leaves the claimant answerable

Form CS-L(MVR)39 is four numbered paragraphs, sworn on oath. The first identifies the claimant as “the successor of the above named decedent” and attaches a certified copy of the death certificate. The second states the entitlement: “Affiant is entitled to payment or delivery of the below mentioned motor vehicle by virtue of Section 560:3-1201, Hawaii Revised Statutes, as amended.” The third makes the claimant confirm they have read section 560:3-1202 — and then prints that section in full on the form.3

Read what the printed section actually does. The office that hands the vehicle over “is discharged and released to the same extent as if the person dealt with a personal representative of the decedent”, and “is not required to see to the application of the personal property or evidence thereof or to inquire in to truth of any statement in the affidavit.” It is protected from getting this wrong.3

The claimant is not. “Any person to whom payment, delivery, transfer or issuance is made is answerable and accountable therefor to any personal representative of the estate or to any other person having a superior right.” The affidavit moves the car; it does not settle who was entitled to it.3

There is a remedy in the other direction too. Where somebody refuses to act on the affidavit, the property “may be recovered or its payment, delivery, transfer, or issuance compelled upon proof of their right in a proceeding brought for the purpose by or on behalf of the persons entitled thereto.”3

What Sahvelo could not read, and will not guess

The affidavit's entitlement rests on HRS § 560:3-1201, which the form cites without reciting. That section is where any value ceiling, any waiting period after the death, and the definition of who counts as a successor would live.3

It could not be read. The Hawaii Revised Statutes are published at www.capitol.hawaii.gov, and every path on that host — including its own front page — returns a refusal from its bot protection, to an ordinary request and to plain curl alike. So this page states no Hawaii threshold, no Hawaii waiting period and no Hawaii list of successors. Those conditions exist. They are simply not established here, and inventing them from another state's version of the same uniform provision would be worse than saying so.3

Section 560:3-1202 is readable, because Honolulu's form prints it in full. That is why this page can be precise about what the affidavit does once it is accepted, and silent about when it may be used.3

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.

Surviving joint owner

The survivor signs Sections A and D and brings a state-certified death certificate.

  1. First

    Confirm which county holds the record

    The certificate of registration names it. These directions are the City and County of Honolulu's; a vehicle last registered on a neighbor island goes to that county's own office.

  2. as soon as certificates are available

    Order a state-certified death certificate

    Photocopies are not acceptable, and the copy goes in with the paperwork rather than being shown and returned.

  3. before booking the appointment

    Check the safety inspection is current

    The county checks its own computerized records at transfer. A car that has been sitting since the death usually needs a fresh inspection first.

  4. once the certificate is in hand

    Complete Section A and Section D on the title

    Front, Section A: the odometer reading for vehicles 10 years or less, then date, print and sign as the surviving owner. Back, Section D: the application for transfer by new registered owner.

  5. once everything is assembled

    Book an appointment and go to a satellite city hall

    Vehicle ownership transfer is not an Express Window transaction. Bring the endorsed title, the last-issued registration, the current safety inspection certificate and the death certificate.

Registered in one name — affidavit for collection

Print form CS-L(MVR)39 and call the Division before assembling anything else.

  1. First

    Download and print form CS-L(MVR)39

    The Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent. Four numbered paragraphs, sworn on oath.

  2. before assembling anything else

    Call (808) 768-4324, or go to a satellite city hall

    This is the county's published instruction, not a fallback. What else it requires — and whether the estate qualifies under HRS section 560:3-1201 — is not published.

  3. as soon as certificates are available

    Order a certified copy of the death certificate

    The affidavit states that one is submitted with it.

  4. while waiting for the certificate

    Gather the vehicle's identifiers

    License plate, make, body type and vehicle identification number — the affidavit asks for all four — and a sentence explaining the claimant's relationship to the person who died.

  5. once the county has told you what it needs

    Swear the affidavit

    It is made on oath, and it confirms that the claimant has read section 560:3-1202 — including the sentence leaving them answerable and accountable to any personal representative or anyone with a superior right.

