Sahvelo

Transferring a vehicle in Michigan after someone dies

Michigan decides this with one word printed on the certificate of title. If the legend Full Rights to Survivor is there, a surviving co-owner needs three documents and no form at all. If it is not there — and two names without it counts as not there — the route depends on whether anybody is opening a probate case. Start with the certificate, and use “On this page” to go to the part that matches it.

State Michigan

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
Full Rights to Survivor The legend is printed on a Michigan title held by two people None Not established for this route Fastest — the title, a copy of the death certificate and identification Michigan Department of State — vehicle titles
Personal Representative A probate court has appointed a Personal Representative Yes — the appointment is what makes this route available Six per cent use tax, exempt on Michigan's family list Depends on the appointment, not on this transaction Michigan Department of State — vehicle titles
Sole heir No probate case, and one person entitled None Six per cent use tax, exempt on Michigan's family list Fast — one TR-40a, verified at the counter MCL 257.236(2); Michigan Department of State TR-40
Several heirs No probate case, no surviving spouse, and several children None Six per cent use tax, exempt on Michigan's family list As slow as the slowest sibling — every heir who is not taking the car signs MCL 257.236(2); Michigan Department of State — vehicle titles
Straight to a third party No probate case, and the car is going to somebody who is not the closest next-of-kin None Six per cent use tax, and the exemption turns on the new owner's relationship to the deceased Fast, and moves the title once instead of twice Michigan Department of State TR-40; MCL 205.93(3)(a)

Is the vehicle titled in Michigan?

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

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

Before anything else: the car is not stranded. Michigan's Vehicle Code provides that the license plate assigned to a registered vehicle stays a valid registration until the end of the registration year, or until a personal representative transfers the vehicle. It can be driven and insured while the paperwork is sorted out.1

Michigan prints survivorship as a legend

Several states read survivorship out of the names on a certificate. Michigan does not. It prints a legend — Full Rights to Survivor — and where those words are on a title held by two people, the Secretary of State asks a survivor for the title, a copy of the death certificate and identification. No form, no certification, no estate.2

Where the legend is absent, two names are not a shortcut. The Secretary of State's dealer manual states it directly: where a title does not read Full Rights to Survivor, or is in only one name, one of the estate routes is necessary. A surviving co-owner without the legend is in the same position as anybody else.4

This is the opposite of Illinois, where a title in two or more names is a joint tenancy by law and no wording is needed. Do not carry an assumption across a state line — read the certificate.4

Two branches, and probate is what separates them

Where the legend is not on the title, Michigan asks one question before anything else: is a probate case being opened? If a court has appointed a Personal Representative, that person signs the title over to the new owner and the new owner brings the signed title, a copy of the Letter of Authority, proof of Michigan No-Fault insurance if registering, and identification. Michigan calls the appointment document a Letter of Authority, and that is the name the counter uses.2

If no case is being opened, the Vehicle Code lets the surviving spouse — or, if there is none, an heir in the statutory order — apply for a title on proof of the death and a certification that they are that person. Once the petition is proper, the Secretary of State shall provide the certificate of title.1

That certification is the TR-40, which is three forms in one document: the TR-40a for the heir taking the car, the TR-40b for each heir standing aside, and the TR-40c where the car is going to somebody who is not the closest next-of-kin. Every TR-40a must be verified at a Secretary of State office, so this is not a transaction that can be posted in.3

The no-probate route is not a vehicles-only carve-out from a larger estate. The statute opens it only where the owner left no other property requiring the issuance of letters — so a house or a large account that needs an appointment closes it, however modest the car is.1

The ceiling nobody can currently state

The heir's route has a limit on the total value of the vehicles, and Sahvelo is not going to tell you what it is, because nobody has published it where it can be read. The statute set it at $60,000 through 2023 and $100,000 for 2024 and 2025, and then stopped stating numbers: from 2026 the figure is the previous year's multiplied by a cost-of-living factor, rounded to the nearest thousand, and the Department of Treasury must certify and publish it by 1 September of the year before.1

Sahvelo searched for that certification and did not find it. The Secretary of State's own form does not print a figure either: on the TR-40, revision 01/2026, the heir certifies that the total value does not exceed the amount set forth in MCL 257.236, in those words. So what is honestly known is that the 2026 ceiling is above $100,000, and no more than that.13

