Sahvelo

Transferring a vehicle in Illinois after someone dies

Illinois has five ways to move a car out of a dead person's name, and four of them need no court at all. Which one applies is decided by two things: whose name is on the certificate of title, and whether anybody has been appointed to handle the estate. Start with the title, and use “On this page” to go to the part that matches it.

State Illinois

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
5 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, keeping the car The Illinois title is in two or more names None None — a joint owner is not charged and does not file the return Fastest — a corrected title, $15, and 120 days to do it Illinois Secretary of State VSD 275; 625 ILCS 5/3-114(d)
Surviving joint owner, passing the car on The Illinois title is in two or more names and the car is going to somebody else None Payable by the new owner; $15 where they are a spouse, parent, brother, sister or child Fast — the survivor signs the existing certificate over and the new owner applies Illinois Secretary of State VSD 275; Illinois Department of Revenue RUT-50 instructions
Beneficiary named on the title A beneficiary is printed on the face of the Illinois title and survived the owner None Payable; $15 as an estate gift where the beneficiary is not the surviving spouse Fast — a claim form, the title, a death certificate and an application 92 Ill. Adm. Code 1010.150(d); 625 ILCS 5/3-104(a-5)
Small estate affidavit One name on the title, nobody appointed, and no application for letters contemplated None Payable; $15 as an estate gift or as a transfer between close family Fast, but the affidavit is sworn and carries personal liability for the estate's debts 755 ILCS 5/25-1; 625 ILCS 5/3-114(b)
Letters of office A court has appointed a representative, or an application is pending Yes — the appointment is what makes this route available Payable; $15 as an estate gift or as a transfer between close family Depends on the estate. The application must be made before the estate is closed 92 Ill. Adm. Code 1010.150(b)(1); 625 ILCS 5/3-114(c)

Is the vehicle titled in Illinois?

Everything on this page is Illinois procedure, and it governs Illinois certificates of title. What decides that is the state printed on the certificate — not where the person lived, not where the car is parked, and not where the funeral was.

Somebody who retired to Illinois and never retitled the car still holds an out-of-state title, and the agency in that state governs the transfer. The estate itself can still be an Illinois estate; it is only the vehicle that follows the certificate.

If there was a loan on the car, the certificate is probably not in the house. Illinois posts the title to the lienholder while a loan is running, so the lender is the first place to ask — both for the certificate and for a lien clearance letter if the loan has since been paid off.•

Two names on the title is survivorship, automatically

Most states ask a family to read particular words on a certificate to find out whether two owners held the car with a right of survivorship. Illinois does not. A title in the names of two or more persons is a joint tenancy by law, and on the death of one of them the survivor becomes the owner of the vehicle.5

That means a surviving co-owner already owns the car before they do anything. The paperwork records it; it does not create it. What remains is a choice — keep the car and take the other name off the title, or sign the existing certificate straight over to somebody else. Those are different sets of papers and different fees, so it is worth deciding before anything is filled in.5••

A title in one name may still name a beneficiary. If it does, it is printed on the face of the certificate on the right-hand side, under the heading BENEFICIARY INFORMATION. A car with a loan on it cannot carry one, and a car in two names cannot carry one either — so if either of those is true, there is no beneficiary to look for.•7

The five routes, and what decides between them

The Secretary of State's own rule closes the list for a car titled in one dead person's name: one of three procedures shall be used — probate, the small estate affidavit, or the attorney's affidavit. Two further routes sit outside that list, for a car held in two names and for a car with a beneficiary named on the title. Five in all.1

A surviving spouse has a route of their own in the statute, with 180 days to use it — the longest clock in the section. What being a spouse does not do is create a different set of papers: the Secretary of State's rule gives three procedures for a car in one name and no fourth one for a spouse. So a widow or widower uses the small estate affidavit, the attorney's affidavit, or the letters route, like anybody else. What being a spouse changes is the tax and the registration.•1•

For the cars alone, the small estate ceiling does not apply

The Illinois small estate affidavit normally has a ceiling: the personal property passing under the estate, leaving the cars out of the count, must come to $150,000 or less. That ceiling is why many families assume the route is closed to them.3

