Affidavit for Transfer Without Probate

Forty Days After a Death, One Page Can Move the Car

A parent, spouse, or relative has died, and their name is still on the car title. You want the car in your name so you can drive it, sell it, or finally close that part of the estate, and nobody has told you where to start. For a small estate, California lets you do it with a single page, the REG 5, and no probate case.

It is a short form, but DMV rejects it for the same few reasons again and again: a dollar limit that does not fit, a missing heir signature, or a car loan nobody mentioned. This page walks you through each one, so you can check your situation before you spend a trip to DMV.

Do You Qualify for the REG 5 Affidavit for Transfer Without Probate?

The REG 5 is a sworn statement, so every line on it has to be true. Read this list first. If one item does not fit, stop here and look at the last section of this page.

• The car has a California title.
• At least 40 days have passed since the date of death.
• The person left no other property that needs probate, and no probate case is open or was ever opened in California.
• Any unsecured debts are paid or settled.
• The estate stays under the dollar limit.
• Nobody else has a stronger right to the car than you.

You also have to be one of these three people:

• An heir or beneficiary. With no will, you sign as the only heir, or together with every other heir under California’s succession rules. With a will, you are the person it names for the car.
• A trustee who acts for a trust the person set up.
• A conservator or guardian who manages the estate of the person who inherits.

One heir cannot sign for the others. If three children inherit the car, all three sign. That is why the form has three signature blocks.

REG 5 Dollar Limit: Check This Before Anything Else

The form makes you swear the estate’s gross value stays under a limit, and the limit depends on the date of death. The DMV PDF, revised 12/2024, prints two numbers:

• $166,250 if the person died before April 1, 2022
• $184,500 if the person died on or after April 1, 2022

California has raised the small estate limit since then. California legal aid groups list $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, but DMV’s PDF does not print it yet. DMV’s page on changing vehicle ownership still says $150,000. You will see all of these numbers online, and websites often pick one without saying why.

If the estate is close to any of these lines, call DMV at 1 800 777 0133 and ask which figure it uses, or ask a probate attorney. Property covered by Probate Code section 13050 does not count toward the total. Legal sources list the car itself, joint tenancy property, and accounts that pass to a named person among those exclusions, so your number may be lower than you fear.

How to Transfer the Car With REG 5 Form

The REG 5 DMV process takes eight steps, and most of the work happens before you touch the form.

• Wait for day 40. Count from the date of death on the death certificate. DMV will not accept the form earlier.
• Order death certificates. You need at least one for DMV, and DMV’s ownership page asks for an original copy and says it returns it. Banks and insurers will want copies too.
• Find the California title. If you cannot find it, plan to file a REG 227 with the form.
• Call the lender if the car has a loan. Ask for the payoff amount and for the lender’s release. The loan section below explains why.
• Fill out the REG 5. The next section covers every box.
• Collect every signature. Each heir signs and dates the form.
• Send everything to DMV with the title, the death certificate, and the fees.
• Check the new title when it arrives, so you catch a wrong name or VIN before you sell.

While you wait, keep an eye on the insurance and registration dates. Neither one stops running just because the title is stuck.

How to Fill Out the CA DMV REG 5, Box by Box

Download the DMV REG 5 PDF and type your answers on screen, or print it and write in black ink. The form is one page.

• Vehicle details. Enter the VIN or hull identification number, the license plate or CF number, the year, and the make or builder. Copy the VIN exactly as it appears on the title.
• The decedent. Print the person’s name, the date of death, and the city and state where they died. Match the death certificate letter for letter.
• The statements. You fill in nothing here, but read each line before you sign. Each one is a sworn claim about the estate.
• Section 2. This notice has no boxes. It says that anyone who takes a vehicle this way follows Probate Code sections 13109 through 13113. If the person left debts, ask a probate attorney what that means for you.
• Section 3. Each signer prints a true full name, adds a phone number or email address, signs, and dates the form.

The form has no notary section, and it carries no fee of its own. If more than three heirs need to sign, call DMV first, because the PDF has room for only three.

If the Car Has a Loan

A loan changes the paperwork. The lender, which DMV calls the lienholder or legal owner, keeps a claim on the car until the loan is paid or released. The creditor statement on the form covers unsecured debts, and a car loan is a secured debt, so that line does not clear the lender. DMV still wants the lender’s release.

• You have the title. The lienholder signs and dates the release on the title.
• The title is missing. You file a REG 227, and the lender’s release on it must be notarized.
• The car is two model years old or newer. DMV does not accept a REG 227 for these cars. The lender has to request the replacement title.
• The lender has its own release form. DMV says a legal owner can also release its interest on a REG 166.

Call the lender before you call anyone else. Lenders move slowly, and DMV will not move without their release.

When Your Situation Is Not Simple

• Lost title. File a REG 227 with the affidavit. DMV also asks for a REG 262 when an odometer disclosure applies and you use a REG 227.
• Joint owners. Look at the word between the names on the title. DMV says OR lets one owner sign alone, and AND or a slash needs every owner. DMV’s pages do not explain how a surviving owner handles a deceased one, so call DMV before you file.
• Heirs who disagree. Every heir has to sign, so one refusal stops this form.
• An out of state title. The REG 5 covers California titled vehicles only. The state that issued the title sets the rules.

Fees, Use Tax, and Smog After Inheriting a Car

You pay DMV’s transfer fee, listed at $15 on DMV’s fee page, plus any use tax, replacement title fee, or registration due. DMV lists inheritance among the transfers that can qualify for a use tax exemption, and you claim it with a REG 256 Statement of Facts. Transfers between close family members, such as a parent and a child, can also skip the smog check at transfer when you file that form. Smog can still come up at your next renewal.

DMV’s ownership page says transfer fees are due within 10 days of a transfer and that penalties start when payment does not arrive within 30 days. It does not say when that clock starts for an inherited car, and the 40 day wait comes first. If the timing worries you, ask DMV before you file.

Where to Send the Form and What Happens Next

DMV’s ownership page does not say whether a REG 5 goes by mail or in person. DMV’s title page lists DMV, PO Box 942869, Sacramento, CA 94269 for title paperwork, and the form’s privacy notice lists 1 800 777 0133 for questions. Call to confirm the address and ask whether an office visit fits your case better.

DMV says a new title issues in 10 to 15 calendar days once it has everything it needs. When the title arrives, check the owner name, the VIN, and the lienholder line right away.

Situations When the REG 5 Will Not Work

Skip this form and talk to a probate attorney, or your local Superior Court self help center, if any of these apply:

• The estate is over the dollar limit.
• Fewer than 40 days have passed.
• A probate case is open or was ever opened in California.
• Unsecured debts are still unpaid.
• The heirs disagree, or one cannot be found.

Frequently Asked Questions