Sahvelo

Transferring a vehicle in Montana after someone dies

Everywhere else in this corpus a family has to read the word between two names on a title, or find a survivorship box somebody ticked years ago. Montana presumes the answer: more than one owner listed on the certificate is joint ownership with right of survivorship — and expressly not a transfer on death.

State Montana

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
Presumed joint ownership More than one owner is listed on the certificate and one of them is still living None The title fee under section 61-3-203; no tax is stated in the sections read Fastest — the presumption does the work, and no waiting period is stated Mont. Code Ann. § 61-3-202
Surviving spouse or heir affidavit Sole ownership, estate within the statutory limit, no other property requiring letters, and no will bequeathing this property elsewhere None The title fee under section 61-3-203 Thirty days from the death before the affidavit can be used Mont. Code Ann. § 61-3-222 and § 72-3-1101
Involuntary transfer through the estate Any case the affidavit does not reach — other property requiring letters, a will bequeathing the vehicle, or an estate above the limit Yes, in the ordinary case — the filer is the executor, administrator or other successor in interest The title fee under section 61-3-203 Slowest — the department must notify the owner and every lienholder, and waits at least five days after sending that notice Mont. Code Ann. § 61-3-221

Two names, and survivorship is presumed

Section 61-3-202 spends most of its length on what a certificate must contain, and then ends with a sentence that decides more cases than the rest of it put together: “If the names and addresses of more than one owner are listed on the certificate of title, joint ownership with right of survivorship, and not as transfer on death, is presumed.”2

Nothing else is required. The owners need not be married, need not have joined their names with any particular word, and need not have designated anything on an application. More than one name is the whole test.2

The exclusion in the same sentence is the trap for somebody planning ahead. A second name is “not as transfer on death”, so an owner who added a child to the title meaning to leave them the car on death made them a co-owner today instead.2

One affidavit for the whole garage — and the lake

Where the person owned alone, section 61-3-222 lets “the surviving spouse or other heir” secure the transfer without letters, and the list of things it reaches is longer than any other death route here: “one or more motor vehicles, trailers, semitrailers, pole trailers, campers, motorboats, personal watercraft, sailboats, or snowmobiles for which a certificate of title was issued under this chapter”.1

One or more — so a car, a boat trailer, a snowmobile and the boat itself can move on the same route rather than one at a time.1

What is filed is an affidavit rather than a prescribed form: it sets out “the fact of survivorship, the name and address of any other heirs, and any other facts determined necessary to entitle the person to the transfer.” The department then checks it — and the loan comes across with the vehicle: the certificate issues “subject to any security interests shown by the department's records”.1

Three conditions, and the one about the will is easy to get wrong

All three have to hold. The estate must be inside the limit in section 72-3-1101 — $100,000, counting “the value of the entire estate, including any vehicles, vessels, or snowmobiles for which transfer of ownership is sought, less liens and encumbrances”. The decedent must not have left “other property that requires the procuring of letters of administration or letters testamentary”. And the decedent must not have “by execution of a will otherwise bequeath[ed] the property.”15

The third condition is about what the will did with this property, not about whether a will exists. A will that says nothing about the car does not close the section; a will that leaves it to somebody does.1

The second condition is the one that catches people. It looks past the vehicle at the rest of the estate: where anything else requires letters, this route is closed however modest the car is.1

The affidavit that supplies the ceiling has its own conditions: thirty days must have elapsed since the death, and “no application or petition for the appointment of a personal representative is pending or has been granted in any jurisdiction”. The count is of “the value of the probate estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances” — property passing outside probate is outside it, and out-of-state property is inside it.5

And the protection runs one way. Whoever hands the property over is “discharged and released to the same extent as if the person dealt with a personal representative”, and need not “inquire into the truth of any statement in the affidavit.” The person who receives it is “answerable and accountable for the property to any person representative of the estate or to any other person having a superior right.”6

Five days' notice before the new title is issued

Where the estate is being administered, the vehicle comes through section 61-3-221, which names inheritance, devise and bequest among the involuntary transfers. The executor or administrator sends “an application for a certificate of title” and “a verified or certified statement of the transfer of interest”, and that statement must give “the reason for the involuntary transfer, the interest transferred, the name of the person to whom the interest is to be transferred, the process or procedure creating the transfer”.3