Underneath the list of vehicles on the Secretary of State's own affidavit form is a note that removes it. Where the affidavit is being used solely for a title transaction for the dead person's motor vehicles, it may be used to transfer them without any regard to what the rest of the personal estate is worth. A large estate does not close this route as long as the affidavit is being used for nothing but the cars.4

The Secretary of State's website has not caught up with its own form. Its deceased-owner page still gives the ceiling as $100,000, and its interactive checklist asks the same question. The current figure is on the form and in the statute. A family that reads the website, decides they are over the limit and stops has lost a route they were entitled to.64

There is a real price for skipping the court, and it is not money. The person who signs the affidavit promises to pay the estate's valid debts in a statutory order before anything reaches an heir, and personally indemnifies any creditor, heir or institution who loses money by relying on it — with their legal costs on top. Read paragraph 7.5 before signing, not after.•

What it costs, and the tax the price does not include

A new Illinois certificate of title is $165. That is what the small estate affidavit, the attorney's affidavit and the letters routes all end up paying, because each of them issues a title to a new owner.•

A surviving joint owner is not buying a new title but correcting an existing one, and Illinois charges $15 where a name is coming off because of a death — against $50 for an ordinary corrected title. A corrected registration card, if one is wanted, is another $3. Surviving joint owners and surviving spouses do not have to pay registration fees again until the current registration expires.••

The tax is separate money to a separate agency, handed in with the same envelope. Illinois charges Motor Vehicle Use Tax on a car coming out of an estate, and does not charge it where the car goes to a joint owner or to a surviving spouse. But the exemption from the tax and the exemption from the form are not the same: only a joint owner is excused from filing the RUT-50 at all. A surviving spouse files a return that produces no tax, and the application will not be processed without it.•

Where the tax is payable it is usually not a table amount. A car inherited from an estate by somebody other than the surviving spouse is $15, and so is a car passing from a spouse, parent, brother, sister or child — but not from a grandparent, a step-parent or an in-law, which the Department of Revenue excludes by name. Without an exception the tax is a flat figure by the age or the value of the car, from $100 up to $10,100. The return is due within 30 days of acquiring the vehicle.8•

Where to take it

Applications go to a Secretary of State facility in person, or by post to the Vehicle Services Department, Titles Division, 501 S. Second St., Springfield. The Secretary of State also runs a customer service center at 2701 S. Dirksen Pkwy. in Springfield and four branch offices in Chicago.•

Every route uses the same application: the Form VSD 190, which does every vehicle transaction Illinois has. What changes between routes is which box is ticked and what is attached to it. It can be completed and printed through the Secretary of State's Electronic Registration and Title system, picked up at a facility, or requested on 800-252-8980.9

The number to ring with a question about a transfer after a death is the Public Inquiry Division, on 217-782-6306.•

If the certificate of title cannot be found, do not apply for a duplicate. Illinois takes an affidavit explaining that the title cannot be located instead, signed by the person handing the car over — and on the affidavit routes that statement can be written into the affidavit itself.••

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, keeping the car

You already own the whole car — that happened at the death, by law. What is left is a corrected title that takes the other name off, and Illinois gives you 120 days to apply for it.

  1. First

    Count the names on the certificate

    Illinois treats a title in two or more names as a joint tenancy without needing any wording to say so. If there are two names and one of them is the person who died, you are on this route.

  2. First

    Decide now whether you are keeping the car

    If it is going straight to somebody else, stop and use the other joint-owner route instead — correcting the title first and selling afterwards means paying the title fee twice.

  3. First

    Gather three things

    A copy of the death certificate or abstract, the original jointly-owned certificate of title, and an Form VSD 190 marked CORRECTED TITLE with the odometer reading on it.

  4. First

    Add the registration if you are going to drive it

    A second Form VSD 190 corrects the registration card at the same time, and the current registration can be assigned to you. Doing it later costs another visit.

  5. Take it to a Secretary of State facility, or post it

    $15 for the corrected title, plus $3 if you are correcting the registration card. Postal applications go to the Vehicle Services Department, Titles Division, 501 S. Second St., Springfield.

