Sahvelo

Transferring a vehicle in Tennessee after someone dies

Tennessee publishes one form for a death, and its opening sentence draws the boundary of this page: the Affidavit of Inheritance applies where the person "left no will (intestate) and there is not a surviving spouse". Inside that sentence, everything is documented. Outside it, the Department's guidance lives on hosts that refuse automated retrieval — so those cases stop here rather than being filled in from somewhere else.

State Tennessee

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
1 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
Affidavit of Inheritance No will, no surviving spouse, no letters issued, and every heir and next of kin agrees to vest the vehicle in one named person None — the form is sworn and filed with the county clerk Not published; the Department's fee guidance could not be retrieved As fast as every heir can be assembled or can send a separate relinquishment Tennessee Department of Revenue form Form RV-F1310501
Every other case A surviving spouse, a will, letters of administration, or heirs who do not all agree Not established Not established Not established — the Department publishes no deceased-owner guidance on any host that could be read Recorded as a halt rather than answered

One form, and it says what it does not cover

The Affidavit of Inheritance opens with its own purpose: “"Inheritance" is the practice of passing on vehicles upon the death of an individual. If the deceased left no will (intestate) and there is not a surviving spouse, this form must be completed to enable all heirs to mutually relinquish their ownership of a vehicle to a certain party.”1

Two conditions, stated by the Department rather than inferred by anybody: no will, and no surviving spouse. Where both hold, this page can tell you exactly what to do. Where either fails, it tells you that it cannot.1

The Department publishes no deceased-owner page at all. Its vehicle titling section covers titling as a current resident, titling as a new resident, what to do without a title, lien notation, abandoned vehicles, salvage, repossession, duplicate titles, taxation of car and boat sales, mobile homes and temporary tags. A death is not among them.2

Mutual relinquishment, not a claim

Most affidavits in this corpus are one person asserting an entitlement. Tennessee's is the family agreeing. The operative words are that “by mutual agreement of all the heirs and next of kin who are parties hereto vest the ownership of said vehicle to” a named new owner, who signs and gives a mailing address, “and the undersigned (all heirs or next of kin) relinquish any and all claims in or to said motor vehicle”.1

That difference is worth holding onto. Nobody is being asked to prove who inherits under Tennessee's law of descent — they are being asked to agree, in writing, and to give up their claims in favor of one person.1

What is sworn alongside it, under penalties of perjury, is that the owner died on a stated day in a stated Tennessee county “and left no estate necessitating administration and no letters of testamentary or of administration have been issued to any person.”1

An absent heir is solved on the form

The case most states leave a family to work out is handled in a note at the foot of the page: “Any heir (or heirs) that was (were) not present at time of this execution should attach a separate affidavit relinquishing his (their) claim to said vehicle, or power of attorney granted authority for another to sign for them.”1

So distance is not refusal. An heir who cannot get to the signing can relinquish separately, or authorize somebody else to sign. The form itself has three signature lines for heirs.1

Somebody who will not agree is a different matter, and nothing Tennessee publishes and Sahvelo could read says what happens then.2

A debt is disclosed, not disqualifying

The affidavit's statement about debt has an escape built into it: “There are no debts or encumbrances remaining unpaid, which are or may become a lien on said vehicle, except” — followed by a field headed “(Describe fully any liens or debts that might become a lien)”.1

So an outstanding loan is written on the form rather than closing the route. What the county clerk does with a disclosed lien is not published anywhere Sahvelo could read, which is worth a phone call before the signing rather than after.12

The counter is the county clerk

The form goes “to your local county clerk's office”, and the Department's general instruction matches: “Current Tennessee residents can obtain titles for new and used vehicles from their county clerk's office.”12

For a used vehicle title the Department asks for “proof of identification and proof of residency a valid certificate of title; odometer disclosure statement , if applicable; and copy of current registration if transferring your license plate.” It also names an “Affidavit of Non-Dealer Transfers (For gift, low selling, or lineal relative vehicle transfers)” where a vehicle is passed on rather than sold.2