Documents and forms

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

Needed on every path

Needed on some paths

Where and how to file

  • appointment

    A satellite city hall, City and County of Honolulu

    Vehicle ownership transfer is not an Express Window transaction and requires an appointment. Bring the endorsed certificate of title, the last-issued certificate of registration, a current State of Hawaii Safety Inspection Certificate and a state-certified copy of the death certificate.The total required fees and taxes are determined at the satellite city hall when the documents are presented — including any annual registration renewal and any delinquent taxes for prior years.Where the vehicle was registered only in the name of the person who died, the county asks you to print form CS-L(MVR)39 and call (808) 768-4324, or come in, for guidance before assembling the rest.

    Open the official page

    Applies to every path

  • By mail

    Department of Customer Services, Division of Motor Vehicles, P.O. Box 30330, Honolulu, HI 96820-0330

    Honolulu publishes a transfer-by-mail route. The documents are the vehicle's current and valid certificate of title with the applicable sections completed, the current and valid certificate of registration, the current safety check, and payment by check made payable to the City and County of Honolulu.The timing is stated as a fee rather than as a deadline: returned within thirty days, the transfer fee is ten dollars; returned after thirty days, the transfer fee with penalty is sixty dollars.A courier delivery goes to Kapalama Hale, 925 Dillingham Blvd. #214, Honolulu, HI 96817 rather than to the post office box.

    See the mailing instructions

    Applies to A surviving joint owner signs both halves of the title

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.

FeeAmountNotesFee schedule
Motor vehicle ownership title transfer fee Published by the agency Where the transfer is not completed within thirty days of the seller's date of transfer, a fifty dollar penalty is added. By mail the county states the late total as sixty dollars. Current fee schedule
Annual registration renewal, where it falls due with the transfer Published by the agency Due where the last-issued certificate of registration has expired or will expire within 45 days. The amount depends on the vehicle; Honolulu publishes an online inquiry for a specific vehicle already registered in the county. Current fee schedule
Delinquent taxes for prior years Published by the agency Where the vehicle registration is delinquent, the new owner is assessed for all delinquent taxes for the prior years the vehicle has not been legally registered. The total is determined at the satellite city hall when the documents are presented. Current fee schedule
Safety inspection, where the current one has lapsed Published by the agency Inspections are carried out by licensed stations rather than by the county, and no fee is published on the county's transfer page. Current fee schedule

After you file

  • A new registration follows the title. Honolulu puts it plainly: once a title is used to transfer ownership, a new registration will be printed to reflect the same changes made to the title.Keep the new certificate of registration in the vehicle with the safety inspection report, which is where the county expects both to be.

    Applies to every path

  • The affidavit closes the county's exposure rather than the claimant's. The office that transfers the vehicle is discharged and released as if it had dealt with a personal representative, and is not required to inquire into the truth of any statement in the affidavit.The claimant stays answerable and accountable to any personal representative of the estate, or to any other person having a superior right. If the family's arrangements are still unsettled, that sentence is the reason to settle them before using the form rather than after.

    Applies to Registered in one name — the affidavit, and a telephone call the county tells you to make

  • If the vehicle is then sold on, the seller's own obligation starts: the notice of transfer goes to the county where the vehicle was last registered within ten days, and failure to comply is subject to a fine of up to one hundred dollars.The notice is detached from the top of the certificate of title, or downloaded as form CS-L(MVR)53 where it has already been detached.

    Applies to every path

If your situation doesn't fit one of these paths

Common complications, and what each one changes.

  • The car has not moved since the death and the safety check has expired

    This is a frequent reason a Hawaii transfer stops at the counter. Every vehicle on Oahu is required to have a valid registration, certificate of title and State of Hawaii Safety Inspection Certificate, and the county checks its own records rather than the sticker.