Surviving joint owner, passing the car on

You can sign the existing certificate straight over to the new owner without ever holding a title in your own name. The clock does not apply to you, and the new owner pays the title fee once.

  1. First

    Sign the back of the existing certificate over to the new owner

    The current odometer reading has to be certified on that assignment, not just written on the application.

  2. First

    Give the new owner a copy of the death certificate

    That is what explains why one of the two names on the front is not signing.

  3. First

    The new owner applies

    With the assigned title and an Form VSD 190. If they are not going to drive it, they can take a title without plates.

  4. The new owner pays and files the tax return

    $165 for the title, plus registration fees if plates are wanted, and a RUT-50 with a separate check to the Illinois Department of Revenue in the same envelope.

Beneficiary named on the title

Ownership passed to you at the death. One claim form, a death certificate and the certificate of title, and no estate has to be opened at all.

  1. First

    Check the face of the certificate

    A beneficiary is printed on the right-hand side under the heading BENEFICIARY INFORMATION. Only one person can be named, and a car with a loan on it cannot carry one.

  2. First

    Complete the Beneficiary Claim Form, Form VSD 774

    It is a short sworn statement — that you are the beneficiary, the date of death, the vehicle and the odometer reading. There is a box to tick if you cannot surrender the certificate.

  3. First

    Attach the proof

    A copy of the certified death certificate for the owner named on the Illinois title, and documentation that the vehicle was last titled in Illinois — the certificate, or a Secretary of State title screen print.

  4. First

    Apply for the title, and for a registration

    An Form VSD 190 with the title fee, and the tax form with a check to the Illinois Department of Revenue. Apply for registration as well.

Small estate affidavit

No court, no appointment, one sworn form. Where it is used only for the cars, the size of the rest of the estate does not matter.

  1. First

    Check that nobody has been appointed

    Paragraph 5 of the affidavit is a condition: no letters of office outstanding, and no application pending or contemplated, in Illinois or anywhere else. If somebody has been appointed, use the letters route instead.

  2. First

    Read paragraph 7.5 before you decide to sign

    It makes you personally responsible for paying the estate's valid debts in a statutory order before anything reaches an heir, and it indemnifies anyone who loses money relying on you. This is the trade Illinois offers for skipping the court.

  3. First

    Fill in the affidavit

    Each vehicle by make, body type, year model and vehicle identification number. If there was a will, a certified copy goes in with it — a will does not close this route.

  4. First

    Sign it in front of a notary

    It is sworn under penalty of perjury, so it is signed at the notary rather than beforehand. Banks and currency exchanges both notarize.

  5. File it with the title application

    The certificate of title unsigned, a copy of the death certificate, an Form VSD 190, $165 for the title, and a RUT-50 with a separate check to the Illinois Department of Revenue.

Letters of office

A court has appointed somebody. Their authority moves the car, and this is the only Illinois route where the certificate is signed on the back before it goes in.

  1. First

    Get a certified copy of the letters of office

    Letters of administration, letters testamentary or letters of guardianship — whichever names the representative. A photocopy is not accepted.

  2. First

    The representative assigns the title

    They sign the back of the certificate over to whoever is taking the car, exactly as a living seller would.

  3. First

    The person receiving the car applies

    The Form VSD 190 is completed and signed by the transferee, not by the representative.

  4. File before the estate is closed

    There is no day count on this route. The statute requires the application to be made before the estate is closed, so it should not be left until the estate is being wound up.

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

  • Small Estate Affidavit, the Secretary of State's own form

    Applies to The small estate affidavit — and when it is used only for the cars, the size of the estate does not matter

    Furnished by the office the application goes to. Sworn in front of a notary. Its note under the vehicle list is what removes the ceiling where the affidavit is used only for the cars.

    Link checked 2026-08-18

  • Certified copy of the will

    Applies to The small estate affidavit — and when it is used only for the cars, the size of the estate does not matter

    Required with the small estate affidavit where the person died leaving a will. Having a will does not close this route — the affidavit has a paragraph for it.