No estimate is offered here, and the arithmetic is deliberately not done. The heir signs a sworn certification about that number. A computed guess presented as the ceiling is how somebody ends up swearing a false statement. Ask the Secretary of State branch, or the Department of Treasury, for the certified figure before signing.13

One thing about this ceiling that runs opposite to every other Michigan threshold: it is measured on the date the title transfer application is presented, not on the year of death. Michigan's estate figures — the intestate shares, the allowances, the small-estate ceilings — are all fixed by the year the person died. This one is not.17

When there is no spouse, every child has a say

Michigan's order is the surviving spouse first. Where there is a surviving spouse, that is the answer and nobody else signs anything.•

Where there is no surviving spouse, the Secretary of State names the children as the closest next-of-kin and says that where there are several, all share equal inheritance — and that all next-of-kin who do not want the vehicle must complete a certification saying so. A family with four adult children and one car needs one certification from the person taking it and three from the others.•

The form an heir signs to stand aside carries a warning from the agency itself: the certification is for titling purposes, and while it is not intended to, it could affect ownership interest as it relates to resolving the estate. Somebody signing away a claim to a valuable car should get advice first.3

Michigan will not adjudicate this at the counter. The Secretary of State says questions about the rights or interest of next-of-kin should be referred to an attorney or the probate court.•

The fee, and Michigan's unusually wide family tax exemption

The title fee is set in parts. The statute requires $10 with the application, a $3 service fee for each title issued, and a $1.50 tire disposal surcharge — with $5 more if the application is to be given special expeditious treatment. The Secretary of State's published figure for a duplicate title and for a title correction is $15.•5

The tax is six per cent of the greater of the price or the retail value, and Michigan then exempts the widest family list in this corpus: spouse, parent, sibling, child, grandparent, grandchild, step-relations, in-laws, and a legal ward or legally appointed guardian with a certified guardianship letter. Aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, step-grandparents, step-grandchildren and former spouses are excluded by name.6

Nothing has to be produced at the counter to claim it. But the Department of Treasury may review the claim afterwards, and then documents showing the relationship are required — for a transfer between sisters, birth certificates showing the same parents. A claim that cannot be proven attracts a penalty of up to the whole of the tax.6

One rule turns on a death and is easy to miss. A step-parent and step-child relationship still qualifies if the parent died while married, and does not qualify if the parent divorced before the title transfer.6

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.

Full Rights to Survivor

The legend is on the title. Three documents at a Secretary of State office and it is done.

  1. First

    Find the legend on the certificate

    Look for the printed words Full Rights to Survivor next to the two names. Michigan does not infer survivorship from two names alone, so the legend is what puts you on this route.

  2. First

    Deal with any loan first

    The Secretary of State requires a signed lien termination statement and says the lien must be released before the title transfers. If the loan was repaid, the lender's name does not clear itself off unless the lender is on Michigan's Electronic Lien and Title system.

  3. First

    Take three things to a Secretary of State office

    The certificate of title, a copy of the death certificate, and your identification. A copy is what the agency asks for on this route.

Personal Representative

A probate court has appointed somebody. Their signature moves the car, and the Letter of Authority is what proves it.

  1. First

    Get a copy of the Letter of Authority

    This is Michigan's name for the document the probate court issues to the person it appoints. A copy is what the Secretary of State asks for.

  2. First

    The Personal Representative signs the title over

    They assign the deceased's title to whoever is taking the car.

  3. First

    Arrange Michigan No-Fault insurance if the car is being registered

    Proof of it is on the agency's list for this route.

  4. The new owner goes to a Secretary of State office

    With the signed original title, the copy of the Letter of Authority, proof of insurance and a license or state identification card.

Sole heir

No probate case, and nobody else with an equal claim. One certification, verified at the counter.

  1. First

    Check that no probate case is coming

    The certification you will sign says the estate is not being probated, nor will it be probated in the future. That is a statement about the future, so settle it before you sign.

  2. First

    Ask the branch for the current ceiling

    The route only works if the total value of the deceased's vehicles is under a figure the Department of Treasury sets each year. Sahvelo has not been able to retrieve the 2026 figure and the form does not print it. Ask before signing.

  3. First

    Clear the lien

    A signed lien termination statement is on the list, and the lien must be released before the title transfers.

  4. First

    Complete the TR-40a

    One form. It certifies that you are the surviving spouse or closest next-of-kin, that the estate is not and will not be probated, and that the vehicles are within the statutory limit.