    When transferring the title to a new registered owner, if the city's computerized records indicate an expired safety check, the owner must present proof of current safety inspection. Book the inspection before the appointment.2

  • The vehicle was registered on Maui, Kauai or the Big Island

    Then this page's forms are not yours. Hawaii's counties administer their own motor vehicle offices — the notice of transfer goes to the county where the vehicle was last registered, and Honolulu's own page contemplates a signature being verified when a transfer is recorded in another county.

    Form CS-L(MVR)39 is a City and County of Honolulu form. Whether another county uses the same instrument is not established, so call that county's motor vehicle office and ask what it requires when the registered owner has died.23

  • Nobody can find the certificate of title

    Start with the lender. Honolulu says the title is held by the lienholder — usually a bank or finance company — or by the registered owner where the loan was paid in full or the vehicle was never financed. A financed car's title was never in the house.

    Where the certificate exists but is defaced or mutilated, the legal owner on record applies for a duplicate on form CS-L(MVR)10. Where a lienholder has not signed off in Section B, a lien satisfaction letter may be submitted in place of the endorsement.2

  • The registration lapsed a year or two ago

    It follows the vehicle to the new owner. Where the vehicle registration is delinquent, the county assesses the new owner for all delinquent taxes for the prior years the vehicle has not been legally registered.

    And where the last-issued registration has expired or will expire within 45 days, the annual renewal is payable with the transfer. The total is worked out at the counter when the documents are presented.12

  • Other family members may have a claim to the car

    The affidavit does not settle that. Section 560:3-1202, printed on the form itself, leaves anyone to whom transfer is made answerable and accountable to any personal representative of the estate or to any other person having a superior right.

    The county is protected either way — it is discharged as if it had dealt with a personal representative and need not inquire into the truth of anything sworn. The risk of getting it wrong sits with the claimant.3

  • You want to know whether the estate qualifies before printing anything

    That answer lives in HRS section 560:3-1201, which the affidavit cites and does not reproduce. The statutes are published on a host that refuses automated retrieval, so Sahvelo states no ceiling, no waiting period and no definition of a successor for Hawaii rather than borrowing another state's.

    The county anticipated the question: its published instruction is to print the form and call (808) 768-4324, or go to a satellite city hall, for guidance on transferring ownership.31

Questions people ask about this

  • Where is the Hawaii DMV?

    There isn't one for this. Registrations and title transfers are handled county by county — the seller's notice of transfer goes to the county where the vehicle was last registered, and Honolulu warns that a signature may be verified when a transfer is recorded in another county.On Oahu the office is the City and County of Honolulu's Division of Motor Vehicles, and the transaction happens at a satellite city hall by appointment.21

  • My husband and I were both on the title. What do I do?

    Where the vehicle is jointly owned, Honolulu's directions say the survivor may transfer ownership. You sign both halves of the certificate: Section A on the front as the outgoing owner, with the odometer reading for vehicles 10 years or less, and Section D on the back as the new registered owner.Bring the endorsed title, the last-issued registration, a current safety inspection certificate, and a state-certified copy of the death certificate — photocopies are not acceptable.1

  • The car was in my mother's name only. What is the form?

    Form CS-L(MVR)39, the Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent. The county's instruction is to download and print it and then call (808) 768-4324, or go to a satellite city hall, for guidance on transferring ownership.Make the call. What else the county requires, and whether the estate qualifies at all under the statute the form cites, is not published on the page.13

  • Is there a value limit on the affidavit?

    Almost certainly, and Sahvelo cannot tell you what it is. The affidavit rests on HRS section 560:3-1201, which the form cites without reproducing, and the Hawaii Revised Statutes are published on a host that refuses automated requests — including to plain command-line tools.Rather than borrow the figure from another state's version of the same uniform provision, this page states no Hawaii threshold and no Hawaii waiting period. Ask the county, or a Hawaii probate attorney.3

  • Will a photocopy of the death certificate do?