    Link checked 2026-08-18

  • Certified copy of the letters of office

    Applies to Somebody has been appointed. They sign the title over, and the car moves on their authority

    Letters of administration, letters testamentary or letters of guardianship, naming the representative the court appointed. This is the document that makes the letters route available at all.

    Link checked 2026-08-18

  • Beneficiary Claim Form, Form VSD 774

    Applies to You are named on the title. One claim form, and the car is yours

    The beneficiary's sworn statement that they are the person named on the title as successor. Carries a box to tick where the certificate of title cannot be surrendered.

    Link checked 2026-08-18

  • Form RUT-50, private party vehicle use tax return

    Applies to Sign the existing title over. You do not need a title in your own name firstYou are named on the title. One claim form, and the car is yoursThe small estate affidavit — and when it is used only for the cars, the size of the estate does not matterSomebody has been appointed. They sign the title over, and the car moves on their authority

    Filed with the Illinois Department of Revenue but handed in to the Secretary of State with the title application. A joint owner is the only person excused from filing it; a surviving spouse files one that produces no tax.

    Link checked 2026-08-18

Where and how to file

  • In person

    A Secretary of State facility

    Applications may be made in person at most Secretary of State facilities, at the customer service center at 2701 S. Dirksen Pkwy. in Springfield, or at one of four Chicago branch offices.Take everything together. The tax return and its check to the Illinois Department of Revenue go in with the title application and its check to the Secretary of State — one envelope, two payees.Photocopies of the letters of office are not accepted; a certified copy is required. The Secretary of State also states that all presented documents must be valid and correct.

    Find an office

    Applies to every path

  • By mail

    Office of the Secretary of State, Vehicle Services Department, Titles Division, 501 S. Second St., Springfield, IL 62756

    Applications may be posted with the required documents and a check, draft or money order. Do not send cash.A question about a transfer after a death goes to the Public Inquiry Division on 217-782-6306. Applications themselves can be requested on 800-252-8980.

    See the mailing instructions

    Applies to every path

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
Certificate of title Published by the agency The Secretary of State's published fee for a certificate of title, payable on every route that issues a title to a new owner. Title and registration fees may be combined in one check to the Secretary of State. Current fee schedule
Corrected title, name removed because of a death Published by the agency The reduced fee where a name is coming off, or coming off and another going on, because of a death. An ordinary corrected title is $50. A corrected registration card is a further $3 where one is wanted. Current fee schedule
Private party vehicle use tax (RUT-50) Published by the agency $15 where the car is an estate gift to somebody other than the surviving spouse, and $15 where it passes from a spouse, parent, brother, sister or child. Otherwise a flat amount from the Department of Revenue's tables, by the age of the car where it is worth under $15,000 and by value above that. Not charged at all on a transfer to a joint owner or a surviving spouse. Current fee schedule
An attorney's affidavit Published by the agency The attorney's affidavit route requires an affidavit by an attorney at law on the attorney's own letterhead. Sahvelo has not established what an Illinois attorney charges for one and states no figure. Current fee schedule

After you file

  • The Secretary of State checks the documents against the route being used and issues a certificate of title in the new owner's name. Where a lien is recorded, Illinois posts the title to the lienholder rather than to the owner; where there is no lien it goes to the principal owner listed first on the application, or to the address in the Mail To area.Ownership and registration have to match. Illinois requires the title and the registration card to be corrected at the same time, except where the only change is an address, so a route that leaves the plates alone leaves the car undriveable until a registration application follows.

    Applies to every path

  • A beneficiary who takes the title does not take the registration with it. The new owner must obtain a new registration before driving the car on public streets.A beneficiary who does not want the car has to title it in their own name before selling it to anybody else. A beneficiary who lives in another state may instead title the vehicle in their state of residence with the death certificate.

    Applies to You are named on the title. One claim form, and the car is yours

If your situation doesn't fit one of these paths

Common complications, and what each one changes.

