Louisiana Vehicle Title Transfer After Death

A Louisiana vehicle registered to someone who died is retitled through the Office of Motor Vehicles, and there are three ways to get there: a court succession that ends in a judgment of possession, a small succession affidavit validated by the Department of Revenue, or an Affidavit of Heirship when neither of those fits. Which one you use depends on how the rest of the estate is being settled.

Louisiana calls the court process a succession, not "probate," and titling happens at an OMV customer service center or an authorized public tag agent. There are no parish-level DMV offices here. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Start by Answering One Question the Form Will Ask

Before any route, sort out whether the vehicle was community or separate property. This is not an academic step. The OMV's Affidavit of Heirship makes you check one of two boxes:

• The vehicle is community property, as outlined in La. Civ. Code art. 2340
• The vehicle is separate property, as outlined in La. Civ. Code art. 2341

Art. 2340 presumes that things a spouse possessed during the marriage are community, and either spouse may prove otherwise. Art. 2341 lists what counts as separate, including anything acquired before the marriage or received by one spouse through inheritance or donation. If the vehicle was community, the surviving spouse already owned half of it and only the decedent's half passes through the succession. Louisiana community property after death walks through how that classification is made and proven.

The Three Routes

Route 1: A judgment of possession

If a succession runs through the district court in the parish where the decedent was domiciled, the heirs or legatees end up with a judgment of possession that says who takes what. Bring a certified copy showing the vehicle's disposition, along with the Vehicle Application (DPSMV 1799) executed by whoever is receiving the vehicle. The OMV issues a new title to the person named in the judgment. See the Louisiana succession guide for how a case reaches that point.

Route 2: A small succession affidavit

Louisiana's small succession route skips court entirely, and the affidavit has to be validated by the Louisiana Department of Revenue before the OMV will accept it. The descriptive list of property must describe the vehicle by year, make, model, and VIN, or the OMV has nothing to match the title against.

A small succession covers a person who died domiciled in Louisiana leaving property with a gross value of $200,000 or less at the date of death. That figure was raised from $125,000 by Acts 2026, No. 293, effective August 1, 2026. Two other doors exist: the ancillary succession of someone domiciled outside Louisiana uses a lower $125,000 limit for their Louisiana property, and a death that happened 20 or more years before the affidavit qualifies at any value. The Louisiana small succession affidavit page covers who signs and what the affidavit must state.

Route 3: The Affidavit of Heirship

When the estate cannot go through a court succession and does not fit the small succession rules, the OMV accepts its own Affidavit of Heirship, form DPSMV1696. It is used only where a vehicle is registered in a deceased owner's name and the eligible heirs want to confirm their ownership interest.

The form asks for the vehicle by year, make, model, VIN, Louisiana title number, and current plate number, then asks you to check everything that applies:

• The decedent died intestate, meaning without a will
• The decedent died testate, in which case you attach a copy of the will or a notarized statement from someone in lawful possession of the original summarizing how it disposes of vehicles
• The surviving spouse succeeds to the decedent's share
• An heir or legatee succeeds to the decedent's share
• The certificate of title is attached, or it cannot be located

Every heir and legatee has to be listed, with a supplementary list attached if there are more than four, and each signature is sworn before a notary. Minors must have their age listed.

Who Signs Depends on Where the Vehicle Is Going

This is the part families get wrong, and the form spells it out:

1. One surviving heir keeping the vehicle. If there is only one heir and they want the title in their own name, the affidavit plus its attachments is enough on its own.
2. A surviving spouse selling or giving it to someone else. All the heirs complete the affidavit, but only the surviving spouse has to execute the notarized bill of sale or Act of Donation of a Movable (DPSMV1699).
3. No surviving spouse, going to a new owner. The bill of sale or act of donation must be executed by all of the heirs.

So the number of signatures you need is set by whether a surviving spouse exists and whether the car is staying in the family, not by the size of the estate.

An out-of-state heir adds one step. If their home state will not accept a Louisiana Affidavit of Heirship, the OMV wants written documentation from that state saying so.

What It Costs

These are the OMV's published fees, current as of August 2026:

If the vehicle is being sold rather than inherited outright, sales tax is due based on the selling price and the buyer's domicile. Registration and plate fees are separate from the title fee and vary by vehicle type and value. The Affidavit of Heirship refers to OMV Section 4, Policy 18.02 for the fees that apply to that route. Pay by check or money order made out to the Office of Motor Vehicles, and do not send cash through the mail.

Where to Go, and When

Titling is handled at an OMV customer service center or an authorized public tag agent. Public tag agents are private businesses licensed to process title work, and they charge their own service fee on top of the state fees, which is often worth it for the shorter wait.

