Free Pennsylvania Affidavit of Heirship

In Pennsylvania, heirs put their identity on the land records with a recorded affidavit of facts affecting title that states who the heirs are; once recorded it is admissible as evidence of the facts stated.

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The Pennsylvania affidavit is signed by a person with personal knowledge of the decedent's family history.

State Where the Property Is Located*

The state whose land records the affidavit is recorded in. Only states where this tool prepares the affidavit are listed.

First Name*

Middle Name

Last Name*

How You Know the Family*

Your relationship to the decedent, or how you came to know the family and marital history. The affidavit states that you have personal knowledge of the facts in it.

Knew the Decedent From (Year)

Until (Year)

Street Address*

City*

State

ZIP Code*

Phone Number

Email Address*

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Pennsylvania's recorded instrument, Affidavit affecting the title to real estate, rests on the general recording statute for affidavits of facts affecting title to land. What a recorded affidavit does, in the statute's words: Admissible evidence of the facts stated, insofar as they affect title to real estate, provided a member of the bar of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has signed an appended certification that he or she relied on the affidavit in passing on the title. It is evidence of the facts it states, not a deed; it does not itself transfer title, and a purchaser, lender or title company decides whether to rely on it.

In the Office of the Recorder of Deeds or Commissioner of Records in the county in which such real estate is situated. The office records it as it records deeds, in the county where the land lies, and charges its recording fee per page. The page is laid out to Pennsylvania's recording standard: a 3-inch clear top margin on the first page, 1-inch side margins, type no smaller than 10 points.

Who may sign, in the statute's words: any person having personal knowledge of the facts and competent to testify concerning them in open court. The statute names no witness requirement. Title companies commonly ask that the affiant be someone other than an heir, or that two people who know the family sign; the office relying on the affidavit sets what it will accept. It states: the name, age and residence of the affiant; a description of such real estate, title to which may be affected by facts stated in such affidavit; facts showing that the affiant has personal knowledge of the facts stated; the name of the person appearing by the record to be the owner of such real estate at the time of the recording of the affidavit; the official's certification that the affiant is personally known to him or her, or satisfactorily proven, to be the person named as affiant.

Yes. The Pennsylvania affidavit is sworn before a notary or other officer who administers oaths; the prepared document carries the notarial block.

It does not transfer title, and it is not the route for every asset. A deceased owner's vehicle is retitled through Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Motor Vehicles on Notification of Assignment/Correction of Vehicle Title Upon Death of Owner (MV-39), a separate agency form. Where a purchaser, lender or title company will not rely on a recorded affidavit, the court route is Petition in the orphans' court division to determine title to a decedent's interest in real estate (20 Pa.C.S. § 3546), which determines the heirs by order.

The Affidavit of Heirship in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has no statute written for an affidavit of heirship. The recorded instrument, “Affidavit affecting the title to real estate” in the statute's words, rests on the general recording statute for affidavits of facts affecting title to land; death, relationship and heirship are among the facts such an affidavit may state, so it is recorded as a statement of the decedent's death, family history, heirs and the real property involved.

The recorded affidavit's standing under Pennsylvania law: Admissible evidence of the facts stated, insofar as they affect title to real estate, provided a member of the bar of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has signed an appended certification that he or she relied on the affidavit in passing on the title. It conveys nothing by itself; a purchaser, lender or title company decides whether to rely on it.

The affidavit is recorded in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds or Commissioner of Records in the county in which such real estate is situated. Pennsylvania names who may make it: any person having personal knowledge of the facts and competent to testify concerning them in open court. Pennsylvania's recording rule for the page: a 3-inch clear top margin on the first page, 1-inch side margins, type no smaller than 10 points.

The affidavit is sworn before a notary or other officer who administers oaths. The statute names no witness requirement, so the office relying on the affidavit sets what it will accept; title companies commonly ask that the affiant be someone other than an heir.

The statute's list of what the affidavit recites: the name, age and residence of the affiant; a description of such real estate, title to which may be affected by facts stated in such affidavit; facts showing that the affiant has personal knowledge of the facts stated; the name of the person appearing by the record to be the owner of such real estate at the time of the recording of the affidavit; the official's certification that the affiant is personally known to him or her, or satisfactorily proven, to be the person named as affiant.

A deceased owner's vehicle takes a separate route: it is retitled through the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Motor Vehicles on Notification of Assignment/Correction of Vehicle Title Upon Death of Owner (MV-39), an agency form that is not the recorded affidavit. Where a recorded affidavit will not be relied on, the heirs are determined by court order in Petition in the orphans' court division to determine title to a decedent's interest in real estate (20 Pa.C.S. § 3546).

Legal Sources

(8)·Updated September 25, 2026

SimplyTrust Editorial

Data sourced from Pennsylvania statutes and official state code. How we research.

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The Affidavit of Heirship in Pennsylvania

Free Pennsylvania Affidavit of Heirship

Your Information

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Free Pennsylvania Affidavit of Heirship

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