Sahvelo

Transferring a vehicle in Massachusetts after someone dies

Massachusetts gives a surviving husband or wife more than any other state Sahvelo publishes, and it does it by a legal device rather than a procedure. The law deems the couple to have held the car jointly with right of survivorship all along — so the interest passes at the death — and then waives the fee for the new title. Where there is no surviving spouse, the route runs through the Probate and Family Court, whose small-estate ceiling leaves the car out of the count.

State Massachusetts

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
3 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 spouse Married at the time of death, a pleasure vehicle registered in Massachusetts, and the will did not deal with the car None Not established for this route Fastest — and the title change fee is waived by statute M.G.L. c.90D §15A
Personal representative An appointment has been made, with or without a will Yes — the Probate and Family Court appoints Not established for this route Two documents once the appointment exists Massachusetts RMV — surviving spouse, heirship and inheritance
Voluntary administration Nobody appointed, and personal property of $25,000 or less excluding the car Filed at the Probate and Family Court, but it is not an appointment Not established for this route Thirty days, then a $115 filing — but ask the Registry first what it accepts MUPC Estate Administration Procedural Guide

The law deems it a joint tenancy

Most states give a surviving spouse a procedure. Massachusetts changes the ownership. On the death of a married resident owner of a motor vehicle registered as a pleasure vehicle in the commonwealth, and unless the will provided otherwise, the statute deems the vehicle to have been jointly held property with right of survivorship, and the deceased owner's interest passes to the surviving spouse.1

The practical consequence is that nothing depends on what the certificate of title says about how the car was held. A car in one name alone is treated the same as one in two names, because the statute supplies the survivorship rather than reading it off the paper.1

Three conditions sit inside that one sentence, and each can close it: the owner must have been a married resident; the vehicle must have been registered as a pleasure vehicle in the commonwealth and used for that purpose; and the will must not have provided otherwise.1

The title change is free for a spouse

Where a certificate of title had already been issued, a new one issues to the spouse on a written application accompanied by a copy of the death certificate and the previous certificate — and the title change fee for the spouse is waived. That is the statute speaking, not a Registry concession.1

Where no certificate had ever been issued and the transfer requires one, a first certificate issues on an application with a copy of the death certificate and any required fee — so the waiver is written for the ordinary case rather than for every case.1

Sahvelo has not established what the Registry charges on the routes where there is no surviving spouse. The waiver in the statute is written for the spouse alone.12

The insurance agent comes before the Registry

This is the step that sends families home again, because it does not happen at the Registry. If you are keeping the vehicle and keeping it registered, go to an authorized Massachusetts insurance agent first and have them fill out, stamp and sign a Registration and Title Application. You check it and sign it afterwards.3

Then everything goes together, in person, to an RMV Service Center: the stamped application, the Affidavit of Surviving Spouse, the death certificate and the certificate of title.3

If you are keeping the car but not keeping it registered, the application is signed by you rather than stamped by an agent, and the certificate of title goes in unassigned. If you are selling it, you assign the certificate to the buyer and give them the affidavit and a copy of the death certificate — and it is the buyer who applies.23

Who qualifies, and what the will can undo

The Registry draws the line tightly: to qualify as a surviving spouse you must have been married to the person at the time of death, and live-in companions and ex-spouses do not qualify.2

The will matters only if it dealt with this vehicle. The affidavit certifies, under penalty of perjury, that the vehicle has not been disposed of otherwise by will and that under c.90D §15A the interest passes to the surviving spouse. A will that says nothing about the car does not close the route; one that leaves it to somebody else does.13

One thing the spouse route will not do, and it is worth knowing before the journey: a surviving spouse cannot transfer a disability plate into their name.2

No surviving spouse — two court routes

The Registry names three people who can transfer a title after a death: a surviving spouse, the personal representative of the estate, and a court-appointed personal representative. The second and third both come from the Probate and Family Court, and both hand the new owner the same two documents — a copy of the appointment of personal representative, and the certificate of title assigned by them.2

Alongside that sits a lighter route, voluntary administration, which the Probate and Family Court is careful to say is not an appointment: the authority of a voluntary personal representative is limited by law and does not result in an official appointment by the court.4

Sahvelo has not established what the Registry accepts from a voluntary personal representative as against the appointment of personal representative it names for the other routes. That question decides whether voluntary administration reaches the car at all, and an RMV Service Center is the place to put it before filing anything.24

The car is outside the small-estate ceiling

Voluntary administration is available where the estate consists entirely of personal property valued at $25,000 or less — excluding the value of a car. That parenthesis is the whole point: a family whose only substantial asset is a vehicle is inside the route whatever the vehicle is worth.4