  • The Secretary of State's website says the ceiling is $100,000

    It is the page a search engine gives anybody looking for how to move a car after a death, and its account of the small estate route opens with a figure that is no longer the law. The Probate Act sets the ceiling at $150,000 excluding vehicles; the Secretary of State's own affidavit form prints $150,000; the Secretary of State's own December 2025 leaflet prints $150,000. And where the affidavit is used only for the cars, the form carries a note saying the value of the estate is not considered at all. Read the page for its document lists, which are sound. Do not read it for the ceiling.643

  • The named beneficiary died before the owner

    The Secretary of State's rule handles this in terms rather than leaving it to be worked out: where the beneficiary died before the owner, the vehicle is included in the probate estate of the owner on their death, and both death certificates are required when the title application is made. So the beneficiary route closes and the car is dealt with by whichever of the other routes applies.•

  • The beneficiary cannot be found

    There is a form for this, and it belongs to the estate rather than to the beneficiary. Where the executor cannot locate the beneficiary they complete a notarized Unable to Locate Beneficiary Affidavit stating that they have exhausted all resources to find them. The form itself contemplates notice by certified post to the last known address thirty days before a sale and notice published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper circulating in the county where the estate is being probated — so this route assumes an estate has been opened.•

  • The loan is paid off but the lender is still on the title

    Illinois clears a satisfied lien on one of three things: a lien clearance letter from the lender saying the lien has been paid in full, the lien contract stating the same, or a court order directing the office to issue the title without the lien. A court order has to be signed by the judge or carry the clerk's FILED stamp and must give the year, make and vehicle identification number. It is also worth asking the lender for the certificate itself at the same time — Illinois posts the title to the lienholder while a loan is running, which is the usual reason it is not in the house.•

  • There is a surviving spouse, and the title is in one name

    The Illinois Vehicle Code gives a surviving spouse a route of its own, with 180 days to use it and three proofs — of the death, of the transfer or acquisition of ownership, and of the marriage. What it does not give is a spouse-specific set of papers, and the Secretary of State's rule closes the list: for a car titled in one dead person's name, one of three procedures shall be used, and none of the three is a spouse procedure. So a widow or widower uses the small estate affidavit, the attorney's affidavit or the letters route like anybody else. What being a spouse does change is real but sits elsewhere: no Motor Vehicle Use Tax, no registration fee until the current registration expires, and the death certificate is what the rule expects to show the marital relationship.•1••

  • The deadline in the statute has already gone by

    Illinois writes these clocks as duties on the person taking the car — the application shall be made within so many days — rather than as expiry dates on the entitlement. Sahvelo has not established what the Secretary of State does about an application made after one of them has passed, and does not assert that it is refused. Where a deadline has gone by, the Public Inquiry Division on 217-782-6306 is the place to ask before assuming a route is closed.2

  • There is more than one vehicle

    The small estate affidavit has room for more than one vehicle and lists each by make, body type, year model and vehicle identification number. Where the affidavit is being used solely for the vehicles, the note on the form removes the ceiling regardless of how many there are or what they are worth. Each vehicle still needs its own title application and its own title fee.4•

Questions people ask about this

  • Do we have to open an estate just to transfer the car?

    Usually not. Four of the five Illinois routes need no court at all: a title in two or more names, a title naming a beneficiary, the small estate affidavit, and the attorney's affidavit. Only the fifth depends on somebody having been appointed — and if nobody has been, that route is not the one you are on. The small estate affidavit in particular is designed to work without a court, and where it is used only for the cars there is no ceiling on the estate at all.14

  • Both our names were on the title. Does that mean I own it now?

    Yes. Illinois treats a title in the names of two or more persons as a joint tenancy, and on the death of one of them the survivor becomes the owner of the vehicle by law. You do not need particular wording on the certificate and you do not need anybody's permission. What you have is 120 days to apply for a title in your own name — unless you are passing the car straight on to somebody else, in which case you can simply sign the existing certificate over to them.5

  • There is a will. Does that change which route we use?

    Less than the form suggests. A will is not the same thing as an appointment, and most families with a will never get letters of office. The small estate affidavit is open to a family holding a will — a certified copy goes in with it, and the affidavit has a paragraph for listing what the will gives to whom. What closes that route is not the will but an appointment: if letters of office are outstanding, or an application for them is pending or contemplated anywhere, the affidavit cannot be used.14

  • Do we need a lawyer?

