Sahvelo

Transferring a vehicle in South Carolina after someone dies

South Carolina's Department of Motor Vehicles says two things most agencies leave implicit. It does not interpret or accept wills for titles — the Probate Court decides who inherits, and the Department acts on what the court issues. And a divorce does not revoke a transfer-on-death designation on a car; only another form does.

State South Carolina

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
4 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
Transfer on Death beneficiary The title carries a Transfer on Death designation and you survived all the owners None Not established on this route Fastest — the title, the fee, and a certified death certificate South Carolina DMV — inheriting a vehicle; form TOD-1
"Or" co-owner Your name is on the title with "or" between the names None — you may act as if the other owner never died Ordinary transfer rules apply if you move it into your name alone Fastest — nothing has to be done at all unless you want the title changed South Carolina DMV — inheriting a vehicle
Personal representative The Probate Court appointed one Yes — the court issues the certificate Ordinary transfer rules; the infrastructure maintenance fee is capped at $500 Depends on the court. The appointment is typically for a year South Carolina DMV — inheriting a vehicle
Small estate affidavit The Probate Court issued one on an estate inside the ceiling Yes — a probate judge must approve and countersign it Ordinary transfer rules apply on the titling Thirty days after the death, then a court application S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-1201

Is the vehicle titled in South Carolina?

Everything on this page is South Carolina procedure and it governs South Carolina titles. What decides that is the state that issued the certificate of title, not where the person lived.

One South Carolina rule is about the estate rather than the certificate. The small estate affidavit measures the entire probate estate wherever located, and is filed in the probate court of the county of domicile — or, where the person was not domiciled here, in the county where their property is.3

The Department will not read the will

Most motor vehicle agencies leave this to be inferred. South Carolina writes it down: "The Probate Court will determine if a will is legal and can be used to transfer ownership to a new person once the person listed on the title dies. In general, the SCDMV does not interpret or accept wills for titles."1

The consequence is practical rather than philosophical. Where the claimant is not on the title, "the Probate Court must direct the SCDMV on the way forward" — and the court does that in one of two ways. It appoints a personal representative, or it issues a small estate affidavit. Which of the two arrives changes what can then be done with the car.1

What a personal representative does

The authority is not indefinite. The Department notes that in this state personal representatives are typically assigned for a year, so a family who leave the car until the estate is otherwise finished may find the appointment has lapsed.1

"Or" or "and" — one word, two worlds

Where the title already names a surviving co-owner, South Carolina's answer turns on a conjunction, and the two answers could hardly be further apart. With an "or" relationship: "you are able to take any action on the vehicle as if the person on the title never died." With an "and" relationship: "you are required to follow the direction of the Probate Court to determine what can be done with the vehicle."1

The same word decides something else, before any death. A Transfer on Death beneficiary cannot be added where the ownership is designated as an "and" relationship — the designation is available on a title with one owner, or on one with multiple owners in an "or" relationship which indicates survivorship.1

That produces a trap worth knowing about when a designation names more than one person. Where two or more beneficiaries survive, form TOD-1 says the property must be titled in an "and" relationship — which is exactly the kind of title on which no new beneficiary can afterwards be named.2

A divorce does not revoke a designation

Form TOD-1 carries this in a box of its own, and it runs the opposite way to the divorce itself: "Neither divorce nor annulment will automatically revoke the TOD designation on this governing instrument pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. §62-2-507. Customer(s) must submit a TOD-1 to remove the TOD designation."2

So a car designated to a spouse during a marriage still passes to that person after the marriage ends, unless somebody files the form to take the designation off. It is worth checking on any title where circumstances have changed since the designation was made — and it is worth doing before a death rather than after one, because after the death nobody can remove it.2

Everything else about a designation is easy to make and hard to misread. Only the owners can add or remove a beneficiary, all owners must agree, the owner must be an individual rather than a business, and the beneficiary has no ownership, interest or control over the property during the owner's lifetime.12

A lien does not prevent one, and the Department distinguishes three kinds of lienholder. An ordinary lienholder provides the certificate of title with a signed written request; an electronic lienholder need only send the signed written request; and an individual lienholder may provide a signed letter with a copy of their license or a witness signature. The lien itself remains the same.12