The other conditions are that the person was a Massachusetts resident, that thirty days or more have passed since the death, that the petitioner is an interested person, and that no formal or informal petition seeking probate of a will or appointment of a personal representative has been filed.4

Filing takes the Voluntary Administration Statement (MPC 170), the original will if there was one, a certified copy of the death certificate, and a $115 fee — $100 for the filing and a $15 surcharge for the docket number. It goes to the Probate and Family Court in the county where the person lived.4

Order extra attested copies while you are there. The fee includes one, and further copies are $20 each — which matters when a bank, a broker and the Registry each want their own.4

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 spouse

The law already treats the car as jointly held. The title change is free, and the insurance agent comes first.

  1. First

    Check the will says nothing about this car

    The affidavit certifies, under penalty of perjury, that the vehicle has not been disposed of otherwise by will. A will silent on the car does not close the route.

  2. First

    Go to an authorized Massachusetts insurance agent first

    Have them fill out, stamp and sign a Registration and Title Application. Check it, then sign it. This step is not available at the Registry.

  3. First

    Complete the Affidavit of Surviving Spouse

    One page. It certifies that the deceased was the registered owner of a passenger vehicle or motorcycle registered and used as a pleasure vehicle in the commonwealth, and that the will did not deal with it.

  4. First

    Assign the certificate of title

    If you are keeping the car and keeping it registered, the certificate is assigned by you as surviving spouse.

  5. First

    Take it all to an RMV Service Center

    The stamped application, the affidavit, a copy of the death certificate listing your name, and the certificate of title. The title change fee is waived by statute.

Personal representative

An appointment has been made. Two documents move the car.

  1. First

    Get a copy of the appointment of personal representative

    From the Probate and Family Court. The Registry asks for a copy of it by that name.

  2. First

    The personal representative assigns the certificate of title

    To whoever is taking the car.

  3. First

    The new owner takes both to an RMV Service Center

    The Registry names those two documents and nothing else on this route.

Voluntary administration

Nobody appointed, and a small estate. Filed at the Probate and Family Court, thirty days after the death.

  1. First

    Ask the Registry what it accepts before you file

    Sahvelo has not established what the RMV takes from a voluntary personal representative, as against the appointment of personal representative it names for the court routes. That answer decides whether this route reaches the car.

  2. Wait thirty days from the death

    One of the five criteria the Probate and Family Court sets.

  3. First

    Add up the personal property, leaving the car out

    The ceiling is $25,000, excluding the value of a car — which is why this route fits families whose only substantial asset is a vehicle.

  4. First

    File at the Probate and Family Court in the county where the person lived

    Form MPC 170, the original will if any, a certified copy of the death certificate, and $115 — $100 for the filing and $15 for the docket number.

  5. First

    Order extra attested copies

    The fee includes one. Further copies are $20 each, and a bank, a broker and the Registry will each want their own.

Documents and forms

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

Needed on every path

  • The Massachusetts certificate of title

    Assigned by the surviving spouse where they are keeping a registered vehicle or selling it; assigned by the personal representative on the court routes; submitted unassigned where a spouse is keeping the car off the road.

    Link checked 2026-08-18

  • Copy of the death certificate

    The Registry asks for a copy listing the name of the spouse on the surviving-spouse route. The Probate and Family Court asks for a certified copy on a voluntary administration.

    Link checked 2026-08-18

Needed on some paths

Where and how to file

  • In person

    An RMV Service Center

    The Registry states that the documents are submitted in person at any RMV Service Center.Where the vehicle is to stay registered, the Registration and Title Application has to be stamped by an authorized agent of the insurance company before it gets there.If the certificate of title is being held by a lienholder, contact the lienholder to obtain it before the visit.

    Find an office

    Applies to every path

  • In person

    The Probate and Family Court in the county where the person lived

    Venue for a voluntary administration is the Probate and Family Court in the county where the person resided.The filing fee is $115 and includes one attested copy of the Statement. Further attested copies are $20 each.

    Find an office

    Applies to Voluntary administration — capped at $25,000, and the car is not counted

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
Title change for a surviving spouse Published by the agency Waived by M.G.L. c.90D §15A where a certificate of title had already been issued. Where no certificate had ever been issued and one is now required, the statute provides for a first certificate on application with any required fee. Current fee schedule
Title change on the estate routes Published by the agency Sahvelo has not established what the Registry charges where there is no surviving spouse. The statutory waiver is written for the spouse alone. Current fee schedule
Voluntary administration filing fee Published by the agency $100 for the filing of the Statement and a $15 surcharge to assign a docket number. It includes one attested copy of the Statement; additional attested copies are $20 each. Current fee schedule

After you file

  • The lender is told. The statute requires that, on a transfer of a motor vehicle to a surviving spouse, notice of the transfer be sent to any lienholder of record.The new certificate issues to the spouse, and the title change fee is waived where a certificate had already been issued.

