Georgia Form T-20 Affidavit of Inheritance: How to Transfer a Vehicle Without Probate

One of the most immediate practical problems after a death in Georgia is access to the family car. The vehicle may be in the decedent's name only. The insurance needs to transfer. The surviving spouse or children need to drive it. And going through full probate to obtain Letters Testamentary — just to re-title a car — can take months and cost hundreds of dollars in court fees.

Georgia law provides a faster route in specific circumstances: the Affidavit of Inheritance, also called Form T-20, which allows heirs to transfer a vehicle title directly to the county tag office without opening a formal probate proceeding. When combined with Form MV-16, it can also eliminate or sharply reduce the Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) on the transferred vehicle.

When Form T-20 Can Be Used

Form T-20 is available in two specific situations:

Situation 1: The decedent died intestate (without a will) and there is only one heir. Under Georgia law, when someone dies without a valid will and the vehicle passes to a single heir, that heir can present the T-20 Affidavit of Inheritance directly to the county tag office to obtain a new title without court involvement.

Situation 2: The probate court has issued a "No Administration Necessary" order. When a probate court grants an Order Declaring No Administration Necessary (GPCSF 9) — which requires unanimous heir agreement and the absence of any outstanding debts — the resulting court order serves as a muniment of title. A T-20, combined with the GPCSF 9 order, can transfer the vehicle.

If there is a will, the T-20 route is not available. The will must be probated and Letters Testamentary must be issued before the executor can legally transfer personal property including vehicles. The T-20 is strictly a non-probate pathway for intestate single-heir situations.

What the T-20 Affidavit Requires

The T-20 is a sworn statement submitted to the Department of Driver Services (DDS) through the county tag office. It must establish:

• The identity of the heir and their relationship to the decedent
• That the decedent died intestate (no will)
• That the affiant is the sole heir entitled to the vehicle (or that all heirs agree to the transfer to this specific person)
• The vehicle's identification information (VIN, make, model, year)

Supporting documentation required alongside the T-20 typically includes:

• A certified copy of the decedent's death certificate
• The original vehicle title (if available)
• Proof of identity for the heir

If the original title is lost, the heir will need to request a replacement — a separate process through DDS that can add time to the transfer.

Form MV-16 and the TAVT Exemption

This is the piece most families miss entirely, and it costs them real money.

Vehicle transfers in Georgia are normally subject to the Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT), which is calculated as a percentage of the vehicle's fair market value. The standard rate has been 7% of the retail value as determined by the DDS assessment schedule. On a used vehicle worth $25,000, that is a $1,750 tax bill just to transfer the title.

Georgia law provides an exemption for inheritance transfers between immediate family members. When a vehicle passes to an immediate family member — spouse, parent, child, sibling — upon death, Form MV-16 (Affidavit to Certify Immediate Family Relationship) allows the heir to claim either:

• A complete TAVT exemption (0%) if the vehicle has never been registered in Georgia's TAVT system (older vehicles on the pre-TAVT annual ad valorem system), or
• A reduced rate of 0.5% of the fair market value if the vehicle is already in the TAVT system

On that same $25,000 vehicle, the difference between paying the standard TAVT rate (7%) and the inheritance rate (0.5%) is the difference between $1,750 and $125. The MV-16 must be submitted at the same time as the title transfer application — you cannot go back and claim the exemption retroactively after paying the standard rate.

Both the T-20 and the MV-16 are filed at the same county tag office visit. Bring all documentation together.

What Happens to the Vehicle in a Full Probate

When the estate is large enough or complex enough that formal probate is required — a will exists, the decedent left real estate, or there are multiple heirs who cannot unanimously agree — the vehicle transfer happens through the executor.

Once Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration are issued by the probate court, the personal representative has legal authority over the estate's property including vehicles. The executor can then sign over the title directly to the beneficiary named in the will, or distribute it according to the intestacy statutes if there is no will.

The MV-16 TAVT exemption is still available in a probate context — an immediate family member inheriting the vehicle through the estate can still use the MV-16 to claim the reduced 0.5% rate. The exemption is not limited to the T-20 non-probate pathway.

Real Estate Transfer: The PT-61 Equivalent

While the T-20 handles vehicles, real estate transfers in Georgia after death use a different mechanism. A Deed of Assent — signed by the executor — transfers real property from the estate to the beneficiaries. Before the deed can be recorded with the Superior Court, a PT-61 (Real Estate Transfer Tax Declaration) must be filed electronically through the GSCCCA portal.

Under O.C.G.A. § 48-6-2(a)(9), transfers of real estate from an executor to beneficiaries pursuant to a will or intestacy are exempt from the Georgia Real Estate Transfer Tax. However, the PT-61 certificate must still be generated and filed to document the exemption — the recording clerk requires it even for exempt transfers.

Planning Around the T-20 Before a Death Occurs

Several steps taken before a death can eliminate the T-20 process entirely:

Adding the vehicle to joint title. If a vehicle is titled in both spouses' names as joint tenants with right of survivorship, it passes automatically to the surviving spouse without any transfer filing at all.

Payable-on-death titling. Some states allow transfer-on-death designations on vehicle titles. Georgia does not currently have a general motor vehicle TOD statute, so this option is not available here.

Ensuring the will addresses the vehicle. A specific bequest of a vehicle in the will, with a named beneficiary, routes the transfer through the normal probate process but ensures there is no ambiguity about who receives it.

The Bigger Picture: Avoiding the Probate Default

The T-20 Affidavit of Inheritance is part of a broader set of Georgia-specific tools that let families move assets without waiting for the full probate process. The other major tool in this category is the $15,000 banking affidavit under O.C.G.A. § 7-1-239, which allows heirs to access bank accounts under that threshold without probate letters.

Knowing which assets can be moved through which pathway — and which require formal court involvement — is the difference between accessing estate funds in two weeks versus six months.

The Georgia Survivor Benefits Navigator maps out the full set of non-probate transfer options available in Georgia, the exact forms and documents required for each, and the county-by-county procedures for filing them.

See more Georgia guides →