There is a published line for exactly these questions. The Title Only Application prints it: “call 615.741.3101 or email CountyClerk.Help@tn.gov.”3

That form also shows a door nothing else points to. Where a request does not fit any of its listed reasons, an applicant may submit it “along with proper ownership documents and a letter stating the reason for requesting permission for title only to the County Clerk for authorization consideration from the Vehicle Services Division.” A death is not on its list — but a letter is a published way to put an unlisted case in front of the Division.3

What Sahvelo could not read, and will not guess

Two Tennessee sources carry the answers this page cannot give, and both refuse automated retrieval. The Department of Revenue's knowledge base at revenue.support.tn.gov holds its detailed guidance. The Secretary of State's rules publication holds Rule 1340-5-13, which the Affidavit of Inheritance cites as its own authority alongside Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-4-101.1

The Tennessee Code itself is published commercially rather than by the state, so the cited section could not be read either. This page therefore quotes the form and the Department's own pages, and paraphrases neither the rule nor the statute behind them.1

One thing did become readable, and it is why this page exists at all: www.tn.gov was failing on a certificate chain rather than refusing access. Fetching the missing intermediate from the issuer's own address completes the chain, and the Department's pages and forms then read normally.

One further detail is recorded without conclusions. The Department's general application form records the form of co-ownership as a code — “*LEGAL STATUS: 1 (AND) 2 (OR)” — so Tennessee does capture the distinction that decides cases in other states. What it does on a death is not stated on any source that could be read, and is not assumed here.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.

Affidavit of Inheritance

Every heir agrees, in one document, to give the vehicle to one of them.

  1. First

    Check the form's two conditions

    It applies where the deceased left no will and there is not a surviving spouse. Both have to be true.

  2. next

    Identify every heir and next of kin

    The form vests ownership by mutual agreement of all of them, and they all relinquish their claims.

  3. before signing

    Work out what to disclose about debts

    The statement that there are no unpaid debts or encumbrances has an 'except' and a field asking you to describe fully any liens or debts that might become a lien.

  4. in parallel

    Deal with anybody who cannot attend

    An heir who is not present attaches a separate affidavit relinquishing their claim, or gives a power of attorney authorizing somebody to sign for them.

  5. with every signer accounted for

    Complete and swear the form

    Under penalties of perjury, including the statement that no estate needing administration was left and no letters have been issued to anybody.

  6. once sworn

    Submit it to the local county clerk's office

    With proof of identification and residency, the certificate of title, an odometer disclosure statement if applicable, and the current registration if a plate is being transferred.

Documents and forms

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

Needed on every path

Where and how to file

  • In person

    Your local county clerk's office

    The affidavit's own instruction is to complete it in its entirety and submit it to your local county clerk's office, and the Department confirms that current residents obtain titles there.Take proof of identification and proof of residency, the certificate of title, an odometer disclosure statement if applicable, and a copy of the current registration if you are transferring a plate.Call ahead. The Department's detailed guidance could not be retrieved, so what a particular clerk expects alongside the affidavit — especially where a debt is disclosed on it — is worth asking before the signing.

    Find an office

    Applies to every path

  • phone

    Vehicle Services Division, Tennessee Department of Revenue

    The Title Only Application publishes the contact for county clerk questions: call 615.741.3101 or email CountyClerk.Help@tn.gov.The same form shows how an unlisted situation reaches the Division in writing: proper ownership documents and a letter stating the reason, submitted to the county clerk for authorization consideration.Eligibility on that route is determined case by case, so treat it as a question rather than an entitlement.

    Open the official page

    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
Title and registration fees at the county clerk Published by the agency The Department's titling page lists what to bring but no figures, and its fee guidance is published in a knowledge base that could not be retrieved. Ask the county clerk. Current fee schedule
Title Only Application Published by the agency The form asks for the application to be submitted along with the $5.50 fee. That is the fee for a title with no registration, not the ordinary transfer fee. Current fee schedule
Swearing the affidavit Published by the agency The affidavit is made under penalties of perjury by the undersigned, duly sworn. No fee for that is published by the Department. Current fee schedule

After you file

  • Everybody who signed has given something up. The affidavit is not a record of who inherited — it is every heir and next of kin relinquishing any and all claims in or to the vehicle in favor of one named person.Keep a copy. The heirs' relinquishment is the document the new owner's title rests on.

