6 Documents Pennsylvanians Need to Transfer a Car Title After a Death

After someone you love dies, there’s a lot to sort out. Their car in the driveway is often one of the things on the list.

In Pennsylvania, the papers you need to move the title may depend on how the car was owned and whether there’s a will.

Here are the documents you may need to transfer a car title after a death.

Note: This is general information, not legal advice. Title requirements are subject to change, so confirm the current requirements with PennDOT.

1. Form MV-39

Form MV-39 is PennDOT’s notification of assignment or correction of a vehicle title upon the death of the owner.

If the estate has an executor or administrator, PennDOT says Form MV-39 isn’t required unless you’re titling the car in the estate’s name.

The registration card of the person who died should also be attached.

PennDOT’s fact sheet lists Form MV-39 for a joint owner, a will that skips probate, a transfer with no will and a car titled in the estate’s name.

You can find it on PennDOT’s forms page, at a messenger service office or at any Driver and Vehicle Service Center.

2. Original Death Certificate

For a car title after a death, the fact sheet lists an original death certificate for a joint owner, a will that skips probate and a transfer with no will.

Copies aren’t acceptable.

If you can’t attach an original, the attending physician or a funeral director can complete a section of Form MV-39 in its place.

If the estate has an executor or administrator, a death certificate isn’t on the list.

That list is the assigned title, the Short Form Certificate and Form MV-4ST.

A Department of Defense death certificate is another document Form MV-39 lists.

3. Assigned Certificate of Title

If you’re the surviving co-owner with right of survivorship, the fact sheet says you don’t need to assign the certificate of title.

Where the estate has an executor or administrator, that person assigns the title to the new owner.

When a will skips probate, the surviving spouse, adult child or parent named in the will assigns it.

With no will and a surviving spouse, the spouse and any children who are at least 18 years of age assign the certificate of title.

If you’re an heir with no will and no surviving spouse, all heirs assign it.

4. Register of Wills Short Form Certificate

A Short Form Certificate is on the list for a car title when the owner's estate has an executor or administrator.

You can get the certificate from the Register of Wills, the fact sheet says.

If you're handling the estate, the certificate serves as evidence of your appointment as executor or administrator.

5. Form MV-4ST

The title paperwork includes Form MV-4ST, the Vehicle Sales and Use Tax Return/Application for Registration.

PennDOT's titling FAQ says you can get it only from authorized agents of PennDOT.

You'll see it on the fact sheet's list for an estate with an executor, a will that skips probate and a transfer with no will.

It's on the family exemption list too.

6. Copy of the Will

A copy of the will is the document PennDOT lists when the car passes under a will that skips probate.

That path works only if the will passes ownership of the car to the surviving spouse, child or parent.

You'll also need an original death certificate on that path, or the Form MV-39 section completed by an attending physician or funeral director.

Form MV-39 and Form MV-4ST are on that list too.

If the will passes the car to you as a spouse, child or parent, Form MV-39 says you must attach a copy of the will.

If the Register of Wills has appointed an executor, the Short Form Certificate route applies instead.

Who Can Transfer a Pennsylvania Car Title After a Death

Form MV-39 names the informant, the person authorized to complete it for a car title after a death.

The form lists a joint tenant with right of survivorship and a surviving spouse among those authorized.

If you're the surviving spouse, you rank ahead of an adult child or a parent.

With no spouse, an adult child of the decedent qualifies, and with no such children, a parent does.

An executor or administrator of the estate can complete it too.

Titling the Car in the Estate's Name

PennDOT's fact sheet lists a separate set of documents when you're titling a car in the estate's name.

For a new title in the estate's name, the set includes the certificate of title, Form MV-39, an original death certificate and, for a registered car, insurance details.

If you're the executor or administrator, the set also includes the assigned title, the Short Form Certificate and Form MV-4ST.

Other Paths for a Pennsylvania Car Title After a Death

PennDOT's fact sheet lists paths for a car title after a death that can work without an executor.

Those are a joint owner, a will that skips probate, no will and a family exemption.

An affidavit of entitlement is the document for the family exemption.

The executor, the administrator or the person entitled to the exemption assigns the title.

If you're claiming the exemption, Form MV-4ST is also on the list.

With no will and no surviving spouse, the heirs go in priority order, starting with children, then parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, and first cousins.

If the heirs include minors and there's no spouse, you'll find an administrator, a guardian or a small estates petition on the list.

The heirs on that list matter for Pennsylvania's inheritance tax too, since the rates depend on how you're related to the person who died.

We've broken down the state's inheritance tax rules separately.

FAQ

What documents do you need to transfer a car title after a death in Pennsylvania?

The documents depend on who's taking the car.

PennDOT's fact sheet draws on the certificate of title, Form MV-39, Form MV-4ST, a Short Form Certificate, an original death certificate and a copy of the will.

What does a surviving spouse need to transfer a car title after a death in Pennsylvania?

If you co-owned the car with right of survivorship, PennDOT's fact sheet lists the original title, Form MV-39, an original death certificate and insurance information.

If you're a surviving spouse whose name wasn't on the title, Form MV-4ST is added too.

Does PennDOT accept a copy of a death certificate?

No. PennDOT's fact sheet says copies aren't acceptable, though Form MV-39 lets an attending physician or funeral director complete a section instead.

Where do you get Form MV-4ST?

PennDOT's titling FAQ says you can get Form MV-4ST only from authorized agents of PennDOT.

It's the Vehicle Sales and Use Tax Return/Application for Registration.

Can you drive the car before the title is transferred?