Louisiana sets no statutory deadline for transferring a deceased owner's title. That is not permission to leave it. Registration has to stay current and insurance has to stay in force until ownership actually changes, and a lapse on a vehicle nobody has retitled is a problem that lands on the estate. The practical timing is set by the route: after the judgment of possession is signed, after the Department of Revenue validates the small succession affidavit, or as soon as the Affidavit of Heirship is notarized and the supporting documents are gathered.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which form do I need to transfer a car after someone dies in Louisiana?

Everyone files a Vehicle Application, DPSMV 1799, executed by the person receiving the vehicle. What goes with it depends on the route: a certified judgment of possession, a small succession affidavit validated by the Department of Revenue, or the OMV's Affidavit of Heirship (DPSMV1696). If the heirs are giving the vehicle to someone, add a notarized bill of sale or the Act of Donation of a Movable (DPSMV1699).

Do all the heirs have to sign?

Not always. A single surviving heir titling the vehicle in their own name can use the Affidavit of Heirship with its attachments alone. When the vehicle goes to a new owner and one of the heirs is the surviving spouse, all heirs complete the affidavit but only the spouse executes the bill of sale or act of donation. If there is no surviving spouse, every heir has to execute it.

Is the OMV Affidavit of Heirship the same as the one filed in court?

No, and mixing them up costs time. DPSMV1696 is a motor vehicle form filed with the OMV. The Affidavit of Death, Domicile, and Heirship is a court document filed with a petition for possession in a district court succession. They prove overlapping facts for different offices.

Does Louisiana have a transfer-on-death designation for vehicles?

No. Louisiana is a civil-law state and does not offer a transfer-on-death deed or a beneficiary designation on a vehicle title. The civil-law tools that do similar work are the usufruct and the donation, which is why the Act of Donation of a Movable appears in these transfers at all.

How long do I have to transfer the title?

There is no statutory deadline in Louisiana. Keep the registration current and the insurance in force until the title actually changes hands, because those obligations do not pause while an estate is being settled.

What if the title certificate is lost?

The Affidavit of Heirship has a box for exactly that. Check the box for a certificate of title that "cannot be located" instead of attaching one, and the OMV works from its own record of the title number.

Related Guides

• Louisiana Community Property After Death - the art. 2340 and 2341 classification the OMV form asks you to make
• Louisiana Succession Guide - how a case reaches a judgment of possession
• Louisiana Small Succession Affidavit - the affidavit route and its dollar limits
• Louisiana Intestate Succession - who the heirs are when there is no testament
• Louisiana Succession Representative Duties - the fiduciary who gathers and distributes estate property

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Sources

• Title: Vehicle Registration, Title and Plate Fees. Publisher: Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles, Department of Public Safety and Corrections. Publication Date: Current fee schedule, accessed 2026-08-12. URL: https://expresslane.la.gov/omv/vehicles/vehicle-registration-title-plate-fees/
• Title: Vehicle Title and Registration Forms (Vehicle Application DPSMV 1799; Affidavit of Heirship DPSMV1696; Act of Donation of a Movable DPSMV1699). Publisher: Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles. Publication Date: Current forms index, accessed 2026-08-12. URL: https://expresslane.la.gov/omv/resources/forms-documents/vehicle-title-and-registration-forms/
• Title: Affidavit of Heirship, form DPSMV1696 (R 08/17/2023), including the art. 2340 and art. 2341 classification election and the signing rules for a surviving spouse and other heirs. Publisher: Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles. Publication Date: Revised 2023-08-17, accessed 2026-08-12. URL: https://expresslane.la.gov/omv/resources/forms-documents/vehicle-title-and-registration-forms/
• Title: La. Civ. Code art. 2340, Presumption of community. Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature. Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-08-12. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=109408
• Title: La. Civ. Code art. 2341, Separate property. Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature. Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-08-12. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=109409
• Title: La. C.C.P. art. 3421, Small successions defined ($200,000 gross for a Louisiana domiciliary as amended by Acts 2026, No. 293, eff. Aug. 1, 2026; $125,000 for a nonresident ancillary estate; 20-year alternative at any value). Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature. Publication Date: Current official code, accessed 2026-08-12. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=111765
• Title: Acts 2026, No. 293 (House Bill 215), amending C.C.P. Art. 3421(1), effective August 1, 2026. Publisher: Louisiana State Legislature. Publication Date: 2026 Regular Session, accessed 2026-08-12. URL: https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/BillInfo.aspx?s=26RS&b=ACT293

This guide is general information about retitling a vehicle registered to someone who has died in Louisiana. Which route applies, and who has to sign, turn on facts specific to each estate, including whether the vehicle was community or separate property and whether a surviving spouse or minor heirs are involved. It is not legal advice. For advice about a particular succession, consult a Louisiana succession attorney, and confirm current forms and fees with the Office of Motor Vehicles.