Wisconsin title forms · Inherited vehicles
Form MV2300: transferring a vehicle after someone dies
Short answer
MV2300 is the WisDOT statement you file when a vehicle titled in Wisconsin belongs to someone who has died and a family member or heir is taking it over or selling it. It goes in with the title, an MV1 and any fees. Close family members listed on the form pay no title fee, and an heir outside that list pays the $214.50 title fee. If the title is lost, add an MV2119.
TitleFiled is not WisDOT. The official form is free at wisconsindot.gov.
MV2300 at a glance
- Form
- MV2300, Statement of Transfer of Vehicles to or by a Surviving Family Member, Domestic Partner, or Heir
- Version we read
- Revision 7/2024, checked 2026-10-31
- Fee
- None for the form. The title fee is waived when every new owner is a qualifying family member and a Wisconsin resident; otherwise the $214.50 title fee applies. A lost title adds the $20 replacement fee, also waived for qualifying family.
- Paid to
- WisDOT, sent with your MV1
- Where it goes
- WI Dept. of Transportation, P.O. Box 7949, Madison WI 53707-7949, or in person at a DMV customer service center
- What goes with it
- The current Wisconsin title (or form MV2119 if it is lost)
- Form MV1, the title and license plate application
- Any fee that applies
- A lien release, if a loan was on the title
- Form MV2488, the odometer statement, if the transfer needs a mileage reading
Who uses MV2300
The person taking over the car signs it. That can be a surviving spouse or domestic partner, a relative such as a child, parent, sibling, grandchild or a step relative, or an heir who is none of those. The form works three ways: putting the car in your own name, passing it straight to a buyer or another relative, or getting a replacement title that is still in the dead owner's name.
The form puts the job of checking eligibility on you, so read its eligibility notes on the back page before you sign anything.
When MV2300 is the wrong form
For a relative or heir who is not a spouse or domestic partner, the form only works when the person who died left solely owned property worth $50,000 or less. Above that, WisDOT wants the court papers naming the personal representative instead, and that person signs the title as seller. Family members can still attach an MV2300 to claim the fee waiver.
A spouse or domestic partner can move up to five solely owned vehicles this way. When more than five vehicles under 20 years old are involved, the rest go through the estate's administrator or executor, or a court order.
It also assumes a current Wisconsin title exists. A car that was never titled here, or has no title record at all, is a different problem.
What each part of MV2300 asks
In our words, not WisDOT's. Read the form's own instructions before you sign; your answers are yours to give.
- Section A, the vehicle
- Year, make, model, color and the full VIN, an estimate of the vehicle's top value, the name of the person who died and the date of death. You also say whether the car is going to you or to someone else, which tells WisDOT who files the MV1.
- Section B, the family member or heir
- Your name, Wisconsin driver license number and address, and your relationship to the person who died, picked from a list of spouse, partner and close relatives. If none fit, you sign as an heir, and the form warns that the title fee is then due.
- Section C, a second family member or heir
- The same questions for a second new owner. More than two new owners means more than one MV2300.
- The two signature statements
- A spouse or partner signs a statement that they become personally responsible for the dead person's debts, up to the value of the vehicle. Anyone else signs that the person who died had no solely owned property over $50,000. Read the one you sign; both are statements of fact made to the state.
Where people get stuck
- A lost title with no MV2119. The replacement fee may be waived, but WisDOT still wants the application, signed by the person allowed to act for the estate.
- A lender still holds the title. You get the title and any lien release from the lender first.
- Someone on the new title is not on the family list. The title fee is then due for that transfer, and the plates may not carry over.
- Missing signatures or a missing MV1. WisDOT says incomplete applications take longer and it contacts you about what is missing.
Common questions
Can I keep the license plates?
Yes, when every owner on the new title is a qualifying family member living in Wisconsin. An heir outside the list cannot take over the plates unless another new owner is a qualifying family member or the plates are a type that normally stays with the vehicle.
Do I need to be named in a will?
The form does not ask about a will. It asks for your relationship to the person who died and, for anyone but a spouse or partner, a statement about the size of their solely owned property.
Can I sell the car without titling it in my name first?
Yes, the form lets a family member or heir pass the car to a new owner, who sends the MV2300 with their own MV1. A trade-in to a Wisconsin dealer is different: WisDOT says an heir must title it in their own name first.
Still working out which forms you need? Browse plain answers to Wisconsin title questions or see every form we explain.
Related forms and answers
How does a surviving spouse transfer a car title in Wisconsin?
A Wisconsin surviving spouse or domestic partner mails MV2300, the title and MV1. No title fee, up to five newer vehicles, and plates can stay.
Read this guide →What if the car title is still in a deceased parent's name in Wisconsin?
A car still titled to a parent who died moves to a child with WisDOT form MV2300 plus MV1. Qualifying family members pay no title fee.
Read this guide →How do you title an inherited car with no title in Wisconsin?
Lost title on an inherited Wisconsin car? Add MV2119 to the MV2300 transfer; family pays no fee. Lender-held or never-titled cars follow other routes.
Read this guide →Car title after a death
Transferring a vehicle from an estate or a spouse.
Read this guide →Form MV1020, explained
Fixes a mistake on a title, registration or Confirmation of Ownership WisDOT already issued: a misspelled name, wrong VIN digit, wrong color.
Read this guide →Sources, checked 2026-10-31: WisDOT: form MV2300 (7/2024) · WisDOT: transfers to a surviving spouse or domestic partner · WisDOT: transfer a vehicle to an heir · WisDOT: title status and processing. Forms are revised from time to time; use the current version from WisDOT.
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