Minnesota’s Transfer-on-Death form for a vehicle title is Form PS2004, and you file it together with Form PS2000 (the standard title application) and your original certificate of title through Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS). Total state fees run about $22.50 by mail or $23.50 at a deputy registrar office. Once processed, DVS issues a new title showing your named beneficiary, who can claim the vehicle after your death without going through probate.
Who Can File PS2004
Only a natural person can name a TOD beneficiary on a Minnesota vehicle title. Businesses, trusts, and other organizations cannot. A sole owner qualifies on their own. Two or more owners qualify together only if they hold the vehicle as joint tenants with the right of survivorship, in which case the beneficiary takes the vehicle after the last surviving joint owner dies.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 168A.125 – Transfer-on-Death Title to Motor Vehicle
Owners who hold title as tenants in common cannot use PS2004. In that arrangement each owner’s share passes to their own heirs, and the TOD structure does not fit.
On the beneficiary side, you have room to work with. You can name one person or several, and they do not have to be relatives. If every beneficiary you name dies before you do, the vehicle falls back into your probate estate.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 168A.125 – Transfer-on-Death Title to Motor Vehicle
What to Gather Before You Start
Three things sit on the table before you pick up a pen:
- Your original certificate of title. DVS needs it because the TOD designation is recorded by issuing a replacement title. Confirm that your name on the title matches exactly what you plan to write on PS2004.
- The vehicle’s year, make, model, VIN, license plate number, and issuing state. All of it appears on your current title.2Minnesota Department of Public Safety Driver and Vehicle Services. Application for Transfer-on-Death Beneficiary
- Each beneficiary’s full legal name and address. An ambiguous or misspelled name can cause trouble later when the beneficiary tries to claim the vehicle.
Filling Out PS2004
You can download PS2004 from the DVS website or pick it up at any deputy registrar office. The form asks for your identifying information (name, date of birth, driver’s license or ID number), the vehicle details listed above, and the beneficiary’s name and address. Sign and date it. DVS rejects unsigned or illegible forms, so if you’re filling it in by hand, print clearly.
PS2004 does not stand alone. You also have to complete Form PS2000, the Application to Title/Register a Motor Vehicle, because the state records the TOD designation by reissuing the title.2Minnesota Department of Public Safety Driver and Vehicle Services. Application for Transfer-on-Death Beneficiary
Notarization is not required. Your signature alone is enough. Sign as the titled owner. If the vehicle is held in joint tenancy with survivorship, every joint owner should sign.
Where to File and What It Costs
File in person at any Minnesota deputy registrar office, or mail the paperwork to DVS headquarters:
Driver and Vehicle Services
445 Minnesota St., Suite 195
Town Square Building
Saint Paul, MN 55101-51903Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Contact – Driver and Vehicle Services
Your submission should include the completed PS2004, the completed PS2000, and your original certificate of title. State fees:
- Title fee: $8.25
- Filing fee: $12.00
- Technology surcharge: $2.25
- Local office surcharge: $1.00 (deputy registrar only, not mail)4Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Vehicle Fees
That totals $22.50 by mail and $23.50 at a deputy registrar. Pay by check or money order if you mail; deputy registrars accept more payment types. DVS does not offer online filing for TOD designations.
After processing, DVS mails you a new certificate of title listing the beneficiary. Store it somewhere your beneficiary can find it. They will need it, or at least knowledge of it, to claim the vehicle later.
Changing or Canceling the Designation
While you’re alive, the named beneficiary has no ownership interest and no say. You can sell the vehicle, trade it in, borrow against it, or give it away without notifying them.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 168A.125 – Transfer-on-Death Title to Motor Vehicle
To swap in a different beneficiary or remove the designation, file a new PS2004 and PS2000 and pay the fees again. DVS honors only the most recently recorded designation at the time of your death, so there’s no separate “cancel” step. The cost is the same each time.
Divorce Revokes a Spouse Designation Automatically
If you named your spouse and later divorce, Minnesota Statutes § 524.2-804 revokes the designation automatically, treating the former spouse as though they died just before the dissolution. The revocation also reaches members of the former spouse’s family who are not part of your own family. Remarrying the same person revives the revoked designation. If a court order or property settlement from the divorce specifically preserves the beneficiary designation, the automatic revocation does not apply.5Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 524.2-804 – Revocation by Dissolution of Marriage; No Revocation by Other Changes of Circumstances
Even so, filing a fresh PS2004 after a divorce is the safer path. Relying on the automatic rule without updating the title record can create confusion for the beneficiary and DVS.
What the Beneficiary Deals With Later
The reason to file PS2004 is what happens next. When you die, your beneficiary submits a title application and a certified death record to DVS to receive a new certificate of title in their name.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 168A.125 – Transfer-on-Death Title to Motor Vehicle No probate order, no letters testamentary. If you name multiple beneficiaries who all survive you, they share ownership and apply together.
One thing to know before you rely on this too heavily: a TOD designation does not clear debts attached to the vehicle. The statute says the transfer is subject to the rights of secured parties and does not limit creditors of the owner.1Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 168A.125 – Transfer-on-Death Title to Motor Vehicle If a loan remains, the lender’s interest follows the car to the beneficiary, who will need to keep the payments current or refinance to hold onto it. Certain state claims, including Medicaid estate recovery under § 256B.15, can also reach the vehicle after your death.