  5. First

    Take it to a Secretary of State office to be verified

    Every TR-40a must be verified at a Secretary of State office, so this cannot be posted in. Take the title, a certified copy of the death certificate, the odometer disclosure, proof of Michigan No-Fault insurance if registering, and your identification.

Several heirs

No spouse and several children. They inherit equally, so each one who is not taking the car signs to say so.

  1. First

    Work out who is entitled

    Surviving spouse first; if none, the deceased's children, sharing equally. The Secretary of State will not decide this and says to refer questions to an attorney or the probate court.

  2. First

    The heir taking the car completes a TR-40a

    And has it verified at a Secretary of State office. The TR-40b forms are not valid without it.

  3. First

    Every other heir completes a TR-40b

    One each. It is a certification that they have no ownership interest in the vehicle.

  4. First

    Submit them together

    With the title, a certified copy of the death certificate, licenses or identification for every next-of-kin who signed a certification, the lien termination statement if there is a loan, and proof of Michigan No-Fault insurance if registering.

Straight to somebody else

The car is going to a person who is not the closest next-of-kin. One extra form, and the title moves once instead of twice.

  1. First

    Decide before anybody signs

    Titling the car to an heir first and selling it afterwards is two transactions and two title fees.

  2. First

    A qualified heir completes a TR-40a and has it verified

    The TR-40c is not valid without a corresponding verified TR-40a.

  3. First

    Complete a TR-40c naming the new owner

    One for each new owner if there is to be more than one.

  4. First

    Any other heirs complete a TR-40b

    Where several people have an equal claim and are not taking the car.

  5. First

    Check the tax before the transfer

    Six per cent of the greater of the price or the retail value, waived where the new owner is on Michigan's family list — which reaches grandchildren, step-relations and in-laws, and excludes aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.

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

  • TR-40a — Certification from the Heir to a Vehicle

    Applies to One heir, one form — the TR-40a, verified at the counterSeveral of you inherit equally. One takes it, and every other one signs to say they are notThe car is going to somebody else. There is a form for that, and it saves titling it twice

    The heir's sworn certification. Every TR-40a must be verified at a Secretary of State office, and the TR-40b and TR-40c are not valid without one.

    Link checked 2026-08-18

  • TR-40b — Certification of No Interest

    Applies to Several of you inherit equally. One takes it, and every other one signs to say they are notThe car is going to somebody else. There is a form for that, and it saves titling it twice

    Signed by each heir with an equal claim who is not taking the vehicle. There are as many as there are such heirs.

    Link checked 2026-08-18

  • TR-40c — Certification of Ownership Transfer

    Applies to The car is going to somebody else. There is a form for that, and it saves titling it twice

    Used where the vehicle is going into the name of somebody other than the closest next-of-kin. One per new owner.

    Link checked 2026-08-18

  • Copy of the Letter of Authority

    Applies to A Personal Representative has been appointed. They sign the title over

    Michigan's name for the document a probate court issues to the Personal Representative it appoints. A copy is what the Secretary of State asks for.

    Link checked 2026-08-18

  • Odometer disclosure, or form BDVR-108

    Applies to One heir, one form — the TR-40a, verified at the counterSeveral of you inherit equally. One takes it, and every other one signs to say they are notThe car is going to somebody else. There is a form for that, and it saves titling it twice

    Completed on the title where the vehicle is subject to disclosure. Where the title cannot be located, a BDVR-108 Odometer Mileage Statement is used instead.

    Link checked 2026-08-18

Where and how to file

  • In person

    A Secretary of State office

    Every TR-40a must be verified at a Secretary of State office. That verification is why the heir routes cannot be completed by post, and it is done at the counter against the death certificate.On the several-heirs route, every next-of-kin who completes a certification needs to produce a license or state identification card.Where the vehicle is being registered rather than only titled, proof of Michigan No-Fault insurance goes in with the rest.

