Wisconsin Vehicle Title Transfer After Death: Form MV2300 Guide

A car sits in the driveway. The registration is in the name of someone who just died. You need to either drive it, sell it, or transfer it — and you are not sure whether probate is required, which form to use, or how much it costs.

In most Wisconsin situations, transferring a vehicle title after death is straightforward and does not require formal probate court proceedings. But the specific path depends on your relationship to the decedent and the total value of the estate.

The Surviving Spouse Exemption: No Fee, Up to Five Vehicles

If you are the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner of the decedent, Wisconsin law gives you a direct path to transfer vehicle titles. You can transfer up to five vehicles that were solely owned by the decedent into your own name without paying the standard title transfer fee.

To execute this transfer, you will need:

• The original vehicle title
• A certified copy of the death certificate
• Proof of your marital or domestic partnership relationship (marriage certificate or registered domestic partnership certificate)
• Completion of a title application (Form MV1)

Submit these documents to any Wisconsin DMV customer service center. The fee waiver applies specifically to the surviving spouse or domestic partner — not to adult children, siblings, or other heirs.

Form MV2300: The Non-Spouse Heir Transfer

If you are an heir other than the surviving spouse and want to transfer a vehicle from the decedent's solely owned property, you will use Wisconsin DMV Form MV2300 — the "Statement of Transfer of Vehicles to a Surviving Family Member, Domestic Partner or Heir."

This form is a sworn certification. By signing it, you attest under oath that:

1. The vehicle was solely owned by the decedent at the time of death
2. The gross value of the decedent's solely owned probate-eligible property does not exceed $50,000

That second requirement is critical. Form MV2300 is built on the same threshold as the Transfer by Affidavit for small estates. If the total estate exceeds $50,000, this path is not available — you would need to go through formal probate to transfer the vehicle title.

Required documents for Form MV2300:

• Completed Form MV2300 (sworn and signed)
• The original vehicle title
• Certified copy of the death certificate
• Title application (Form MV1)
• Payment of the applicable title transfer fee

Current DMV title transfer fee: $164.50. Note that the Wisconsin statutes schedule an increase in this fee to $214.50, which took effect October 1, 2025. If you are processing this transfer, confirm the current fee amount with the Wisconsin DMV before submitting, as local wheel taxes may also apply depending on your county.

What "Solely Owned" Means

The $50,000 threshold under Form MV2300 applies to property "solely owned" by the decedent — property held exclusively in the decedent's name, not jointly owned with a surviving spouse or another person.

Under Wisconsin's marital property system, jointly owned marital property typically passes to the surviving spouse outside of the estate or through separate legal mechanisms. The Transfer by Affidavit and Form MV2300 procedure are intended for assets that have no automatic survivorship mechanism — assets that would otherwise require court administration.

If a vehicle was titled in both spouses' names as survivorship marital property, it passes automatically to the surviving spouse and does not count toward either the $50,000 threshold or require Form MV2300.

What Happens If the Estate Exceeds $50,000

If the decedent's solely owned probate assets exceed $50,000, Form MV2300 cannot be used. In that case, vehicle title transfer follows the outcome of the probate proceeding. The personal representative of the estate, once appointed by the court, has authority to transfer titled property under the Letters Testamentary or Letters of General Administration issued by the court.

If the estate is between $50,000 and the threshold where informal probate applies, Wisconsin offers Summary Settlement and Summary Assignment procedures (Wis. Stat. §§ 867.01 and 867.02) as intermediate options before full formal probate. Under those procedures, the court's order authorizing distribution also authorizes the transfer of titled assets including vehicles.

If the Vehicle Was Financed

If the decedent had an outstanding auto loan secured by the vehicle, the lender holds a lien on the title. Before any transfer can occur, you need to address that lien — either by paying it off, arranging for assumption of the loan (if the lender permits), or allowing the lender to repossess the vehicle if the loan balance exceeds the vehicle's value.

Contact the lender immediately after the death to understand their process for handling secured loans when the borrower dies. Some lenders will release the lien upon receiving a death certificate and a statement of intent; others require the estate to formally pay off the note first.

Practical Timeline

In most straightforward cases, the vehicle title transfer process in Wisconsin takes two to four weeks from the date of death, assuming the death certificate is available promptly and the estate is clearly under the $50,000 threshold.

Delays occur when:

• The estate value is uncertain and you need to establish whether $50,000 threshold applies
• The vehicle title is lost or the original is not available
• The DHS Estate Recovery notification is required (if the decedent or their spouse ever received Medicaid), which must be completed before transferring assets under the affidavit process

If you need the vehicle for immediate use while the title transfer is pending — for example, a surviving spouse who relies on it for transportation — Wisconsin law does not prohibit use of the vehicle by an authorized heir while the transfer is being processed, but you should confirm current insurance coverage in the vehicle's existing name.

The Wisconsin Funeral Laws & Consumer Rights Guide covers the full estate settlement sequence, including the vehicle title transfer rules under Form MV2300, the DHS notification requirements, and how the marital property system affects what counts toward the $50,000 threshold.

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