Michigan vehicle ownership
Transferring a vehicle title in Michigan
The title is the ownership paper. Slow down before money changes hands, make sure the original title and vehicle agree, complete the assignment without cross-outs, and choose the right path for a sale, gift, inheritance, or out-of-state vehicle. Registration and the plate come after the ownership question is sound.
- Buyer filing window
- 15 days
- Current title fee
- $15
- Use tax, if due
- 6%
- Seller keeps proof
- 18 months
Choose by transaction
Why is the ownership changing?
The same title cannot be handled the same way in every family, estate, lien, dealer, and out-of-state situation.
- Private sale One person is selling to another Check the original title and vehicle before payment, complete the assignment together, then file the transfer within 15 days. Use the private-sale steps
- Family or gift The vehicle is moving between relatives The title still transfers. A use-tax exemption applies only to the family relationships Michigan law recognizes. Check the family path
- After a death The titled owner has died Full Rights to Survivor, a probated estate, and a non-probate heir transfer use three different document paths. Choose the inheritance path
- From another state I brought or bought the vehicle from out of state Bring the foreign title and registration, identity, Michigan insurance, and any lienholder ownership record SOS requires. See the out-of-state list
- Dealer purchase A licensed dealer sold the vehicle The dealer normally files the title and registration application, collects the tax and fees, and gives you copies of the transaction papers. Check the dealer handoff
- Problem title The title is missing, electronic, marked up, or still has a lien Stop before signing or paying. A duplicate, lien release, correction, authorization, bond, or court route may be needed first. Find the problem path
Before payment
Make the paper and the vehicle tell the same story
The seller is the titled owner
Compare the seller's identity to the owner name. Every required titled owner must release the vehicle.
The VIN matches
Match the full vehicle identification number on the title to the number visible on the vehicle.
The lien is released
A paid loan is not enough by itself. Get the title signature, termination statement, or authorization SOS requires.
The odometer agrees
The seller completes the required mileage statement, and the stated mileage should match the vehicle.
Nothing is crossed out
An altered assignment can invalidate the title. Resolve an error through SOS instead of writing over it.
The condition and history make sense
Get an independent inspection and an approved NMVTIS report; read salvage, rebuilt, flood, or other brands before committing.
Private sale
The handoff, in order
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Inspect the vehicle and the title before payment
Match the seller to the owner name, match the VIN on the title to the vehicle, read every brand and lien line, compare the odometer entry, and get an independent inspection and title-history report.
Use the original title, not a photocopy. If an owner, lien, VIN, mileage, or title brand does not make sense, pause the sale instead of hoping SOS will repair it afterward.
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Complete the title assignment together
The seller fills in the buyer, sale, and odometer information and signs. Every titled owner who must release ownership signs, and each buyer supplies the information required for the new title.
Do not use correction fluid or cross out a mistake. SOS warns that altering the assignment can invalidate the title and force a correction or duplicate-title step.
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Separate the seller's proof and plate
The seller keeps a copy of the completed front and back of the title or another adequate sale record for at least 18 months and normally removes the license plate before the buyer takes the vehicle.
Current SOS guidance says the cleanest protection is for buyer and seller to complete the transfer together at an office or use the online transfer when the transaction qualifies. A plate does not ordinarily follow the vehicle.
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Put Michigan insurance in place if registering
The buyer needs valid Michigan no-fault insurance to register the vehicle, obtain a new plate, or complete a transfer that includes registration.
Title proves ownership. Insurance, registration, and the plate are separate records, even when SOS processes them in the same transaction.
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File the title transfer within 15 days
For an ordinary transfer, SOS says to submit the assigned title and supporting documents, pay the title and registration charges and any tax, then obtain or transfer the buyer's own plate.
The current SOS service lists a $15 title fee and a $15 late fee when the transfer is filed after the 15-day window. Plate, registration, and tax depend on the transaction.