    Find an office

    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 Set in parts by MCL 257.806: $10 with the application, a $3 service fee for each title issued, and a $1.50 tire disposal surcharge, with $5 more for special expeditious treatment. Sahvelo states the components rather than a total for a death transfer, because registration fees may also be payable. Current fee schedule
Duplicate title, or a title correction Published by the agency The Secretary of State's published figure for a duplicate title and for a title correction. A duplicate is posted to the lienholder where a lien is recorded. Current fee schedule
Use tax Published by the agency Six per cent of the greater of the purchase price or the retail value. Exempt where the new owner is a spouse, parent, sibling, child, grandparent, grandchild, step-relation, in-law, or a legal ward or legally appointed guardian with a certified guardianship letter. A claim that cannot be proven on review attracts a penalty of up to the whole of the tax. Current fee schedule

After you file

  • The Secretary of State issues a certificate of title in the new owner's name. Where a lien is recorded, Michigan posts the title to the lienholder rather than to the owner.A use tax exemption claimed on a family relationship is not checked at the counter. The Department of Treasury may review it afterwards, and then documents showing the relationship have to be produced — birth certificates, marriage licenses, or a certified guardianship letter.

    Applies to every path

  • The plate that was on the car stays a valid registration until the end of the registration year, or until a personal representative transfers ownership. That is a statutory rule rather than a concession, and it is what makes it possible to keep driving the car while the title is being sorted out.

    Applies to every path

If your situation doesn't fit one of these paths

Common complications, and what each one changes.

  • Nobody can currently tell you what the ceiling is

    This is the open question on Michigan and it is worth stating plainly. The heir's route works only where the total value of the deceased's vehicles is under a limit. The statute gave the limit as $60,000 through 2023 and $100,000 for 2024 and 2025, and then replaced it with a formula: from 2026 the figure is the previous year's multiplied by a cost-of-living factor, rounded to the nearest thousand, and the Department of Treasury must certify and publish it by 1 September of the year before. Sahvelo searched for the 2026 certification and did not find it. The Secretary of State's own TR-40, revision 01/2026, prints no figure — the heir certifies that the total does not exceed the amount set forth in MCL 257.236, in those words. So the honest position is that the ceiling is above $100,000 and its value is not established. No estimate is offered and the arithmetic is deliberately not done, because the heir signs a sworn certification about that number. Ask the Secretary of State branch, or the Department of Treasury, before signing.13

  • Two names on the title, and no Full Rights to Survivor legend

    This is not a shortcut in Michigan, and the Secretary of State says so rather than leaving it to be inferred. Its dealer manual states that where a title does not read Full Rights to Survivor, or is in only one name, one of the estate routes is necessary — the Personal Representative on a Letter of Authority, or the surviving spouse or next closest relative on a TR-40. A surviving co-owner without the legend is in the same position as anybody else. It is worth knowing that this is a Michigan answer and not a general one: Illinois treats a title in two or more names as a joint tenancy by law and needs no wording at all.4

  • The certificate of title cannot be found

    The TR-40 names the current title as the preferred proof of ownership and provides for its absence: where the title is lost, present a document listing the year, make and vehicle identification number of the vehicle, though other documents may be required. Where the vehicle needs no title at all, the registration or other proof of ownership listing those details serves instead. The odometer disclosure has to move as well — it is normally completed on the title, and where the title cannot be located a BDVR-108 Odometer Mileage Statement is used. A duplicate can also be applied for through a Secretary of State account at $15, but note that where a lien is recorded the duplicate goes to the lienholder rather than to the family.3•

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

    Michigan does not clear a satisfied lien by itself. The Secretary of State states that the lienholder's information will not automatically clear from the title unless the lender is enrolled in the Electronic Lien and Title system, and that the lienholder should either sign off the title or provide a lien termination letter, which should be kept with the title. That matters more here than in some states, because the TR-40 requires a signed lien termination statement and states that the lien must be released before the title transfers.3•

  • Adding a partner as a co-owner at the same time

    Michigan allows it and taxes it. The Secretary of State says the next-of-kin may add a co-owner at the time of titling, and that if the co-owner is not an immediate family relative of the person who died and is not the spouse of the closest next-of-kin who is inheriting, the co-owner is liable for a six per cent sales tax. An unmarried partner is the case this catches.•

  • Every other Michigan threshold moves too — and by a different rule

    Michigan indexes more of its estate law than any other state Sahvelo publishes: the intestate shares, the allowances and the small-estate ceilings all rise annually, and the figures printed in the statute book are bases rather than current amounts. The Department of Treasury publishes the certified figures each January. Two differences matter if you are reading more than one of them. The estate figures are fixed by the year the person died, so an application made in 2026 for somebody who died in 2025 uses the 2025 column. The vehicle ceiling is not — it is measured on the date the title transfer application is presented. And they use different factors, which is why the estate notice does not answer the vehicle question.7•1