    No. Honolulu's deceased-owner directions ask for a state-certified copy of the decedent's official death certificate and add the line in terms: photocopies are not acceptable.The affidavit route also submits a certified copy with the form, so order more than one while you are ordering any.13

  • What does it cost?

    The motor vehicle ownership title transfer fee is $10. Completing the transfer more than thirty days after the seller's date of transfer adds a fifty dollar penalty; by mail the county states the late total as sixty dollars.Two other charges can land at the same counter: the annual registration renewal, where the last-issued registration has expired or will expire within 45 days, and all delinquent taxes for prior years where the registration has lapsed. The total is determined when the documents are presented.21

  • Can I just walk in?

    No. Honolulu states that vehicle ownership transfer is not an Express Window transaction and requires an appointment.There is a transfer-by-mail route as well, with the documents and a check made payable to the City and County of Honolulu sent to the Division of Motor Vehicles.12

What the terms mean

5 terms used on this page, defined from the statute
Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent
City and County of Honolulu form CS-L(MVR)39, used where a vehicle was registered only in the name of the person who died. Sworn on oath, it identifies the claimant as the successor of the decedent, attaches a certified copy of the death certificate, states the entitlement by virtue of HRS section 560:3-1201, describes the vehicle, and confirms that the claimant has read section 560:3-1202 — which is printed on the form in full. form CS-L(MVR)39
Satellite city hall
The City and County of Honolulu's public service offices, where vehicle title transfers are completed. Vehicle ownership transfer is not an Express Window transaction and requires an appointment. City and County of Honolulu — vehicle ownership transfer
State of Hawaii Safety Inspection Certificate
One of the three documents every vehicle on Oahu must have, alongside a valid registration and certificate of title. Inspections are annual, except for new cars which receive an initial two-year check. At transfer, where the city's computerized records show an expired safety check, the owner must present proof of current inspection. City and County of Honolulu — vehicle ownership transfer
Notice of transfer
The form detached from the top of the certificate of title, or downloaded as CS-L(MVR)53, which a seller submits within ten days to the county where the vehicle was last registered. Failure to comply is subject to a fine of up to one hundred dollars. City and County of Honolulu — vehicle ownership transfer
Answerable and accountable
The phrase in HRS section 560:3-1202, printed on form CS-L(MVR)39, describing what the claimant takes on: any person to whom payment, delivery, transfer or issuance is made is answerable and accountable for it to any personal representative of the estate, or to any other person having a superior right. The office that made the transfer is discharged; the person who received the property is not. HRS § 560:3-1202, as printed on form CS-L(MVR)39

See the full glossary across every state

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Sahvelo gives information drawn from statutes, agency guidance and official forms. It is not legal advice for your particular situation. Terms & disclaimer.

Sources

Every rule on this page traces to one of the following. Both are publications of the City and County of Honolulu — the agency that issues registrations and records title transfers on Oahu.

  1. City and County of Honolulu, Division of Motor Vehicles — vehicle ownership transfer, death of owner

    The Division of Motor Vehicles' deceased-owner directions: the surviving joint owner's route through Sections A and D, the state-certified death certificate, the fee and the delinquent-tax rule, and the one-sentence instruction for a vehicle registered in the sole name of the person who died.

    honolulu.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  2. City and County of Honolulu, Division of Motor Vehicles — vehicle ownership transfer, fees and required documents

    The three documents every Oahu vehicle carries, the safety-check rule enforced at transfer, the ten-day notice of transfer and its fine, the transfer fee and its thirty-day penalty, the duplicate title form and the lien satisfaction letter.

    honolulu.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  3. City and County of Honolulu — form CS-L(MVR)39, Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent

    The Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent: what the claimant swears, the citation to HRS § 560:3-1201, and the full text of § 560:3-1202 printed on the form.

    www4.honolulu.gov Checked 2026-08-18

Where a source is marked pending re-verification, the page says so wherever the claim appears.

Related from the Sahvelo Journal: What Happens to a Car When Someone Dies?

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