The affidavit a judge has to countersign

South Carolina's small estate affidavit is not a private document. Section 62-3-1201 requires it to be approved and countersigned by the probate judge of the county of the deceased's domicile — and only on the judge's satisfaction that the successor is entitled to the property — and then filed in that same probate court.3

The Department adds the limit that decides what a family can actually do: "The Affidavit only allows the vehicle to be titled in the name of the person appointed by the Probate Court. The Affidavit does not allow a person to sign the title to the vehicle to another person." A family planning to sell the car straight to a buyer needs a personal representative, not an affidavit.1

The ceiling is recent, so older guidance is wrong rather than merely dated. The section's own amendment note records that 2025 Act No. 26, effective 8 May 2025, substituted forty-five thousand dollars for twenty-five thousand dollars.3

The protection runs one way. Whoever hands the property over is discharged as if they had dealt with a personal representative and need not inquire into the truth of any statement in the affidavit. The person who receives it stays answerable and accountable to any personal representative of the estate, or to anybody with a superior right.3

The fee, the 5% cap, and the county tax

The title fee is $15, stated by the Department on both the inheritance page and form TOD-1. What sits beside it is more unusual: South Carolina charges an infrastructure maintenance fee instead of sales tax on most vehicles, and caps it. The Department's words are "5% of the purchase price, but no more than $500", and "Most vehicles owe IMF instead of sales tax."14

How that fee is treated on a transfer after a death is not established, and this page states nothing about it. What the Department does say is that generally the SCDMV will determine whether you pay the infrastructure maintenance fee or sales tax, depending on the type of vehicle or item being purchased. A branch office is the place to ask before assuming either.4

Titling and registering are separate jobs here and the order matters. Registering the vehicle is the same thing as putting a license plate on it to use on the road — and to get one, a family must contact the county office to have a property tax bill generated, pay it, and give the Department the paid property tax receipt in their own name. The county tax comes before the plate.4

The Department's published clock is about a purchase rather than a death: South Carolina law requires a newly purchased vehicle to be registered within 45 days of the purchase date. Sahvelo states no deadline for an inherited vehicle, because the Department publishes none — that is an absence of published guidance rather than a finding that no deadline exists.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.

Transfer on Death beneficiary

The title names a beneficiary. Three items, no court.

  1. First

    Check that you survived every owner

    Where more than one owner was on the title, the beneficiary cannot become the owner until all of them are deceased.

  2. First

    Obtain a certified death certificate

    It must show that you survived all owners of the titled personal property. A copy is not what the Department asks for here.

  3. First

    Submit the title, the fee and the certificate

    The title, a $15 title fee, and the certified death certificate — at a branch office or by post to Blythewood.

  4. First

    Register it if you want to drive it

    Beneficiaries follow the normal titling and registration process. A county property tax bill has to be paid before a plate is issued.

"Or" co-owner

Your name is on the title with "or" between. You may act as if nobody died.

  1. First

    Confirm the word on the title is "or"

    It is the difference between acting alone and going to the Probate Court.

  2. First

    Decide whether to move the title into your name alone

    You are not obliged to. The Department says you may take any action on the vehicle as if the person on the title never died.

  3. First

    If you do, follow the ordinary transfer

    Complete the appropriate forms — including a Title Application on Form 400 — and pay the appropriate fees.

  4. First

    Consider adding a beneficiary while you are there

    A designation cannot be added to a title held in an "and" relationship, but it can to a single-owner title.

Personal representative

The Probate Court appointed somebody. They sign as seller, with (PR) beside the name.

  1. First

    Bring the certificate from Probate Court

    It is what shows the Department that you are the personal representative.

  2. First

    Sign the back of the title as the seller with (PR) beside your name

    And sign as the buyer too, if you want the title issued in your own name.

  3. First

    Follow the ordinary steps for selling a vehicle

    A completed Title Application on Form 400, the title fee, and the infrastructure maintenance fee or sales tax where one applies.

  4. Do not leave it for years

    The Department notes that in this state personal representatives are typically assigned for a year.

Small estate affidavit

The Probate Court issued an affidavit. It titles the car to one named person and nobody else.

  1. Wait thirty days from the death

    The affidavit states it, along with the value of the entire probate estate wherever located.

  2. First

    Value the entire probate estate

    The property passing under the will plus the property passing by intestacy, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances. The ceiling is $45,000.

  3. First

    Get the probate judge to approve and countersign it

    This is what makes South Carolina's affidavit a court document. It is then filed in that same probate court.