  • The rest of the estate, when the car is not the only thing

    The vehicle route closes where the person left other property requiring a probate appointment, so what else they owned decides whether it is available at all. Michigan has two routes for a small estate that avoid a full administration — a sworn statement to whoever holds the property, available twenty-eight days after the death and shut off entirely if the estate includes any real property at all, and a probate court order built around the funeral bill. Both carry the same base ceiling, indexed annually, and the court-order route makes an heir personally responsible for the deceased's unsatisfied debts for sixty-three days after the order. Neither is a vehicle route, but which of them fits decides whether the vehicle route is open.••1

Questions people ask about this

  • Both our names are on the title. Does the car just come to me?

    Only if the certificate carries the legend Full Rights to Survivor. Michigan prints survivorship rather than inferring it, and where those words are there the Secretary of State asks for the title, a copy of the death certificate and your identification — nothing else. Where the legend is absent, two names are treated the same as one name, and you are in the estate routes with everybody else. The Secretary of State's dealer manual states that directly rather than leaving it to be worked out.24

  • Do we have to open a probate case just to transfer the car?

    Not if the car is the reason. Michigan's Vehicle Code lets a surviving spouse, or an heir in the statutory order, apply for a title on proof of the death and a certification, and once the petition is proper the Secretary of State shall provide the title. But the route is only open where the person left no other property requiring the issuance of letters — it is not a vehicles-only carve-out from a larger estate. A house or a substantial account that needs an appointment closes it, however modest the car is.1

  • How much can the car be worth and still use the heir's form?

    Sahvelo cannot tell you, and would rather say so than guess. The statute set the limit at $100,000 for 2024 and 2025 and then replaced the number with a formula for 2026 onwards, requiring the Department of Treasury to certify and publish the figure by 1 September of the previous year. Sahvelo has not found that certification, and the Secretary of State's own form prints no figure either — the heir certifies that the total does not exceed the amount set forth in MCL 257.236. So it is above $100,000 and that is as far as the published sources go. Ask the branch before signing, because you are swearing to it.13

  • There are four of us and one car. What do we all have to do?

    Where there is no surviving spouse, the Secretary of State says the deceased's children are the closest next-of-kin and that where there are several, all share equal inheritance. So one of you completes a TR-40a for the car and each of the other three completes a TR-40b saying they have no interest in it. The TR-40a has to be verified at a Secretary of State office, and the TR-40b forms are not valid without it. Everybody who signs a certification needs to produce a license or state identification.3•

  • Can we drive the car in the meantime?

    Michigan answers this more clearly than most states. The Vehicle Code provides that on the death of the owner of a registered vehicle, the license plate assigned to it stays a valid registration until the end of the registration year, or until a personal representative transfers ownership — unless the vehicle is destroyed. Insurance is a separate question and is a matter for the insurer.1

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

    In Michigan it does, until it is dealt with. The TR-40 lists a signed lien termination statement among what has to be presented and states that the lien must be released before the title transfers. If the loan was already repaid, the lender's name does not clear itself off the title unless the lender is enrolled in Michigan's Electronic Lien and Title system — the lender should sign the title off or provide a lien termination letter.3•

  • Will we have to pay tax on the car?

    Often not, and Michigan's family list is the widest of the states Sahvelo publishes. The tax is six per cent of the greater of the price or the retail value, and it is exempt where the new owner is a spouse, parent, sibling, child, grandparent, grandchild, step-relation, in-law, or a legal ward or legally appointed guardian with a certified guardianship letter. Aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, step-grandparents and former spouses are excluded by name. Nothing has to be produced at the counter, but Treasury can review the claim afterwards and a claim that cannot be proven attracts a penalty of up to the whole of the tax.6

  • Can we do this by post?