A narrow drive-home rule
Three days does not mean three days of ordinary driving
SOS says a buyer may drive a private-sale vehicle home without a plate for three days, using the most direct route, while carrying the assigned title and proof of insurance. Treat that as a trip-home rule, not a temporary registration for errands, work, or a weekend of driving.
Online can work for a simple sale
Check eligibility before promising an online closing
The current SOS service is limited to Michigan licenses or IDs and online accounts for both people, one individual seller and one individual buyer, a vehicle and Michigan paper title the service accepts, and no buyer financing. SOS performs additional checks, and approval can take up to three days. If the sale does not fit, complete it at an office.
Check online-transfer eligibilityGift or family transfer
A gift still needs a title transfer; family only changes the tax question
Complete the title and ownership transfer even when no money changes hands. The private-sale document rules still matter: owner signatures, VIN, mileage when required, lien release, the buyer's title, and registration and insurance if the vehicle will be driven.
Michigan's use-tax exemption covers only listed relationships. The current list includes certain spouses, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, step-relations, in-laws, legal wards, and appointed guardians. It does not turn every extended-family gift into a tax-free transfer.
Treasury may review the exemption after the SOS transaction and ask for documents showing the relationship. Use Treasury's list before claiming the exemption, especially after divorce or when the relationship is through a step-relative or in-law.
After an owner dies
The title wording and probate status decide the path
Full Rights to Survivor
When the survivor is already on the title and that legend appears, SOS lists the title, death certificate, and identification as the ordinary removal documents.
Probated estate
The court-appointed personal representative assigns the title and supplies the court's Letter of Authority.
No probate
SOS uses the TR-40 surviving-spouse or closest-next-of-kin forms. Multiple people at the same kinship level may all have to participate or disclaim interest.
A will does not operate as a stand-alone SOS transfer document outside probate. When heirs disagree, the family tree is unclear, or the estate has other disputes, ask probate court staff or a Michigan probate lawyer before anyone signs away ownership.
Open the current TR-40 packetOut-of-state vehicle
Bring the ownership record and solve the lienholder question early
For the ordinary conversion, bring the out-of-state title, your license or ID, Michigan no-fault insurance, and the out-of-state registration if the vehicle was registered there. Bring the lien termination or signed title when a loan has been released. If the out-of-state lienholder still holds the title, SOS lists alternate title or state-record documents it may accept and may issue a limited memo registration instead of converting ownership to a Michigan title.
When more than one owner appears, plan for all owners to attend or prepare the current appointment-of-agent form for an owner who will not attend. New Michigan residents should handle the title and registration as soon as residency is established, after putting Michigan insurance in place.
Use the new-resident vehicle listDealer sale
The dealer normally files, but you should leave with copies
A licensed dealer ordinarily collects the tax and fees, files the Michigan title application, and handles the new or transferred plate and registration. Keep the purchase agreement, finance or lease contract, title application, odometer statement, Buyer's Guide for a used vehicle, warranty, and every add-on you signed. Check the temporary registration or transferred-plate notation before leaving.
A dealer complaint uses a different SOS process from a private-title problem. Try the dealer's owner or manager first, then use the current SOS dealer-complaint route if the filing or paperwork is not corrected.
Stop before the handoff
Problem titles need the problem solved first
Missing title
The titled owner normally orders a duplicate before the sale. A bill of sale is not the ordinary substitute.
Active or electronic lien
Use the release or authorization in current SOS guidance. Under that guidance, an electronic title does not transfer until its lien is released.
Cross-out or wrong entry
Do not overwrite it. The seller or SOS may need an amended statement, correction, or duplicate title.
Unusual ownership
Salvage, scrap, assembled, imported, abandoned, business-owned, court-awarded, or disputed vehicles use additional rules and forms.
