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

Indiana allows a transfer on death beneficiary designation on motor vehicle and watercraftIC 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)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)"View source using the standard title applicationIC 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)"View source. Notarization is not requiredIC 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)"View 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. 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. The designation can be changed or cancelled at any time during the owner's life; 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)). Indiana allows more than one beneficiaryIC 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, who take the vehicle as tenants in common.

The beneficiary retitles the vehicle with the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV)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)"View source 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). The designation covers that vehicle alone; a revocable trust set up with SimplyTrust keeps the home, the accounts and everything else out of probate in one document.