    Not the heir routes. Every TR-40a must be verified at a Secretary of State office, and the TR-40b and TR-40c are not valid unless submitted with a verified TR-40a. The verification is done at the counter, which is also where the death certificate is examined.3

What the terms mean

6 terms used on this page, defined from the statute
Full Rights to Survivor
The legend Michigan prints on a certificate of title held by two people who intend the survivor to take the whole car. It is the words themselves that create the route: where they appear, a surviving co-owner needs only the title, a copy of the death certificate and identification. Where they do not appear, the Secretary of State treats the title exactly as it treats a title in one name. Michigan Department of State — vehicle titles, Michigan Department of State — dealer manual chapter 3
Letter of Authority
Michigan's name for the document a probate court issues to the Personal Representative it appoints to administer an estate. Other states call the equivalent letters testamentary, letters of administration or letters of office. A copy of it is what the Secretary of State asks for when a Personal Representative signs a title over. Michigan Department of State — vehicle titles
TR-40
The Secretary of State's document for transferring a vehicle from somebody who has died where the estate is not being probated. It contains three forms: the TR-40a, the heir's sworn certification; the TR-40b, by which an heir with an equal claim gives up their interest; and the TR-40c, used where the car is going to somebody who is not the closest next-of-kin. Every TR-40a must be verified at a Secretary of State office. Michigan Department of State TR-40 (01/2026)
Closest next-of-kin
The Secretary of State's term for the person entitled to a vehicle where no probate case is opened. It is the surviving spouse; if there is no spouse, the deceased's children, who share equally where there are several. The agency does not adjudicate disputes about it and says questions about the rights or interest of next-of-kin should be referred to an attorney or the probate court. Michigan Department of State — vehicle titles
Cost-of-living adjustment factor
The multiplier that moves Michigan's statutory dollar figures each year, which is why a number read straight off the statute book is almost certainly too low. There is more than one. The Estates and Protected Individuals Code figures use factors published by the Department of Treasury each January and are fixed by the year of death. The vehicle ceiling in MCL 257.236 has its own factor, defined in that section, and is measured on the date the title transfer application is presented. MCL 257.236(3), MCL 700.1210
Electronic Lien and Title (ELT)
Michigan's system for holding a lien electronically rather than on paper. It matters after a death because a lender enrolled in it clears its own name from the title when the loan is repaid, and a lender that is not enrolled does not — leaving a paid-off car whose certificate still names a lender, which has to be fixed with a signed title or a lien termination letter before the title can transfer. Michigan Department of State — vehicle titles

See the full glossary across every state

Still not sure which path is yours?

Ask a question to find the most relevant guidance Sahvelo has verified.

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Answer a few questions about the title and the estate to find the transfer path that applies.

Find my vehicle transfer path

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 Michigan Compiled Laws are published by the Legislature; the titles guidance, the TR-40 and the dealer manual are the Department of State's own, and the tax guidance and the cost-of-living notice are the Department of Treasury's.

  1. MCL 257.236 — transfer of a vehicle by operation of law, and titling by a surviving spouse or heir

    The no-probate route for a surviving spouse or heir, the ceiling and the formula that replaced it from 2026, and the rule that the plate stays a valid registration until the end of the registration year.

    legislature.mi.gov Checked 2026-08-15

  2. Michigan Department of State — vehicle titles, deceased owner

    The Secretary of State's own account of the Full Rights to Survivor route, the Personal Representative route, the next-of-kin route, and what a duplicate or a correction costs.

    michigan.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  3. Michigan Department of State, TR-40 (01/2026) — transferring vehicle ownership of a deceased family member

    The three certifications, what the heir swears to, what goes in with them, and the requirement that every TR-40a is verified at a Secretary of State office.

    michigan.gov Checked 2026-08-15

  4. Michigan Department of State — Dealer Manual chapter 3, section 3-19, acquiring a vehicle from a deceased owner

    Section 3-19, which states affirmatively that a title without the Full Rights to Survivor legend is treated the same as a title in one name.

    michigan.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  5. MCL 257.806 — fees for a certificate of title

    The statutory components of the title fee, the service fee, the tire disposal surcharge and the expedited-treatment fee.

    legislature.mi.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  6. Michigan Department of Treasury — use tax exemptions on vehicle title transfers to a relative

    Which relationships qualify for the exemption under MCL 205.93(3)(a) and which do not, what has to be produced if Treasury reviews the claim, and the penalty for a claim that cannot be proven.

    michigan.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  7. MCL 700.1210 — cost-of-living adjustment of the dollar amounts in the Estates and Protected Individuals Code

    How Michigan indexes its estate thresholds, and why the figures printed in the statute book are bases rather than current amounts. It governs the estate figures and not the vehicle ceiling, which has its own factor.

    legislature.mi.gov Checked 2026-08-15

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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