AN ACT CONCERNING TRANSFER OF A MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION UPON THE DEATH OF THE OWNER OF THE VEHICLE.

Senate
SB261 / File No. 645 1

General Assembly File No. 645
February Session, 2026 Senate Bill No. 261

Senate, April 15, 2026

The Committee on Judiciary reported through SEN. WINFIELD
of the 10th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of
the Senate, that the bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING TRANSFER OF A MOTOR VEHICLE
REGISTRATION UPON THE DEATH OF THE OWNER OF THE
VEHICLE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 14 -16 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2026): 2
(a) A motor vehicle registration expires upon transfer of ownership 3
of the motor vehicle. The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles shall enter 4
such expiration in the records of the Department of Motor Vehicles only 5
when the transferor cancels his or her registration for such motor vehicle 6
in accordance with procedures established by the commissioner or 7
when the transferee reregisters such motor vehicle with the department, 8
whichever occurs first. 9
(b) If a motor vehicle is owned by one owner who is a natural person, 10
such owner may designate, in writing in a space provided on the 11
certificate of registration for such motor vehicle, a beneficiary who shall 12
SB261 File No. 645

SB261 / File No. 645 2

assume ownership of such motor vehicle after the death of the owner 13
and upon the making of an application pursuant to this subsection. The 14
owner making such designation shall have all rights of ownership of 15
such motor vehicle during the owner's life and the beneficiary shall have 16
no rights in such motor vehicle until such time as the owner dies and an 17
application is made pursuant to this subsection. Not later than sixty 18
days after the death of the owner or prior to the end of the registration 19
period, whichever is longer, the beneficiary may make application to the 20
commissioner for the issuance of a certificate of title and a certificate of 21
registration for such motor vehicle in the beneficiary's name. Such 22
application shall be accompanied by: (1) The original certificate of 23
registration in which the beneficiary is designated pursuant to this 24
subsection; (2) a death certificate for the deceased owner; (3) such proof 25
of the beneficiary's identity as the commissioner may require; (4) the 26
transfer fee required by subsection (c) of this section; and (5) any 27
applicable fees for registration, title and number plates as required 28
under this chapter and chapter 247. If the beneficiary fails to make such 29
application within the time period specified in this subsection, the 30
beneficiary shall have no right to obtain ownership of and title to such 31
motor vehicle under this subsection after the expiration of such time 32
period. The right of the beneficiary to obtain ownership of and title to 33
such motor vehicle under this subsection shall be subordinate to the 34
rights of each lienholder whose security interest in such motor vehicle 35
is duly recorded pursuant to chapter 247. The commissioner may adopt 36
regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, to implement the provisions 37
of this subsection. 38
(c) If the owner of a registered motor vehicle dies, the registration for 39
the vehicle shall, unless the vehicle is destroyed, continue in force as a 40
valid registration until the end of the registration period unless: (1) 41
Ownership of the vehicle is transferred pursuant to subsection (b) of this 42
section or by the deceased owner's executor, administrator, legatee or 43
distributee prior to the end of the registration period, in which case the 44
registration shall continue in force until the time of the transfer; or (2) 45
ownership of the vehicle is transferred to the brother, sister, father, 46
mother, child or spouse of the owner, in which case the registration 47
SB261 File No. 645