    Applies to The law already treats the car as yours — and the title change is free

  • One limit applies whoever you are: a surviving spouse cannot transfer a disability plate into their name.Sahvelo has not established what Massachusetts does with an ordinary registration plate on these routes, and states nothing about it — the Registry is the place to ask.

    Applies to every path

If your situation doesn't fit one of these paths

Common complications, and what each one changes.

  • The will leaves the car to somebody other than the spouse

    That closes the statutory route, and it is the only thing that does so cleanly. M.G.L. c.90D §15A applies unless otherwise provided in a will, and the affidavit a spouse signs certifies under penalty of perjury that the vehicle has not been disposed of otherwise by will. A will that says nothing about this car leaves the route open; one that gives it to a named person does not. The vehicle then moves the way the rest of the estate does — through a personal representative, or through voluntary administration where nobody has been appointed.132

  • You lived together but were not married

    The Registry is unambiguous: to qualify as a surviving spouse you must have been married to the person at the time of death, and live-in companions and ex-spouses do not qualify. The statute is written the same way, for a married resident owner. So the deeming provision does not reach an unmarried partner however long they lived together, and the car moves through the estate instead.12

  • The vehicle was registered commercially

    The statute reaches a motor vehicle registered as a pleasure vehicle in the commonwealth, if used for that purpose, so a commercially registered vehicle is outside it. Sahvelo has not established how the Registry treats a Massachusetts-titled commercial vehicle where there is a surviving spouse and nobody has been appointed, and does not assert that no route exists — an RMV Service Center is the place to ask. The estate routes work either way.12

  • You went to the Registry first and were sent away

    This is a frequent wasted journey in Massachusetts and the instruction is on the affidavit rather than on the web page. If you are retaining ownership of the vehicle and keeping it registered, you go to an authorized Massachusetts insurance agent and have them fill out, stamp and sign a Registration and Title Application, then check and sign it yourself. Only then do you bring the stamped application, the affidavit, the death certificate and the certificate of title to an RMV Service Center. If you are keeping the car but not registering it, the application is signed by you and no stamp is involved.32

  • You are selling the car rather than keeping it

    A surviving spouse does not have to take a title in their own name first. The Registry's instruction is to give the purchaser the deceased's certificate of title assigned by the surviving spouse, an Affidavit of Surviving Spouse and a copy of the death certificate listing the spouse's name — and it is then the purchaser who applies. The affidavit itself says the same thing in its first instruction. That saves a transaction and, on this route, saves nothing in fees, because the spouse's title change was already free.231

  • The car carries a disability plate

    The Registry states one exception to the surviving-spouse route and this is it: a surviving spouse cannot transfer a disability plate into their name. The title is a separate question from the plate, and the plate does not come across. Sahvelo has not established what Massachusetts requires be done with the plate instead, and states nothing about it.2

  • Voluntary administration, and whether the Registry accepts it

    This is the one genuinely open question on the page and it is worth resolving before spending $115. The Probate and Family Court's voluntary administration is designed for exactly this family — an estate of personal property under $25,000 with the car left out of the count — and the Court is explicit that the authority of a voluntary personal representative is limited by law and does not result in an official appointment by the court. The Registry, separately, names a copy of the appointment of personal representative as what it wants on the estate routes. Sahvelo has not established whether a voluntary administration produces something the Registry accepts. Ask an RMV Service Center before filing.24

  • The estate looks too big for voluntary administration

    Check what is counted before deciding. The ceiling is an estate consisting entirely of personal property valued at $25,000 or less, excluding the value of a car. So the vehicle — often the largest single thing a family is looking at — is outside the count altogether. Three states in this corpus exclude the vehicle from a small-estate ceiling and two include it, which is not something to assume from a neighboring state.4

Questions people ask about this

  • My husband died and the car was in his name. Do I have to do anything?

    You have to record it, but you do not have to inherit it. Massachusetts deems a pleasure vehicle registered in the commonwealth to have been jointly held property with right of survivorship, so the interest passed to you at the death — unless the will provided otherwise. What is left is an application to the Registry, and the title change fee is waived by the statute itself.1

  • What does it cost?