Michigan title-transfer questions
Can a bill of sale replace a missing Michigan title? +
Not for an ordinary sale. The titled owner normally needs to obtain a duplicate title and assign it correctly. If the prior owner cannot be found, a court order, surety bond, or narrow self-certification route may be possible, but those are special ownership cases. Do not pay for a vehicle on the assumption that a handwritten bill of sale will become a title.
Does the seller leave the license plate on the vehicle? +
Usually no. Michigan tells the seller to remove the plate before the buyer takes possession. Immediate-family transfers have a separate plate exception, and the buyer may be able to transfer a plate already registered in the buyer's name. Confirm the plate path during the title transaction.
Can the buyer drive a private-sale vehicle home without a plate? +
Under current Michigan SOS guidance, a buyer has a narrow three-day allowance to drive the vehicle home by the most direct route without a plate. The buyer carries the properly assigned title and proof of insurance. That is not a general three-day driving permit and does not excuse the 15-day title-transfer deadline.
When is a family vehicle transfer exempt from Michigan use tax? +
Only when the buyer and seller have a relationship listed in Michigan's exemption, such as certain spouses, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, step-relations, in-laws, legal wards, and appointed guardians. Aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, step-grandparents, and step-grandchildren are examples Treasury says do not qualify. Treasury makes the final tax decision and may ask for proof later.
Can a vehicle with a lien be transferred? +
A paper Michigan title generally needs the lien termination or the lienholder's written authorization with the application. An electronic title cannot transfer until the lien is released. Ask the lienholder and SOS what has to happen before money changes hands.
Can buyer and seller transfer the title online? +
The current SOS service accepts only some simple Michigan transactions. Its checklist calls for valid Michigan licenses or IDs and online accounts for both people, one individual seller and one individual buyer, an eligible vehicle with a Michigan paper title, and no buyer financing. SOS performs additional checks, and approval can take up to three days.
Does a will transfer an inherited vehicle by itself? +
Not unless the will is being administered through probate. In a probated estate, the court-appointed personal representative assigns the title. Outside probate, SOS uses its surviving-spouse or closest-next-of-kin process and TR-40 forms. Multiple heirs may all have an interest, so use probate court or legal help when the family or ownership is disputed.
Sources and review
Where the title-transfer rules come from
Michigan SOS controls title, registration, plate, lien, and deceased-owner processing. Michigan Treasury makes the final use-tax decision, and the federal NMVTIS system supplies approved title-history providers.
- Data used
- Michigan SOS and Treasury title-transfer guidance and forms reviewed July 2026
- Last reviewed
- July 22, 2026
- Michigan SOS - buying, selling, or leasing for original-title checks, private-sale duties, seller proof, plate removal, family transfers, and out-of-state vehicles.
- Michigan SOS - title transfer and vehicle registration for online eligibility, current title and plate fees, tax, insurance, and the 15-day deadline.
- Michigan SOS - titles for ownership, liens, title corrections, deceased owners, and out-of-state title conversion.
- Michigan SOS - title FAQs for seller protection, plate removal, direct-route trip home, missing titles, liens, and inheritance.
- Michigan Treasury - transfers to relatives for qualifying relationships, nonqualifying examples, documentation, and Treasury review.
- Michigan SOS - TR-40 deceased-owner forms for surviving spouse, closest next-of-kin, no-interest, and ownership-transfer forms outside probate.
- Michigan SOS - new Michigan residents for out-of-state title, Michigan insurance, owner appearance, and appointment-of-agent guidance.
- U.S. Department of Justice - NMVTIS for approved title-history providers and the national vehicle-title information system.
Use this carefully: The actual title, owner names, VIN, lien, odometer disclosure, title brand, insurance, plate history, tax relationship, estate status, and state of origin can change the required documents and result. Use the current agency service and obtain legal or tax advice for a disputed ownership, estate, or exemption.
Rules, rates, forms, office practices, and local facts can change. When the answer matters, confirm it with the current official source, the responsible office, or a qualified Michigan professional before acting.