  4. First

    Take it to the Department

    The vehicle can be titled only in the name of the person the court appointed. It cannot be signed over to somebody else on this document.

Documents and forms

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

Needed on every path

Needed on some paths

Where and how to file

  • In person

    An SCDMV branch office

    Applications are accepted at SCDMV branch offices.A personal representative signs the back of the title as the seller with (PR) beside their name, and brings the certificate from Probate Court.A beneficiary brings the title, the title fee, and a certified death certificate showing they survived all owners.

    Find an office

    Applies to every path

  • By mail

    SCDMV, 10311 Wilson Blvd., Building C, Blythewood, SC, 29016-0038

    Form TOD-1 states that applications can be mailed to this address.A completed Form 400 Title and/or Registration Application must go with it.Complete the second page of TOD-1 where there are additional beneficiaries, and additional sections where there is more than one owner.

    See the mailing instructions

    Applies to The title, a certified death certificate, and $15As if the person on the title never died

  • In person

    The Probate Court of the county where the person was domiciled at the time of death

    The Probate Court comes before the Department on these routes: it either appoints a personal representative or issues a small estate affidavit.The affidavit must be approved and countersigned by the probate judge, and filed in that court.Where the person was not domiciled in South Carolina, the county is the one where their property is located.

    Find an office

    Applies to The affidavit titles the car to one named person, and to nobody elseSign the back of the title as the seller, with (PR) beside your name

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 fee Published by the agency Stated by the Department on both its inheritance page and form TOD-1, for adding a designation and for a beneficiary taking ownership. Current fee schedule
Infrastructure maintenance fee, or sales tax Published by the agency 5% of the purchase price but no more than $500 where the infrastructure maintenance fee applies, and most vehicles owe it instead of sales tax. How it is treated on a transfer after a death is not established, and Sahvelo states nothing about it — the Department says it will generally determine which of the two applies. Current fee schedule
County property tax Published by the agency Set and billed by the county, not by the Department. It has to be paid and the receipt produced before a license plate is issued, so it comes before the plate rather than after it. Current fee schedule
Probate Court Published by the agency The small estate affidavit has to be approved and countersigned by the probate judge and filed in the probate court. What that costs is not established, and Sahvelo states no figure. Current fee schedule

After you file

  • Having the title is not the same as being able to drive. Registering the vehicle is what puts a license plate on it, and that needs a county property tax bill generated, paid, and the receipt produced to the Department in the new owner's name.Sahvelo states no South Carolina processing time, because the Department publishes none on these pages.

    Applies to every path

  • Where two or more beneficiaries survived, the vehicle must be titled in an "and" relationship — and no new Transfer on Death beneficiary can be added to a title held that way.A lien that existed before the designation remains the same after the transfer.

    Applies to The title, a certified death certificate, and $15

  • The person who received the property stays answerable and accountable to any personal representative of the estate, or to anybody with a superior right — even though the person who handed it over is discharged as if they had dealt with a representative.

    Applies to The affidavit titles the car to one named person, and to nobody else

If your situation doesn't fit one of these paths

Common complications, and what each one changes.

  • They divorced after naming a beneficiary

    The designation still stands, and this is the opposite of the way the designation reads. Form TOD-1 says: "Neither divorce nor annulment will automatically revoke the TOD designation on this governing instrument pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. §62-2-507. Customer(s) must submit a TOD-1 to remove the TOD designation." Only the owners can add or remove a beneficiary, so once the owner has died nobody can take it off — which makes this a thing to check while the owner is alive rather than a thing to argue about afterwards.2

  • The title reads "and"

    Then almost nothing can be done without the court. The Department's rule is short: if you are on a title with an "and" relationship and the other person on the title died, you are required to follow the direction of the Probate Court to determine what can be done with the vehicle. The same word closes the other door too — a Transfer on Death beneficiary cannot be added where the ownership is designated as an "and" relationship, so a family in this position has neither the designation nor the survivor's freedom. With "or", by contrast, the survivor may take any action on the vehicle as if the person on the title never died.1

  • You want to sell the car, and the court gave you an affidavit

    The affidavit will not let you do it, and the Department says so directly: "The Affidavit only allows the vehicle to be titled in the name of the person appointed by the Probate Court. The Affidavit does not allow a person to sign the title to the vehicle to another person." The car can go into that person's name and be sold afterwards from there — or the Probate Court can appoint a personal representative instead, who may sign the back of the title as seller. Which document a family gets is the court's decision, so it is worth explaining the intention to sell when applying.1