SB261 / File No. 645 3

shall, upon the payment of a fee of twenty dollars, continue in force until 48
the end of the registration period or until the ownership is sooner 49
transferred to a person other than such a relative. If at the end of the 50
registration period the relative has not transferred ownership of the 51
vehicle and the relative applies for registration of the vehicle, the 52
registration shall not be subject to the provisions of subsection (a) of 53
section 12-71b. 54
(d) If a motor vehicle is transferred in connection with the 55
organization, reorganization or dissolution, or because of the partial 56
liquidation, of an incorporated or unincorporated business in which 57
gain or loss to the transferor is not recognized for federal income tax 58
purposes under the Internal Revenue Code and Treasury regulations 59
and rulings issued thereunder, the registration of the vehicle shall, upon 60
the payment of a fee of twenty dollars, continue in force until the end of 61
the registration period or until the registration is sooner transferred to 62
anyone outside the original business organization. If the transferee of 63
the motor vehicle has not transferred ownership of the motor vehicle to 64
anyone outside the original business organization at the end of the 65
registration period and the transferee applies for a registration for the 66
vehicle, the registration shall not be subject to the provisions of 67
subsection (a) of section 12-71b. 68
(e) A person who transfers ownership of a registered motor vehicle 69
to another may have registered in his name, upon the filing of a new 70
application and the payment of the fee required by subsection (i) of 71
section 14-49, another motor vehicle for the remainder of the registration 72
period if the gross weight of the other motor vehicle is the same or less 73
than that of the transferred motor vehicle and the registration of the 74
transferred motor vehicle has been surrendered. If the gross weight of 75
the other motor vehicle is greater than the gross weight of the motor 76
vehicle the registration of which has been surrendered, the applicant 77
shall pay, in addition to such fee, the difference between the fee paid by 78
him for the surrendered registration and the fee for the registration of 79
the motor vehicle of greater gross weight. The minimum fee for any such 80
transfer shall be twenty dollars. 81
SB261 File No. 645

SB261 / File No. 645 4

(f) Any person may transfer an unexpired registration of a motor 82
vehicle such person owns or leases for a period of one year or more, to 83
another motor vehicle owned or so leased by such person upon payment 84
of the fee required by subsection (i) of section 14 -49. Any person 85
transferring such a leased motor vehicle shall provide the commissioner 86
with evidence that the lessor has granted permission for such transfer. 87
If a transfer is made to a motor vehicle of greater gross weight or from 88
one class of registration to another, credit shall be given toward the new 89
registration in accordance with schedules established by the 90
commissioner. The commissioner may adopt regulations, in accordance 91
with chapter 54, to implement the provisions of this subsection. 92
(g) Any person who sells any motor vehicle, other than a new motor 93
vehicle, for which a certificate of title has not been issued and which is 94
not registered under the provisions of subsections (e) or (g) of section 95
14-12, shall, within forty-eight hours of the sale, certify under oath to the 96
commissioner, on blanks provided by him, such information as the 97
commissioner may require. Until the commissioner receives the 98
certification under oath required by this subsection, he shall not issue a 99
registration other than for a new motor vehicle and shall not renew a 100
registration other than for the same owner. 101
(h) Any person who violates any provision of subsection (a) of this 102
section shall be subject to the penalty provided for false statement. Any 103
person who violates any provision of subsection (g) of this section shall, 104
for a first offense, be deemed to have committed an infraction, and, for 105
a subsequent offense, shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars 106
or imprisoned not more than one year or both. 107
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:

Section 1 October 1, 2026 14-16

JUD Joint Favorable

SB261 File No. 645

SB261 / File No. 645 5

The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill creates a secondary deadline by which a beneficiary
designated on a motor vehicle registration certificate must transfer the
vehicle after the death of the owner . This does not result in a fiscal
impact because it is not expected to change the number of vehicles
registered in any municipality for property tax purposes.
The Out Years
State Impact: None
Municipal Impact: None

SB261 File No. 645

SB261 / File No. 645 6

OLR Bill Analysis
SB 261

AN ACT CONCERNING TRANSFER OF A MOTOR VEHICLE
REGISTRATION UPON THE DEATH OF THE OWNER OF THE
VEHICLE.

SUMMARY
This bill creates a secondary deadline by which the person designated
by a motor vehicle’s owner to assume ownership when the owner dies
(the beneficiary) may apply to the Department of Motor Vehicles for a
new title and registration in the beneficiary’s name. By doing so, the bill
potentially gives beneficiaries more time to transfer vehicle ownership.
Under current law, a beneficiary has 60 days after the owner’s death
to apply for a new title and a registration in his or her name. The bill
instead gives applicants until 60 days after the death or before the
registration’s expiration , whichever is later . By law, motor vehicle
registrations are generally issued for three-year periods.
As under existing law, i f the beneficiary fails to apply within this
timeframe, he or she has no rights to ownership and title. Additionally,
the beneficiary’s right to obtain ownership and title is subordinate to the
rights of any lienholder with a recorded security interest.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
COMMITTEE ACTION
Judiciary Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 37 Nay 4 (03/30/2026)