How to Fill Out South Carolina’s TOD-1 Transfer on Death Form

South Carolina’s TOD-1 form lets you name a beneficiary who will inherit your vehicle automatically when you die, bypassing probate. You complete the one-page form, attach your current certificate of title and a Title and/or Registration Application (Form 400), pay a $15 title fee, and the SCDMV issues a new title showing the transfer-on-death beneficiary.¹ The designation does nothing while you are alive; you keep full control and can change or cancel it at any time.

Who Can File the Form

Only individuals can use the TOD-1. The SCDMV will not accept one filed by a business, LLC, or trust.² The vehicle must already carry a South Carolina title in your name.

How a jointly held title is worded matters. If two or more names are joined by “OR,” the owners hold the vehicle in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, and a TOD designation is allowed; the beneficiary takes the vehicle only after every owner has died. Names joined by “AND” indicate tenants in common, and a TOD designation on that kind of title is legally ineffective.³

The TOD-1 covers vehicles, mobile homes, and any other titled personal property the SCDMV handles. Boats and outboard motors are titled by the Department of Natural Resources under a separate procedure and are not filed on this form.⁴

What to Gather Before You Start

Have these in front of you before you fill anything out:

Your current South Carolina certificate of title. You will submit the original, and the year, make, model, and VIN on it are what you copy onto the TOD-1.
The beneficiary’s full legal name, date of birth, residential address, mailing address if different, phone number, and South Carolina customer number or driver’s license number.
Every co-owner’s information, since each one listed on the title must sign the form.
If there is a loan on the vehicle, a signed authorization from the lienholder on company letterhead. For a paper title, the lienholder also sends in the title itself; for an electronic lien, the signed letter alone is enough.¹
A completed Form 400, which the SCDMV requires alongside the TOD-1.⁵

Both the TOD-1 and Form 400 are available on the SCDMV website or at any branch office.

Filling Out the Three Sections

The form has three sections. Most people only need Section A.¹

Section A: Owner and First Beneficiary

Check the “Add Beneficiary” box at the top. Fill in the beneficiary’s full legal name, date of birth, residential address, mailing address if different, phone number, and customer number or driver’s license number. Then enter the vehicle’s year, make, VIN, and model exactly as they appear on your certificate of title. Print your name as the owner and sign. The certification above your signature confirms the information is true.

Section B: Co-Owners

If the title lists more than one owner, every co-owner must print their name and sign here. The section has space for owners 2 through 5. All co-owners have to agree; one owner cannot add a TOD beneficiary on their own.³

Section C: Additional Beneficiaries

You can name more than one beneficiary. Section C collects the same identifying details for each additional person, and there is a continuation page if you need to list still more. Check the “Add Beneficiary” box for each new entry.

If the Vehicle Has a Loan

A lien does not block a TOD designation, but the lienholder has to sign off. The lender submits a signed statement on company letterhead authorizing the SCDMV to add the designation, and the lien stays on the new title exactly as it was. If the loan is still open when you die, the beneficiary inherits the vehicle subject to that debt, and the lender keeps its right to repossess for nonpayment.²

Where to Submit and What It Costs

Submit the completed TOD-1, Form 400, and the original certificate of title with a $15 title fee. You can file in person at any SCDMV branch or mail everything to:¹

SCDMV
PO Box 1498
Blythewood, SC 29016⁶

If you mail the packet, pay by check or money order made out to SCDMV. Once the department processes it, a new certificate of title comes back to you showing “Transfer on Death” and the beneficiary’s name. Keep the new title somewhere safe; it replaces every prior version.

Changing or Canceling the Designation Later

A sole owner can revoke or change the designation at any time without asking the beneficiary. If the title has multiple owners, all surviving owners have to act together, but the beneficiary still has no say.⁷ To revoke, file a new TOD-1 with the “Remove Beneficiary” box checked. To swap in a different person, file one TOD-1 removing the old beneficiary and another adding the new one. Each filing carries the same $15 title fee.⁸

One point people miss: a will does not override a TOD designation. The statute treats the transfer as non-testamentary, operating outside probate.³ If your will leaves the vehicle to your nephew but the title names your daughter as TOD beneficiary, your daughter gets the vehicle. The only way to change the outcome is to file new paperwork with the SCDMV while you are alive.

What the Beneficiary Will Need Later

The designation gives the beneficiary nothing while you are alive. After the last surviving owner dies, the beneficiary brings or mails the original title showing the TOD, a certified death certificate, a completed Form 400, and the $15 title fee to the SCDMV, which then issues a clean title in the beneficiary’s name.¹ If every named beneficiary has already died before you, the designation fails and the vehicle goes through probate as part of your estate,² which is a good reason to review the designation now and again and file a fresh TOD-1 if your circumstances change.

1
South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Application for Transfer on Death (TOD-1)
2
South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Inheriting a Vehicle
3
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 62-6-401 – Transfer on Death
4
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Title and Register a Watercraft or Outboard Motor in SC
5
South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Titles
6
South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. Replace a Title
7
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code Title 62 Chapter 6 – Section 62-6-401
8
South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Code 56-19-420 – Bill 5189