Transferring a car title after the owner died in Florida

1. Find the title and check for a lien. If a lender is on the title, the loan must be paid and released, or the lender must agree in writing; the estate cannot transfer what it does not own free and clear.
2. Identify who applies. A surviving spouse, an heir, or the personal representative of the estate. If the vehicle is jointly titled with "OR", the surviving co-owner usually just needs the death certificate.
3. No will (intestate): the applicant files HSMV 82040 with an affidavit stating that the estate is not indebted and that the surviving spouse, if any, and the heirs have agreed on the division of the estate (F.S. 319.28). No court order is required.
4. There is a will: if it was probated, bring a certified copy of the will plus an affidavit that the estate is solvent; if it is not being probated, bring a sworn copy of the will and an affidavit that the estate is not indebted.
5. Surviving spouse keeping the car: you may use HSMV 82152 to retitle in your name. If you would rather sell it, F.S. 319.28(1)(c) lets you assign the existing title straight to the buyer without retitling first.
6. Fill HSMV 82040 MV. Section 5: check Inheritance and the date. Section 6: odometer declaration by the applicant.
7. Go to the tax collector with the title, the death certificate, the affidavit(s) and will copy as above, your ID, proof of insurance, and pay $75.25 (electronic title). No sales tax: distribution to heirs is exempt (Rule 12A-1.007).

• Original title (or HSMV 82101 if it is lost, with the duplicate fee)
• Certified death certificate
• Affidavit: estate not indebted and heirs in agreement (intestate), or the will documents described above
• HSMV 82040 MV with "Inheritance" checked, or HSMV 82152 for a surviving spouse
• Applicant's Florida driver license or ID
• Proof of Florida insurance
• Lien release if a lender was on the title

• Using the deceased's signature or signing their name on the title: never. The transfer goes through the affidavit or the personal representative.
• Estate has debts and heirs sign the "not indebted" affidavit anyway: it is a sworn statement.
• Selling the car before retitling without using the surviving-spouse route in 319.28(1)(c): the buyer's transfer can be refused because the seller is not the owner on the title.
• Forgetting the lien: a lender on the title blocks everything.
• Trying to do this with an electronic title and no paper: ask the tax collector to print the title as part of the same visit.

• Title transfer: $75.25 (paper title printed: $77.75; fast title: $85.25)
• Late penalty after 30 days: $20.00 (F.S. 319.23(6))
• Lien recording, if any: $2.00
• Initial registration if you have no Florida plate to transfer: $225.00
• Sales tax on a purchase: 6% state sales/use tax plus the county discretionary surtax (surtax applies only to the first $5,000 of the price).

Fee schedule: FLHSMV FEES-01 Rev. 04/26 · source