    Not for four of the five routes. The one that does need one is the attorney's affidavit, and it exists precisely for the cases the others handle badly — a disputed inheritance, a family that cannot get everybody to agree, or a valuable car that has to move before an estate that will take months. There the Illinois Vehicle Code says the Secretary of State shall transfer the title on a death certificate and an affidavit by an attorney at law on the attorney's letterhead. One letter, and the office has no discretion.•1

  • There is still a loan on the car. Does that stop the transfer?

    No Illinois source Sahvelo has read makes a lien a bar to any of these routes. What it does do is decide where the certificate of title is: Illinois posts the title to the lienholder while a loan is running, so a financed car's certificate is usually with the lender rather than in the house. If the loan has been paid off but the lender is still recorded on the title, Illinois clears that on a lien clearance letter from the lender, on the lien contract, or on a court order.•

  • Do the license plates come with the car?

    It depends who you are. A surviving joint owner can have the current registration assigned to them, and does not have to pay registration fees again until it expires — the same relief applies to a surviving spouse. A beneficiary named on the title gets no such thing: the Secretary of State's rule says twice that the beneficiary has no rights to the dead owner's registration and that the new owner must obtain a new registration to drive the car on public streets.••

  • Is there tax to pay on inheriting a car?

    Usually $15, and occasionally nothing. Illinois charges Motor Vehicle Use Tax on a car coming out of an estate but not on one passing to a joint owner or to a surviving spouse. Where it is charged, an estate gift to somebody other than the surviving spouse is a $15 exception rather than a table amount, and so is a car passing from a spouse, parent, brother, sister or child. Grandchildren, step-relations and in-laws are excluded from that second exception by name. The return is due within 30 days of acquiring the vehicle, and even a spouse who owes nothing still has to file it — only a joint owner is excused from the form.•8•

  • We cannot find the certificate of title. Do we need a duplicate?

    No. Illinois takes an affidavit explaining that the title cannot be located, signed by the person handing the car over, and on the small estate and attorney's affidavit routes that statement can be written into the affidavit itself. On the letters route the executor writes a separate statement listing the vehicle's year, make, model and vehicle identification number and the new owner's name, and signs it. A beneficiary has it easier still — there is a box on the claim form to tick.•••

  • Where do we take all this?

    To a Secretary of State facility in person, or by post to the Vehicle Services Department, Titles Division, 501 S. Second St., Springfield. There is a customer service center at 2701 S. Dirksen Pkwy. in Springfield and four branch offices in Chicago. The number for a question about a transfer after a death is the Public Inquiry Division, 217-782-6306.•