Then the step that adds time: the department sends “notice of the intended transfer to the owner, conditional sales vendor, lessor, mortgagee, and other lienholder”, and “Not less than 5 days after sending the notice, the department shall issue a new certificate of title to the transferee.”3

Posting is enough to satisfy it — deposit in the mail, postage prepaid, addressed as shown in the department's records. And the notice is not required at all where the vehicle was not registered in Montana.3

Twelve dollars, and the statute schedules its own cut

Montana prices a title by what the vehicle is rather than by what the transaction is: “Until June 30, 2028, a person applying for a certificate of title shall pay ... (a) $10 if the vehicle for which a certificate of title is sought is not a light vehicle or a truck or bus that weighs 1 ton or less; or (b) $12 if the vehicle for which application is made is a light vehicle or a truck or bus that weighs 1 ton or less.”4

So an ordinary car is $12 and the cheaper figure belongs to the less common case. The fee is payable “to the department, its authorized agent, or a county treasurer” — and in Montana most title work happens at the county treasurer's office.4

The section also legislates its own reduction: “Beginning July 1, 2028, the fee imposed in subsection (1)(a) is $5 and the fee imposed in subsection (1)(b) is $7”.4

What Sahvelo could not read, and will not guess

Everything on this page comes from the Montana Code Annotated as published by the Legislature. The Motor Vehicle Division's own guidance is not here: dojmt.gov and the Division's own domain answer every request with a challenge page rather than a document.

That matters at one precise point. Section 61-3-222 requires an affidavit setting out the fact of survivorship, the names and addresses of any other heirs, “and any other facts determined necessary” — by the department. What those are, and whether there is a printed form, is not established, so this page names no Montana form number.1

The practical answer is a phone call to a county treasurer's motor vehicle office, which is where the fee is paid and where most Montana title work is done.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.

More than one owner named

Survivorship is presumed from the names on the certificate.

  1. First

    Read the owners on the certificate

    More than one owner listed is the whole test. There is no conjunction to interpret and no designation to find.

  2. at the same time

    Check for a recorded security interest

    The certificate lists each secured party and lienholder in the order of priority and perfection, and a loan follows the vehicle onto the new certificate.

  3. before assembling anything

    Ask a county treasurer's motor vehicle office what it needs

    The statute does not list documents for this case, and the Division's own guidance could not be read. Expect to be asked for a death certificate.

  4. once you know what to bring

    Apply for the new certificate

    The fee is paid to the department, an authorized agent or a county treasurer.

Surviving spouse or heir affidavit

One affidavit for every titled vehicle, vessel and snowmobile in the estate.

  1. First

    Check all three conditions

    The estate within the statutory limit counting the vehicles claimed and less liens; no other property requiring letters; and no will bequeathing this property elsewhere.

  2. thirty days after the death

    Wait thirty days from the death

    The affidavit under section 72-3-1101 cannot be used before then, and no application for a personal representative may be pending or granted anywhere.

  3. while the thirty days run

    Ask the department what the affidavit must contain

    The statute names the fact of survivorship and the names and addresses of any other heirs, and then leaves 'any other facts determined necessary' to the department.

  4. once the thirty days have passed

    File the affidavit with the department

    The department checks that the transfer is regular and that all legal requirements have been met before issuing the certificate.

Through an administered estate

The representative files an application and a statement of the transfer of interest.

  1. First

    Establish who is filing

    The statute names the executor, administrator, receiver, trustee, sheriff, secured party, or other representative or successor in interest.

  2. once the authority exists

    Prepare the verified or certified statement

    It must state the reason for the transfer, the interest transferred, the name of the transferee and the process creating the transfer, with the instruments the law requires to effect a transfer of chattels.

  3. when the statement is ready

    Send it with an application for a certificate of title

    Both go to the department together.

  4. at least five days after the notice is sent

    Wait out the department's notice

    The department notifies the owner and every recorded lienholder, and issues the new certificate not less than five days after sending that notice.

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

  • Affidavit of survivorship filed with the department

    Applies to One owner, three conditions — an affidavit for the whole garage

    Sets out the fact of survivorship, the name and address of any other heirs, and any other facts the department determines necessary. The statute prescribes no form, and the Division's own guidance could not be read — ask before writing it.

    Link checked 2026-08-18

  • Application for a certificate of title

    Applies to Through the estate — and the department warns the old owner before it issues the titleMore than one name — Montana presumes survivorship

    Required on the involuntary transfer route alongside the statement of transfer, and the document the fee under section 61-3-203 is paid on.