  • The will says who gets the car

    Do not take it to a branch office. The Department states its own limit: the Probate Court will determine if a will is legal and can be used to transfer ownership to a new person once the person listed on the title dies, and in general the SCDMV does not interpret or accept wills for titles. The will is evidence for the court, and what reaches the Department afterwards is the certificate showing a personal representative, or a small estate affidavit.1

  • Two people were named as beneficiaries and both survived

    They get the car together, and the form fixes how: if two or more beneficiaries survive, the titled personal property must be titled in an "and" relationship. That has a consequence worth knowing before it becomes a problem — a title held in an "and" relationship cannot carry a Transfer on Death designation, and on the death of one of them the survivor is required to follow the direction of the Probate Court. A designation intended to keep the car out of court can therefore put the next transfer into it.12

  • You have read an older figure for the small estate limit

    That figure is out of date rather than merely old. The section's own effect-of-amendment note records that 2025 Act No. 26, effective 8 May 2025, substituted forty-five thousand dollars for twenty-five thousand dollars. What is measured is the entire probate estate — the property passing under the will plus the property passing by intestacy — wherever located, less liens and encumbrances. Guidance published before May 2025 states a ceiling South Carolina no longer applies.3

  • You paid for the funeral but do not inherit

    South Carolina counts you as a successor for this purpose. The statute defines the claiming successor as including "a person who remitted payment for reasonable funeral expenses" — so somebody who paid the funeral bill can be the person who presents the affidavit, subject to the probate judge being satisfied that they are entitled to payment or delivery of the property. Receipts are worth keeping for that reason alone.3

  • The appointment was made a while ago

    Check that it is still current before making the journey. The Department notes that in this state personal representatives are typically assigned for a year — so a family who dealt with everything else first and left the car until last may find the authority has lapsed. Where it has, the Probate Court is the place to go rather than the branch office.1

  • There is still a loan on the car

    Sahvelo has not established what South Carolina requires to discharge a lien on a death transfer and asserts nothing either way. What is published is how a lienholder consents to a Transfer on Death designation being added, and that the lien then remains the same: an ordinary lienholder provides the certificate of title with a signed written request; an electronic lienholder need only send the signed written request; and an individual lienholder may provide a signed letter with a copy of their license or a witness signature. A branch office is the place to ask what a transfer itself needs.12

Questions people ask about this

  • Can we just show the DMV the will?

    No. The Department says the Probate Court will determine if a will is legal and can be used to transfer ownership, and that in general the SCDMV does not interpret or accept wills for titles. What reaches a branch office is the certificate from the Probate Court showing a personal representative, or a small estate affidavit the probate judge has countersigned.1

  • Do we have to go to court at all?

    Not if the title carries a Transfer on Death designation and you survived all the owners, and not if your name is on the title with "or" between the names — in that case you may take any action on the vehicle as if the other owner never died. In every other case the Probate Court must direct the Department on the way forward.1

  • They divorced. Does the designation still stand?

    Yes. Form TOD-1 says neither divorce nor annulment will automatically revoke the designation, and that a TOD-1 must be submitted to remove it. Only the owners can do that, so it cannot be undone after the death.2

  • What is the small estate limit?

    $45,000 for the entire probate estate — the property passing under the will plus the property passing by intestacy — wherever located and less liens and encumbrances. It rose from twenty-five thousand dollars on 8 May 2025, so older guidance gives a figure South Carolina no longer applies.3

  • Can we sell the car using the small estate affidavit?

    No. The affidavit only allows the vehicle to be titled in the name of the person appointed by the Probate Court, and does not allow that person to sign the title over to somebody else. The car can be sold afterwards from that person's own title, or the court can appoint a personal representative instead — who may sign the back of the title as seller.1

  • What does it cost?

    The title fee is $15. Beyond that, most South Carolina vehicles owe an infrastructure maintenance fee rather than sales tax — 5% of the purchase price, capped at $500 — and how that is treated on a transfer after a death is not established, so Sahvelo states nothing about it. A county property tax bill also has to be paid before a license plate is issued.14

  • Why is the county asking us for tax?

