Do I Need a Vehicle Transfer on Death Designation in Indiana?

Indiana allows a transfer on death beneficiary designation on motor vehicle and watercraft.IC 9-17-3-9 (Transfer on death conveyance; requirements — vehicle-specific); IC 32-17-14 (Transfer on Death Property Act), applied to vehicles by IC 32-17-14-2(e) "Subject to IC 9-17-3-9(g)"Verified Aug 25, 2026View source

Add the designation through the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) using the standard title application. Notarization is not required.IC 9-17-3-9 (Transfer on death conveyance; requirements — vehicle-specific); IC 32-17-14 (Transfer on Death Property Act), applied to vehicles by IC 32-17-14-2(e) "Subject to IC 9-17-3-9(g)"Verified Aug 25, 2026View source

You file the completed designation with the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) by mail to Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Central Office Title Processing, 100 North Senate Avenue, Room N411, Indianapolis, IN 46204 or in person.Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) filing processVerified Aug 25, 2026View source Adding a vehicle TOD beneficiary is a new-title transaction: apply in person at a BMV license branch (locator above) or mail the title application/packet to the BMV Central Office Title Processing unit in Indianapolis. There is no myBMV online path to add a TOD beneficiary to an existing title.

Yes. Indiana allows more than one beneficiary on a vehicle transfer on death beneficiary designation. Surviving beneficiaries take the vehicle as tenants in common.IC 9-17-3-9 (Transfer on death conveyance; requirements — vehicle-specific); IC 32-17-14 (Transfer on Death Property Act), applied to vehicles by IC 32-17-14-2(e) "Subject to IC 9-17-3-9(g)"Verified Aug 25, 2026View source

Yes. The designation can be changed or cancelled at any time during your lifetime. In Indiana: Apply for a new certificate of title that changes or removes the TOD beneficiary designation (a subsequent beneficiary designation revokes a prior one under IC 32-17-14-16(e))., Transfer the owner's interest in the vehicle during the owner's lifetime, which terminates the designation as to the property transferred (IC 32-17-14-16(h))..IC 9-17-3-9 (Transfer on death conveyance; requirements — vehicle-specific); IC 32-17-14 (Transfer on Death Property Act), applied to vehicles by IC 32-17-14-2(e) "Subject to IC 9-17-3-9(g)"Verified Aug 25, 2026View source

The beneficiary retitles the vehicle with the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) by submitting: Surrender the Indiana certificate of title designating the person as a transfer on death beneficiary (IC 9-17-2-2(b)(1)), Submit proof of the transferor (owner) death — e.g. a copy of the death certificate (IC 9-17-2-2(b)(2); "proof of death" per IC 32-17-14-3(10)), Submit an application for a certificate of title in the form and manner prescribed by the BMV (IC 9-17-2-2(b)(3)) — taken to a BMV license branch to apply for a new Indiana title in the beneficiary's name, Apply within sixty (60) days of acquiring the vehicle — IC 9-17-2-14.7(c): "A person that acquires a vehicle through a transfer on death conveyance under IC 9-17-3-9 must apply for a certificate of title for the vehicle within sixty (60) days after the date on which the person acquires the vehicle." (The general deadline is 45 days; the TOD acquirer gets 60.) A late application carries a thirty dollar ($30) administrative penalty (IC 9-17-2-14.7(e)(2) for a vehicle, (f)(2) for a watercraft)., Payment of the certificate-of-title fee — fifteen dollars ($15) under IC 9-17-2-14.5(c) (vehicle) / (d)(2) (watercraft). A vehicle designation covers only that vehicle — to keep a home, accounts, and everything else out of probate in one document, SimplyTrust sets up a revocable trust online.