How Do I Change a Car Title in Florida When One Owner Is Deceased?

When you purchase a car, the title must be transferred into your name.

If you are purchasing a car title in Florida and one of the owners is deceased, you have a method available to get the title transferred to you. Have the surviving owner gather some documentation and go with you to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to prove that he has authority release the vehicle title without the other owner. You can download the form from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles online and complete the application before your office visit.

Instructions

1. Download the Application for Certificate of Title With/Without Registration from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles online. Check the box at the top that indicates you're performing a transfer.

2. Ask the owner to fill out her personal information, including her mailing address, the co-owner's mailing address, and their driver's license numbers or dates of birth.

3. Obtain the vehicle identification number and the make, year, body, color, size, and license plate number of the car for the application. Also include the current title number, if available. Fill in the information pertaining to the current lienholder, if the car has one.

4. Take the vehicle to a licensed dealer, police officer, Department of Motor Vehicles employee or notary public and have that person verify the car's VIN. The verifying party must sign the form in section 8.

5. Have the co-owner of the vehicle fill in section 13, attesting that the other owner is dead. He should say whether the deceased had a will. Sign at the bottom and present the application to your local Department of Motor Vehicles to receive the transferred title.

Tips & Warnings

• If all the owners of a vehicle are deceased, follow the steps above except have the heir of the vehicle act as the seller.

• If the owner is dead, no heirs exist, have a lawyer write a letter attesting to your right to a car title and then present the old title and the letter at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

References

• Florida Department of Motor Vehicles: Application for a Title With/Without Registration