    For a surviving spouse where a certificate of title had already been issued, nothing: the statute waives the title change fee. Where no certificate had ever been issued and one is now required, a first certificate issues with any required fee. Sahvelo has not established what the Registry charges where there is no surviving spouse.1

  • Why does an insurance agent have to be involved?

    Because Massachusetts registers vehicles through insurance agents. If you are keeping the car and keeping it registered, you go to an authorized Massachusetts insurance agent and have them fill out, stamp and sign the Registration and Title Application before anything reaches the Registry. If you are keeping it off the road, you sign the application yourself and no stamp is needed.3

  • There is a will. Does it stop the spouse route?

    Only if it dealt with this vehicle. The statute applies unless otherwise provided in a will, and the affidavit certifies that the vehicle has not been disposed of otherwise by will. A will that leaves everything to the spouse, or says nothing about the car, does not close the route. One that leaves the car to a named person does.13

  • There is no surviving spouse. What then?

    The Registry accepts a transfer by the personal representative of the estate, or by a court-appointed personal representative, and asks for two documents from either: a copy of the appointment of personal representative and the certificate of title assigned by them. Where nobody has been appointed, the Probate and Family Court has a lighter route called voluntary administration — though whether the Registry accepts what it produces is a question to ask before filing.24

  • Does the car count toward the small-estate limit?

    No, and that is what makes the route usable. Voluntary administration is available where the estate consists entirely of personal property valued at $25,000 or less, excluding the value of a car. Thirty days must have passed since the death, the person must have been a Massachusetts resident, and no petition for probate or for appointment of a personal representative may have been filed.4

  • Can I sell the car without putting it in my name first?

    As a surviving spouse, yes. Give the purchaser the certificate of title assigned by you, an Affidavit of Surviving Spouse and a copy of the death certificate listing your name, and the purchaser applies. The affidavit's own first instruction says the same.23

  • There is still a loan on the car. What happens?

    The lender has the certificate of title, and the Registry's instruction is to contact them to obtain it. Separately, the statute requires notice of a transfer to a surviving spouse to be sent to any lienholder of record, so the lender is told as a matter of law. Sahvelo has not established whether Massachusetts requires the loan to be cleared first and states nothing about it.12

What the terms mean

4 terms used on this page, defined from the statute
Deemed joint ownership
The device M.G.L. c.90D §15A uses for a surviving spouse. Rather than creating a transfer, the statute deems the vehicle to have been jointly held property with right of survivorship, so the deceased owner's interest passes to the spouse at the death. It applies to a motor vehicle registered as a pleasure vehicle in the commonwealth and used for that purpose, owned by a married resident, unless the will provided otherwise. M.G.L. c.90D §15A
Registration and Title Application
The Registry's combined application. Where a vehicle is to remain registered, it must be filled out, stamped and signed by an authorized Massachusetts insurance agent before the applicant signs it — a step that happens away from the Registry and is a frequent reason a family is sent home. Massachusetts RMV — Affidavit of Surviving Spouse
Voluntary administration
The Probate and Family Court's route for a small estate: personal property of $25,000 or less excluding the value of a car, thirty days after the death, filed on form MPC 170 in the county where the person lived. The Court says expressly that the authority of a voluntary personal representative is limited by law and does not result in an official appointment by the court. MUPC Estate Administration Procedural Guide
Appointment of personal representative
The document the Registry asks for by name on both of its estate routes, whether the person died with a will or without one. A copy of it, together with the certificate of title assigned by the personal representative, is the whole of what the new owner needs. Massachusetts RMV — surviving spouse, heirship and inheritance

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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 General Laws are published by the Legislature; the transfer guidance and the affidavit are the Registry of Motor Vehicles' own, and the small-estate guide is the Probate and Family Court's.

  1. M.G.L. c.90D §15A — death of a registered owner; presumption of joint ownership in a surviving spouse

    The deeming provision, its three conditions, the waiver of the title change fee, the sworn affidavit it requires, and the notice to a lienholder of record.

    malegislature.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  2. Massachusetts RMV — surviving spouse, heirship and inheritance

    Who can transfer a title after a death, the three versions of the surviving-spouse route and their documents, and the two representative routes.

    mass.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  3. Massachusetts RMV — Affidavit of Surviving Spouse (TTL103)

    What the spouse certifies under penalty of perjury, and the instruction to have the Registration and Title Application stamped by an insurance agent before anything reaches the Registry.

    mass.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  4. Massachusetts Probate and Family Court — MUPC Estate Administration Procedural Guide, voluntary administration

    The five criteria including the $25,000 ceiling that excludes the value of a car, what is filed, the fee and its breakdown, and what a voluntary personal representative's authority is not.

    mass.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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