    Because in South Carolina the plate comes after the county tax. To register the vehicle you contact your county office to have a property tax bill generated, pay it, and give the Department the paid property tax receipt in your name. Titling the vehicle and being able to drive it are two separate steps.4

  • Is there a deadline?

    The Department publishes one about purchases: South Carolina law requires a newly purchased vehicle to be registered within 45 days of the purchase date. It publishes none for an inherited vehicle, so Sahvelo states none — that is an absence of published guidance rather than a finding that no deadline exists. The one clock that is published on a death is the personal representative's appointment, which the Department says is typically for a year.14

  • What proof of death is needed?

    On the beneficiary route, a certified death certificate — and it has to show that the beneficiary survived all owners of the titled personal property. On the court routes the Probate Court's own document is what the Department acts on.12

What the terms mean

6 terms used on this page, defined from the statute
Transfer on Death designation
A beneficiary named on a South Carolina certificate of title, made on form TOD-1 under § 62-6-401. Only the owners can add or remove one, all owners must agree, and the owner must be an individual rather than a business. It cannot be added where the ownership is designated as an "and" relationship. The beneficiary has no ownership, interest or control during the owner's lifetime, and neither divorce nor annulment revokes the designation automatically. South Carolina DMV — form TOD-1
"And" and "or" relationship
How a South Carolina title describes two owners, and the single most consequential word on the certificate. With "or", a surviving co-owner may take any action on the vehicle as if the person on the title never died. With "and", the survivor is required to follow the direction of the Probate Court. The same word decides whether a Transfer on Death beneficiary can be added at all — it cannot, on an "and" title. South Carolina DMV — inheriting a vehicle
Personal representative
The person the Probate Court appoints to deal with an estate. The Department asks for the certificate from the court showing the appointment, and the representative signs the back of the title as the seller in their own name with (PR) beside it. In this state, the Department notes, personal representatives are typically assigned for a year. South Carolina DMV — inheriting a vehicle
Small estate affidavit
South Carolina's affidavit under § 62-3-1201, and a court document rather than a private one: it must be approved and countersigned by the probate judge of the county of domicile, only on the judge's satisfaction that the successor is entitled to the property, and then filed in that court. Its limit at the Department is narrow — it allows the vehicle to be titled only in the name of the person the court appointed, and does not allow that person to sign the title over to anybody else. S.C. Code Ann. § 62-3-1201; South Carolina DMV — inheriting a vehicle
Claiming successor
The person who presents South Carolina's small estate affidavit. The statute defines it more widely than most: it includes a person who remitted payment for reasonable funeral expenses. Whoever hands the property over is discharged as if they had dealt with a personal representative, but the successor who receives it remains answerable and accountable to any personal representative of the estate or to anybody with a superior right. S.C. Code Ann. §§ 62-3-1201, 62-3-1202
Infrastructure maintenance fee
South Carolina's substitute for sales tax on most vehicles: 5% of the purchase price, but no more than $500. The Department says most vehicles owe it instead of sales tax, and that it will generally determine which of the two applies depending on the type of vehicle. How it is treated on a transfer after a death is not established, and Sahvelo states nothing about that. South Carolina DMV — buying or selling a car

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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 South Carolina state publications: the Department of Motor Vehicles' own pages and form, and the South Carolina Code of Laws as published by the State House.

  1. South Carolina DMV — inheriting a vehicle

    The four situations after a death, what a personal representative does, the limit on what a small estate affidavit allows, the "or" and "and" rule, and the statement that the Department does not interpret or accept wills.

    scdmvonline.com Checked 2026-08-18

  2. South Carolina DMV — form TOD-1, application for transfer on death (07/2025)

    That neither divorce nor annulment revokes a designation, the three kinds of lienholder, what a beneficiary submits, and what happens where two or more beneficiaries survive.

    scdmvonline.com Checked 2026-08-18

  3. S.C. Code Ann. §§ 62-3-1201 to 62-3-1203 — collection of personal property by affidavit, and small estates

    The $45,000 ceiling and its May 2025 increase, the probate judge's approval and countersignature, who counts as a successor, and who stays accountable afterwards.

    scstatehouse.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  4. South Carolina DMV — buying or selling a car

    The 45-day registration requirement, what a title assignment must contain, the infrastructure maintenance fee at 5% capped at $500, and the county property tax receipt needed before a plate.

    scdmvonline.com 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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