    Link checked 2026-08-18

  • Verified or certified statement of the transfer of interest

    Applies to Through the estate — and the department warns the old owner before it issues the title

    States the reason for the involuntary transfer, the interest transferred, the name of the transferee and the process creating the transfer. A transfer statement as defined in 30-9A-619 may be used instead.

    Link checked 2026-08-18

  • The instruments that effect the transfer

    Applies to Through the estate — and the department warns the old owner before it issues the title

    Evidence and instruments required by law in order to effect a transfer of legal or equitable title to chattels must be submitted with the statement — letters, an order, or whatever the process produced.

    Link checked 2026-08-18

  • Affidavit for collection of personal property

    Only in some situations

    Applies to One owner, three conditions — an affidavit for the whole garage

    The Title 72 affidavit that supplies section 61-3-222's ceiling: the estate value, the thirty days elapsed, the absence of any appointment anywhere, and the claimant's entitlement.

    Link checked 2026-08-18

Where and how to file

  • In person

    A county treasurer's motor vehicle office

    The fee for a certificate of title is paid to the department, its authorized agent, or a county treasurer — and in Montana most title work is done at the county treasurer's office.Start with a phone call. The statute leaves part of what the affidavit must contain to the department, and the Division's own guidance could not be read, so ask what it wants before assembling anything.An expedited certificate is different: the statute says it may be issued only by the Montana motor vehicle division.

    Find an office

    Applies to every path

  • By mail

    The Montana Motor Vehicle Division

    Both statutory routes are described as filings with the department: the surviving spouse or heir files an affidavit, and a representative sends an application for a certificate of title together with the statement of transfer.On the involuntary transfer route the department then notifies the owner and every recorded lienholder, and issues the new certificate not less than five days after sending that notice.The department checks before it acts on either route — it must determine that the transfer is regular and that all legal requirements have been met.

    See the mailing instructions

    Applies to One owner, three conditions — an affidavit for the whole garageThrough the estate — and the department warns the old owner before it issues the title

What it costs

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

FeeAmountNotesFee schedule
Certificate of title for a light vehicle Published by the agency For a light vehicle or a truck or bus weighing a ton or less, until 30 June 2028. Payable to the department, an authorized agent or a county treasurer. Current fee schedule
Certificate of title for any other vehicle Published by the agency Ten dollars where the vehicle is not a light vehicle or a truck or bus of a ton or less — the cheaper figure belongs to the less common case. Current fee schedule
The same fees from 1 July 2028 Published by the agency The statute schedules its own reduction: five dollars for the heavier or unusual case, seven for a light vehicle. Current fee schedule
Expedited certificate of title Published by the agency No separate figure is published in this section. It says only that an expedited certificate may be issued only by the Montana motor vehicle division, and that the whole fee is deposited in the information technology system account. Current fee schedule

After you file

  • The department writes to people who are not you. It sends notice of the intended transfer to the owner, the conditional sales vendor, the lessor, the mortgagee and any other lienholder shown in its records — and posting the notice is enough to satisfy the requirement.Then it waits: the new certificate issues not less than five days after that notice is sent. Build the five days into any plan to sell or insure the vehicle.

    Applies to Through the estate — and the department warns the old owner before it issues the title

  • A loan does not fall away with the death. Section 61-3-222 says the department issues the certificate “subject to any security interests shown by the department's records”, and the certificate itself lists each secured party and lienholder in the order of priority and perfection.Check the new certificate when it arrives against what you believe about the loan, and take up any discrepancy with the department rather than with the lender alone.

    Applies to every path

  • The affidavit closes the holder's exposure rather than yours. Whoever hands property over is discharged as if they had dealt with a personal representative and need not inquire into the truth of anything in the affidavit.You remain answerable and accountable for the property to any personal representative appointed later, or to anyone with a superior right. If the family's arrangements are unsettled, settle them before filing rather than after.

    Applies to One owner, three conditions — an affidavit for the whole garage

  • The same affidavit reaches more than the vehicle. Section 61-3-222 covers every titled motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, pole trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat or snowmobile in the estate, and section 72-3-1101 obliges anyone holding the deceased's tangible personal property or an instrument evidencing a debt to hand it over on the same affidavit.One asset has its own, lower rule: unclaimed property held by the department of revenue may be refunded to a successor where its value is five thousand dollars or less, regardless of the value of the estate.