What the terms mean

7 terms used on this page, defined from the statute
Joint tenancy
The form of co-ownership Illinois applies to a vehicle title in two or more names, without needing any wording on the certificate to establish it. The whole car is owned by the co-owners together, and on the death of one of them the survivor becomes the owner. This is why a surviving co-owner does not inherit the car — they already own it, and the paperwork only records that. Illinois Secretary of State VSD 275
Beneficiary on a vehicle title
A person named on the face of an Illinois certificate of title, under the heading BENEFICIARY INFORMATION, who becomes the owner when the present owner dies. The designation is made on the title application and printed on the title. Only one may be named; the car must be solely owned by an individual with no lienholder; and while the owner is alive the beneficiary owns nothing and can be removed without being told. After the owner has died it can only be undone by a court. 625 ILCS 5/3-104(a-5) and 3-107(b-5), 92 Ill. Adm. Code 1010.150(d)
Small estate affidavit
A sworn statement, on a form furnished by the Secretary of State, that tells an institution or the Secretary of State to hand over the dead person's property to the people named in it — with no court and no appointment. It cannot be used if letters of office are outstanding or are being contemplated. It normally carries a ceiling of $150,000 on the personal estate excluding vehicles, and where it is used solely for the vehicles that ceiling does not apply. The person who signs it takes on personal responsibility for the estate's debts. 755 ILCS 5/25-1
Letters of office
The document a circuit court issues to the person it appoints to handle an estate — called letters testamentary where there is a will and letters of administration where there is not. It is the proof of authority a bank or the Secretary of State asks for. Having a will is not the same as having letters, and they are frequently never obtained. On the vehicle routes, a certified copy is required and a photocopy is not accepted. 92 Ill. Adm. Code 1010.150(b)(1)
Attorney's affidavit
A letter on an Illinois attorney's own letterhead, stating the facts of a vehicle transfer, which the Illinois Vehicle Code requires the Secretary of State to act on. Together with a death certificate it moves the title to a legatee, representative or heir, with no ceiling on the value of the car, no waiting period and no estate opened. It is the route Illinois provides where the small estate affidavit is not available or not appropriate. 625 ILCS 5/3-114(e)
Corrected title
An application that changes what is printed on an existing Illinois certificate rather than transferring the car to a new owner. Removing a dead co-owner's name is a correction, which is why a surviving joint owner pays $15 rather than the $165 a new title costs. Illinois requires the registration card to be corrected at the same time, except where the only change is an address. Illinois Secretary of State VSD 275
RUT-50
The Illinois Department of Revenue's return for a vehicle acquired from a private party, including by inheritance. It is filed with the Department of Revenue but handed in to the Secretary of State with the title application, and the title will not be issued without it. A joint owner is excused from filing it; a surviving spouse is not, even though they owe no tax. Illinois Department of Revenue RUT-50 instructions, 92 Ill. Adm. Code 1010.150(e)(5)

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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. The Illinois Compiled Statutes and the Administrative Code are published by the General Assembly; the forms, the leaflet and the procedural pages are the Secretary of State's own, and the tax instructions are the Department of Revenue's.

  1. 92 Ill. Adm. Code 1010.150(a)-(b) — transferring certificates of title upon the owner's death

    The Secretary of State's own rule. It closes the list of procedures for a car titled in one name, sets out the documents for each, and carries the whole of the beneficiary mechanism.

    ilga.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  2. 625 ILCS 5/3-114(a)-(d-5) — transfer of a vehicle title by operation of law

    The six subsections that handle a death, their deadlines, the surviving spouse's own route, and the attorney's affidavit the Secretary of State must act on.

    ilga.gov Checked 2026-08-15

  3. 755 ILCS 5/25-1 — payment or delivery of a small estate upon affidavit, as amended by P.A. 104-346

    The small estate affidavit: who may use it, the ceiling and what is excluded from it, the statutory form, and the indemnity the person signing takes on.

    ilga.gov Checked 2026-08-15

  4. Illinois Secretary of State RT OPR 31 — Small Estate Affidavit (February 2026)

    The form itself, furnished by the office the application goes to. Its note under the vehicle list is what removes the ceiling where the affidavit is used only for the cars.

    ilsos.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  5. Illinois Secretary of State VSD 275 — Estates: Facts About Vehicle Title Transfers (December 2025)

    The current printed leaflet, December 2025. The joint-tenancy rule and its clock, the fees, the tax rule, where to apply and what to do about a lost title.

    ilsos.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  6. Illinois Secretary of State — Corrected Title, Deceased

    The page a family will find first. Its document lists are sound and more explicit than the rule in places; its small estate ceiling is out of date and is recorded here as such.

    ilsos.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  7. Illinois Secretary of State VSD 773 — Beneficiary Affidavit (February 2026)

    Naming a beneficiary while alive, and claiming as one after a death. Between them they carry the conditions, the indemnity and the box to tick when the certificate cannot be found.

    ilsos.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  8. Illinois Department of Revenue — RUT-50 instructions, filing and deadline (R-04/26)

    Who files, the 30 days deadline, the estate-gift and family-relationship exceptions that reduce the tax to $15, and the tables that apply when neither does.

    tax.illinois.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  9. Illinois Secretary of State — Apply for Registration and Title

    The one application form Illinois uses for every vehicle transaction, and the three ways to get hold of it.

    ilsos.gov Checked 2026-08-18

Sources last reviewed 2026-08-18. Sources are re-checked on a schedule, and this date changes when they are. 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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