How to Add Transfer on Death to a Car Title in Kansas

To add a transfer-on-death designation to a car title in Kansas, take your current title to your county treasurer’s motor vehicle office, apply for a new title that names your chosen beneficiary under K.S.A. 59-3508, and pay the $10 title fee. The beneficiary has no rights while you’re alive, and when you die the vehicle passes to them without going through probate.¹

What a TOD Designation on a Kansas Title Does

K.S.A. 59-3508 authorizes the TOD designation specifically for motor vehicles. You keep full control while you’re alive: you can sell the car, trade it in, or change the beneficiary. The named beneficiary gets no ownership interest until your death.¹

The statute covers sole owners and joint tenants with right of survivorship. If you and a spouse hold the title jointly, the TOD beneficiary receives the vehicle only after the last surviving owner dies.

One limitation matters at setup: existing liens follow the vehicle. If a lender has a lien on the title for a car loan, your beneficiary will inherit the car subject to that debt. The TOD transfer does not wipe out the lienholder’s rights.¹

Note that K.S.A. 59-3508 is the vehicle statute. K.S.A. 59-3501 governs TOD deeds for real estate and works differently. Vehicle owners should look to 59-3508.

Steps to Add a TOD Beneficiary at the County Treasurer’s Office

The whole thing happens in one visit. Go to your local county treasurer’s motor vehicle office and request a new title that includes a TOD beneficiary designation. Bring:

Your current certificate of title, or other proof of ownership
The full legal name of each beneficiary you want to designate
Payment for the title fee

Kansas lets you name more than one beneficiary on the same title.²

The title fee is $10. Depending on the transaction, additional fees for transfer, modernization, and surcharges may apply, potentially bringing the total to roughly $25.³

You do not need a notary for this. Kansas does not require notarization for most title assignments and applications completed within the state, and adding a TOD designation to a clean title is one of them. The Division of Vehicles can require notarization in unusual cases, and a lienholder’s release or consent to transfer is notarized separately, but the standard TOD setup on an unencumbered title is not.³

Once the treasurer processes the request, you’ll receive an updated title showing the TOD beneficiary. Keep it somewhere your beneficiary can find, or at least tell them the designation exists. Your beneficiary does not need to sign anything or agree to the designation while you’re alive.

Changing or Revoking the Designation Later

You can change or remove a TOD beneficiary at any time during your lifetime. The mechanism is the same: apply for a new title at the county treasurer’s motor vehicle office with the updated information. The new title replaces the old one, and the previously named beneficiary loses any future claim to the vehicle. Expect the $10 title fee each time you make a change.³

To remove the designation entirely without naming a replacement, request a new title with no TOD language. The vehicle will then pass through your estate under your will or Kansas intestacy law, which puts it back into probate.

Making the TOD Match Your Will and Trust

A TOD designation on the title generally overrides anything your will says about that same vehicle. If your will leaves “all vehicles” to your daughter but the title names your son as TOD beneficiary, your son gets the car. Kansas courts treat the TOD designation as a binding transfer that operates independently of the will.

Most estate planning conflicts start here, because people update one document and forget the other. Review your TOD designations whenever you update your will or trust. If you set up a trust and want the vehicle included in it, either remove the TOD designation and transfer the vehicle into the trust, or make sure the TOD beneficiary matches the trust’s intended distribution.

What Your Beneficiary Will Do After Your Death

It helps to know what your beneficiary is walking into, so you can leave them the right paperwork. After your death, the beneficiary claims the vehicle at the county treasurer’s motor vehicle office using the Transfer on Death Affidavit, Form TR-82, from the Kansas Department of Revenue. Form TR-82 is not the form used to create the designation; it’s the form the beneficiary uses to claim the car.⁴

The beneficiary brings:

The completed TR-82 affidavit
Verification of the last Kansas title (the actual title, the most recent registration receipt, or a verification of ownership from the county treasurer or the Kansas Division of Vehicles)
A copy of the death certificate for each owner listed on the title; for joint tenants with right of survivorship, death certificates for all owners
If a lien is on the title, either a notarized lien release or a notarized lienholder consent to transfer on Form TR-128

If the beneficiary’s legal name has changed since it went on the title, a One and the Same Affidavit (Form TR-12) bridges the old name to the new.⁴

If you name multiple beneficiaries and one wants to disclaim their share, that person can sign an affidavit conveying their interest to the other named beneficiaries. At least one named beneficiary must title the vehicle in their own name before ownership can be transferred to anyone else.⁴

Mistakes That Cause Problems

Outdated beneficiary information is the most common issue. Divorces, deaths, and family changes can leave a designation that no longer reflects what you want, and because the transfer is automatic at death there’s no chance to fix it later. Look at the title when you review your other estate documents.

Paperwork errors cause preventable delays. The beneficiary’s name on the title must match exactly, and the VIN has to be correct. Any mismatch between the TR-82 and the existing title can stall the transfer when your beneficiary tries to claim the car.

A TOD designation is not a complete plan. It handles the ownership transfer and avoids probate for that one vehicle. It does not pay off the loan, address tax planning for a high-value car, or by itself protect a beneficiary who receives government benefits. Treat it as one piece of your planning, not the whole of it.

1
Justia. Kansas Statutes 59-3508 – Motor Vehicles; Transfer-on-Death
2
Kansas State Legislature. 2024 Statute – Article 35 – Transfer-on-Death
3
Kansas Department of Revenue Division of Vehicles. Frequently Asked Questions – Titling a Vehicle
4
Kansas Department of Revenue. Transfer of Death Affidavit TR-82