    Applies to every path

  • A debt written into the affidavit has been disclosed, not discharged. The form's wording is that there are no unpaid debts or encumbrances which are or may become a lien on the vehicle, except those described.What the county clerk does with a disclosed lien is not published on any source Sahvelo could read, so confirm the position with the clerk and with the lender.

    Applies to every path

  • The statements were made under penalties of perjury — including that the person left no estate necessitating administration and that no letters testamentary or of administration have been issued to anybody.If a will or an appointment surfaces afterwards, that is a matter to take to a Tennessee probate attorney rather than to leave alone.

    Applies to every path

  • The plate is a separate question from the title. The Department's list asks for a copy of the current registration only where a license plate is being transferred.Its fee guidance lives in a knowledge base that could not be retrieved, so ask the county clerk what the registration will cost.

    Applies to every path

If your situation doesn't fit one of these paths

Common complications, and what each one changes.

  • One of the heirs lives out of state and cannot come

    The form solves it: “Any heir (or heirs) that was (were) not present at time of this execution should attach a separate affidavit relinquishing his (their) claim to said vehicle, or power of attorney granted authority for another to sign for them.”

    So absence is handled and refusal is not. The two are worth separating before assuming the route is closed.1

  • There is still a loan on the vehicle

    The affidavit expects it. The statement that there are no unpaid debts or encumbrances is followed by “except” and a field headed “(Describe fully any liens or debts that might become a lien)”.

    What the county clerk requires where a lien is disclosed is not published on any Tennessee source Sahvelo could read — the Department's knowledge base refuses automated retrieval — so call before the signing.12

  • The certificate of title cannot be found

    The Department's list for a used vehicle title asks for “a valid certificate of title” and its pages say nothing about a family that cannot produce one after a death.

    It does publish a “What to Do if You Do Not Have a Title” page in the same section, and a duplicate title route — but neither was written for this situation, so ask the county clerk rather than assuming either fits.2

  • The vehicle is being passed to a family member rather than sold

    The Department names a separate form for that shape of transaction: the “Affidavit of Non-Dealer Transfers (For gift, low selling, or lineal relative vehicle transfers)”.

    It is listed on the same titling page as the ordinary requirements, and it is about the tax treatment of the transfer rather than about the death.2

  • Two names are on the title

    Tennessee does record the distinction: the Department's general application carries “*LEGAL STATUS: 1 (AND) 2 (OR)” in the owner block.

    What that code does when one owner dies is not stated on that form, on the Department's titling pages, or on any Tennessee source that could be retrieved — so this page records the code and says nothing about its effect. Ask the county clerk what the record shows and what it means.4

  • Your situation does not match anything the Department publishes

    There is one published way to put that in front of the Department in writing, on the Title Only Application: submit it “along with proper ownership documents and a letter stating the reason for requesting permission for title only to the County Clerk for authorization consideration from the Vehicle Services Division.”

    A death is not among that form's listed reasons and “Eligibility determination is made on a case by case basis”, so it is a route to ask about rather than to rely on.3

Questions people ask about this

  • When can we use the Affidavit of Inheritance?

    The form says so itself: where “the deceased left no will (intestate) and there is not a surviving spouse, this form must be completed to enable all heirs to mutually relinquish their ownership of a vehicle to a certain party.”Both conditions have to hold. A will closes it, and so does a surviving spouse.1

  • There is a surviving spouse. What do we do?

    Not this form — it excludes that case in its opening sentence. What Tennessee requires instead is not established here.The Department of Revenue publishes no deceased-owner page, and its detailed guidance sits in a knowledge base that refuses automated retrieval. Call the county clerk, or the Department's county clerk line on 615.741.3101.123

  • Who has to sign?

