Veh. Code, § 5910 · Article 3. Notice and Application
Veh. Code, § 5910
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) Upon the death of an owner or legal owner of a vehicle registered under this code, without the decedent leaving other property necessitating probate, and irrespective of the value of the vehicle, the following person or persons may secure transfer of registration of the title or interest of the decedent:
(1) The sole person or all of the persons who succeeded to the property of the decedent under Sections 6401 and 6402 of the Probate Code unless the vehicle is, by will, otherwise bequeathed.
(2) The sole beneficiary or all of the beneficiaries who succeeded to the vehicle under the will of the decedent where the vehicle is, by will, so bequeathed.
(b) The person authorized by subdivision (a) may secure a transfer of registration of the title or interest of the decedent upon presenting to the department all of the following:
(1) The appropriate certificate of ownership and registration card, if available.
(2) A certificate of the heir or beneficiary under penalty of perjury containing the following statements:
(A) The date and place of the decedent’s death.
(B) The decedent left no other property necessitating probate and no probate proceeding is now being or has been conducted in this state for the decedent’s estate.
(C) The declarant is entitled to the vehicle either (i) as the sole person or all of the persons who succeeded to the property of the decedent under Sections 6401 and 6402 of the Probate Code if the decedent left no will or (ii) as the beneficiary or beneficiaries under the decedent’s last will if the decedent left a will, and no one has a right to the decedent’s vehicle that is superior to that of the declarant.
(D) There are no unsecured creditors of the decedent or, if there are, the unsecured creditors of the decedent have been paid in full or their claims have been otherwise discharged.
(3) If required by the department, a certificate of the death of the decedent.
(4) If required by the department, the names and addresses of any other heirs or beneficiaries.
(c) If the department is presented with the documents specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (b), no liability shall be incurred by the department or any officer or employee of the department by reason of the transfer of registration of the vehicle pursuant to this section. The department or officer or employee of the department may rely in good faith on the statements in the certificate specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) and has no duty to inquire into the truth of any statement in the certificate. The person who secures the transfer of the vehicle pursuant to this section is subject to the provisions of Sections 13109 to 13113, inclusive, of the Probate Code to the same extent as a person to whom transfer of property is made under Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 13100) of Part 1 of Division 8 of the Probate Code.
(d) The department may prescribe a combined form for use under this section and Section 9916.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 1986, Ch. 783, Sec. 26. Operative July 1, 1987, by Sec. 30 of Ch. 783.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=5910.
- Text hash
- sha256 6ad94fef06b3815f58d4f330d24d232d50be7e270c433c00c990f8d011eb4d6f
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Probate Code
- Prob. Code, § 6401Printed as Sections 6401 and 6402 of the Probate Code
- Prob. Code, § 6402Printed as Sections 6401 and 6402 of the Probate Code
- Prob. Code, div. 8, pt. 1, ch. 3Affidavit Procedure for Collection or Transfer of Personal PropertyPrinted as Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 13100) of Part 1 of Division 8 of the Probate Code
- Prob. Code, § 13109Printed as Sections 13109 to 13113, inclusive, of the Probate Code
- Prob. Code, § 13113Printed as Sections 13109 to 13113, inclusive, of the Probate Code
Vehicle Code
Cited by 1 provision
Provisions in this library whose text cites Veh. Code, § 5910. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Vehicle Code
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.