    Applies to One owner, three conditions — an affidavit for the whole garage

If your situation doesn't fit one of these paths

Common complications, and what each one changes.

  • A parent added a child to the title meaning to leave them the car

    In Montana that made the child a co-owner today rather than a beneficiary on death. The statute presumes joint ownership with right of survivorship from more than one name — and says in the same sentence that it is “not as transfer on death”.

    The effect on the death is usually what the family wanted: the survivor takes it. The effect during life is not, because a co-owner has an interest in the vehicle from the moment the name went on.2

  • The estate has a house, or something else needing letters

    Then the vehicle affidavit is closed, whatever the car is worth. Section 61-3-222's second condition is that the decedent “did not leave other property that requires the procuring of letters of administration or letters testamentary”.

    The vehicle then travels with the estate: inheritance, devise and bequest are all named as involuntary transfers, and the executor or administrator files the application and statement under section 61-3-221.13

  • There is a will, but it says nothing about the car

    Read the condition carefully: the bar is that the decedent “did not by execution of a will otherwise bequeath the property”. It is about what the will did with this property, not about whether a will exists.

    A residuary gift can still dispose of the vehicle without naming it, so read the whole will rather than only the specific gifts — and remember the separate condition that no application for a personal representative may be pending or granted anywhere.15

  • There is a boat and a snowmobile as well as the car

    One route covers them all. Section 61-3-222 reaches “one or more motor vehicles, trailers, semitrailers, pole trailers, campers, motorboats, personal watercraft, sailboats, or snowmobiles for which a certificate of title was issued under this chapter”.

    They also count toward the ceiling. The value tested is the entire estate “including any vehicles, vessels, or snowmobiles for which transfer of ownership is sought, less liens and encumbrances”.1

  • You are looking for the Montana form and cannot find one

    The statute prescribes no form. It requires an affidavit “setting forth the fact of survivorship, the name and address of any other heirs, and any other facts determined necessary to entitle the person to the transfer” — with the last of those left to the department.

    The Motor Vehicle Division's own website could not be read: it answers every request with a challenge page. So Sahvelo names no form number here, and the practical step is a call to a county treasurer's motor vehicle office.14

  • The vehicle was never registered in Montana but the heir lives here

    Section 61-3-221 covers it: where an interest in a vehicle “that is not registered in this state is involuntarily transferred to a person in this state”, the person follows the same procedure.

    With one difference that speeds it up — “The department is not required to send notice for a transfer of interest occurring under subsection (2)”, so the five-day wait does not apply.3

  • It has been less than a month since the death

    The affidavit route cannot start yet. Section 72-3-1101 opens “Thirty days after the death of a decedent”, and the affidavit itself must state that thirty days have elapsed.

    The waiting time is not wasted: it is when to establish the three conditions in section 61-3-222 and to ask the department what its affidavit must contain.51

Questions people ask about this

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

    Montana presumes so. Section 61-3-202 provides that where more than one owner is listed on the certificate, “joint ownership with right of survivorship, and not as transfer on death, is presumed.”There is no conjunction to interpret and no designation to find, which is unusual — most states in this corpus make the answer turn on a word between the names or on a box ticked at the counter.2

  • The car was in one name. Do we need probate?

    Not necessarily. Section 61-3-222 lets a surviving spouse or other heir take the title on an affidavit filed with the department, if three conditions hold: the estate is within the limit in section 72-3-1101, the person left no other property requiring letters, and no will bequeathed this property elsewhere.The route covers every titled vehicle, trailer, camper, motorboat, personal watercraft, sailboat or snowmobile in the estate at once.1

  • Which Montana form do we use?

    The statute prescribes none. It requires an affidavit setting out the fact of survivorship, the name and address of any other heirs, “and any other facts determined necessary to entitle the person to the transfer” — with that last part left to the department.Sahvelo could not read the Motor Vehicle Division's own guidance, because its website answers every request with a challenge page, so no form number is named here. Ask a county treasurer's motor vehicle office, which is where the fee is paid and most title work is done.14

  • How big can the estate be?

    The vehicle section borrows the probate code's figure: the affidavit under section 72-3-1101 requires that “the value of the probate estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed” $100,000.Section 61-3-222 adds that the vehicles, vessels and snowmobiles being claimed count inside that total rather than beside it — and thirty days must have elapsed since the death.51

  • What does a Montana title cost?