    All of them. The vehicle is vested “by mutual agreement of all the heirs and next of kin who are parties hereto”, and “the undersigned (all heirs or next of kin) relinquish any and all claims in or to said motor vehicle”.An heir who was not present attaches a separate affidavit relinquishing their claim, or gives a power of attorney authorizing somebody else to sign.1

  • There is still money owed on the car. Does that stop us?

    Not on the face of the form. The statement about debts ends with “except” and a field asking you to “Describe fully any liens or debts that might become a lien”.What the county clerk does with a disclosed lien is not published anywhere Sahvelo could read, so ask before the signing rather than after.1

  • Where does it go?

    “Complete this form in its entirety and submit it to your local county clerk's office.” The Department's general instruction matches: current Tennessee residents obtain titles for new and used vehicles from their county clerk's office.Take proof of identification and residency, a valid certificate of title, an odometer disclosure statement if applicable, and a copy of the current registration if a plate is being transferred.12

  • What does it cost?

    Not published on the pages Sahvelo could read. The Department's titling page lists documents rather than figures, and its fee guidance lives in the knowledge base that refuses automated retrieval.One figure is on a form: the Title Only Application asks for the $5.50 fee — but that is for a title without a registration, not for an ordinary transfer.23

  • Why does this page stop where it does?

    Because Tennessee's substantive guidance is published on hosts that refuse automated retrieval: the Department's knowledge base, and the Secretary of State's rules publication carrying Rule 1340-5-13, which the affidavit cites as its own authority. The Tennessee Code is published commercially rather than by the state.What is here comes from the Department's own forms and titling pages, quoted directly. Everything else is a halt, because borrowing another state's answer would be a guess wearing the clothes of a rule.12

What the terms mean

5 terms used on this page, defined from the statute
Affidavit of Inheritance
Tennessee Department of Revenue form Form RV-F1310501. Used where the deceased left no will and there is no surviving spouse, it enables all heirs to mutually relinquish their ownership of a vehicle to one named party. Sworn under penalties of perjury and submitted to the local county clerk's office. Tennessee Department of Revenue form Form RV-F1310501
Mutual relinquishment
The mechanism of Tennessee's affidavit. Rather than one heir claiming an entitlement, all the heirs and next of kin agree to vest ownership in one named person and relinquish any and all claims in or to the vehicle. Tennessee Department of Revenue form Form RV-F1310501
County clerk
Where Tennessee title work happens. Current residents obtain titles for new and used vehicles from their county clerk's office, the Affidavit of Inheritance is submitted there, and the county clerk is authorized to approve a Title Only request. Tennessee Department of Revenue — titling a vehicle
Title only
A Tennessee certificate of title issued without a registration, under form RV-F1310101 and Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-3-101. The county clerk approves it for listed reasons on a case-by-case basis, and an unlisted reason can be submitted with proper ownership documents and a letter for the Vehicle Services Division to consider. Tennessee Department of Revenue form RV-F1310101

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.

Prefer a guided path?

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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. All are Tennessee Department of Revenue publications — its own forms and its own titling pages.

  1. Tennessee Department of Revenue form RV-F1310501 — Affidavit of Inheritance

    The form's purpose and its two conditions, what is sworn under penalties of perjury, the mutual relinquishment by all heirs and next of kin, the space for disclosing debts, and the note about heirs who were not present.

    tn.gov Checked 2026-08-18

  2. Tennessee Department of Revenue — titling a vehicle (current residents)

    Titles come from the county clerk's office, what to bring for a used vehicle title, and the Affidavit of Non-Dealer Transfers for gift and lineal relative transfers.

    tn.gov Checked 2026-08-19

  3. Tennessee Department of Revenue — form RV-F1310101, Title Only Application

    The county clerk's authority, the listed reasons, the case-by-case determination, the letter route for an unlisted reason, the fee, and the published county clerk contact.

    tn.gov Checked 2026-08-19

  4. Tennessee Department of Revenue — form RV-F1315201, application for noting of lien, duplicate title, or multipurpose use

    The legal status code that records AND or OR on the title record — recorded here without any conclusion about what it does on a death.

    tn.gov Checked 2026-08-19

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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