    $12 for a light vehicle or a truck or bus weighing a ton or less, and ten dollars for anything else — payable to the department, an authorized agent or a county treasurer.The statute already schedules the reduction: from 1 July 2028 those become seven dollars and five dollars.4

  • Why is the new title taking so long on an administered estate?

    Because Montana builds in a notice period. Once the department is satisfied the transfer is regular it must send notice of the intended transfer to the owner and every recorded lienholder, and may issue the new certificate only “Not less than 5 days after sending the notice”.The clock runs from when the notice is sent, not from when the papers arrived — and it does not run at all for a vehicle that was not registered in Montana.3

  • There is still a loan on the vehicle. What happens to it?

    It follows the vehicle. Section 61-3-222 has the department issue the certificate “subject to any security interests shown by the department's records”, and a certificate lists each secured party and lienholder in the order of priority and perfection.It does cut the estate figure, though — the small estate count is taken less liens and encumbrances.125

What the terms mean

6 terms used on this page, defined from the statute
Presumed joint ownership with right of survivorship
The rule in Mont. Code Ann. § 61-3-202: where the names and addresses of more than one owner are listed on a certificate of title, joint ownership with right of survivorship — and not a transfer on death — is presumed. No conjunction, marriage or designation is required. Mont. Code Ann. § 61-3-202
Affidavit of survivorship (vehicles)
The filing under Mont. Code Ann. § 61-3-222 by which a surviving spouse or other heir secures transfer of a decedent's titled vehicles, vessels and snowmobiles without letters. It sets out the fact of survivorship, the name and address of any other heirs, and any other facts the department determines necessary. No form is prescribed in the statute. Mont. Code Ann. § 61-3-222
Involuntary transfer
Under Mont. Code Ann. § 61-3-221, a transfer of title or interest occurring by operation of law — including through inheritance, devise and bequest. The executor, administrator or other successor in interest sends the department an application for a certificate of title and a verified or certified statement of the transfer of interest. Mont. Code Ann. § 61-3-221
Statement of transfer of interest
The document accompanying an application on an involuntary transfer. It must state the reason for the transfer, the interest transferred, the name of the person to whom it is transferred, the process or procedure creating the transfer, and other information the department requests, with the instruments the law requires to effect a transfer of chattels. Mont. Code Ann. § 61-3-221
Probate estate (as counted in Montana)
The measure for Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-1101: the value of the probate estate, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances. Property passing outside probate falls outside it; out-of-state property falls inside it; and section 61-3-222 counts the vehicles being claimed within the total. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-1101, Mont. Code Ann. § 61-3-222
Answerable and accountable
The phrase in Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-1102. A person to whom payment, delivery, transfer or issuance is made under the affidavit remains answerable and accountable for the property to any personal representative of the estate, or to any other person having a superior right — while the person who handed it over is discharged. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-1102

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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. All are sections of the Montana Code Annotated as published by the Montana Legislature.

  1. Mont. Code Ann. § 61-3-222 — surviving spouse or heir, small estates

    Surviving spouse or heir, small estates: the assets it reaches, the three conditions, the affidavit filed with the department, and the security interests the new certificate is subject to.

    mca.legmt.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  2. Mont. Code Ann. § 61-3-202 — certificate of title, issuance, contents, joint ownership

    What a certificate contains, when it is canceled, and the presumption of joint ownership with right of survivorship where more than one owner is listed.

    mca.legmt.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  3. Mont. Code Ann. § 61-3-221 — involuntary transfer

    Involuntary transfer: inheritance, devise and bequest, who files, what the statement must say, and the five-day notice before a new certificate issues.

    mca.legmt.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  4. Mont. Code Ann. § 61-3-203 — fee for original certificate of title

    The fee for an original certificate of title, where it is paid, and the reduction scheduled for 1 July 2028.

    mca.legmt.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  5. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-1101 — collection of personal property by affidavit

    Collection of personal property by affidavit: the thirty-day wait, the four statements, the ceiling that section 61-3-222 borrows, and the separate unclaimed-property rule.

    mca.legmt.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  6. Mont. Code Ann. § 72-3-1102 — effect of affidavit

    Effect of the affidavit: the holder is discharged, the claimant has a remedy against a refusal, and the claimant remains answerable and accountable to anyone with a superior right.

    mca.legmt.gov Checked 2026-08-18

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

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

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