Rights of Survivorship on a Texas Car Title: Buyer Guide

The short answer

If you're buying a car in Texas with a spouse, partner, parent, or adult child, there's a decision most people don't know they're making: who owns the car if one of you dies? Texas law lets two or more eligible people sign a rights of survivorship agreement so that, when one owner dies, the vehicle belongs to the surviving owner or owners. TxDMV uses Form VTR-122 for it. You can have a "Survivorship Rights" remark printed on the title, or keep the signed form with your records. It's optional, it takes a few minutes, and it can save your family a much harder title transfer later.

I read Chapter 17 of TxDMV's Motor Vehicle Title Manual (August 2026), which quotes Transportation Code Section 501.031, and TxDMV's Rights of Survivorship Ownership Agreement, Form VTR-122. This is general information, not legal or estate-planning advice. Your county tax office can answer questions about your title.

What a rights of survivorship agreement does

According to the title manual, Section 501.031 requires TxDMV to include an optional rights of survivorship agreement on each title. If the agreement is between two or more eligible people, the vehicle is owned by the surviving owners when one or more of the owners die.

A few rules from the manual that matter when you buy:

• While everyone's alive, everyone signs. Ownership can be transferred only by all of the people acting jointly. If you later sell or trade the car, every person in the agreement signs.
• After a death, the survivor can transfer the vehicle with a copy of the death certificate.
• The agreement makes it joint ownership, even if only one of you is shown as the owner on the title.
• Revoking it takes everyone. All the people named have to apply jointly for a new title.
• A power of attorney can't be used to sign a rights of survivorship agreement.

Who can sign one

The manual says a person is eligible if they're:

1. Married, and their spouse is the only other party;

2. Unmarried, and attests to that by affidavit; or

3. Married, and provides an affidavit from their spouse that the person's interest in the vehicle is their separate property.

It isn't limited to spouses. Form VTR-122 has Part A for spouses, Part B for people who aren't married to each other (parents, children, friends, anyone), and Part C for the spouse of a married person who's entering an agreement without them. Spouses don't have to submit proof that they're married.

Your two options with Form VTR-122

The form describes two ways to use it:

1. Put the remark on the title. Submit the completed VTR-122 with the Application for Texas Title and/or Registration (Form 130-U). The title will show "Survivorship Rights," with up to two survivor names printed (or "Multiple Survivors" if there are more than two). After a death, the survivor applies for a new title with a copy of the death certificate.

2. Keep the signed form in your records. After a death, the survivor applies for a new title in their name using the form and a copy of the death certificate. The manual adds that if the form was kept only in personal records, the survivor is required to apply for title in their own name.

If you already bought the car without it, the manual describes applying for a corrected title to add the remark later.

When it's worth asking about at purchase

The easiest time is when the title application is being prepared. Situations where buyers often want it:

• Married couples who want the surviving spouse to keep the car without extra paperwork.
• A parent and adult child on the same car.
• Two people sharing a car who aren't married.

When it might not fit: if your estate plan says otherwise, or if you're not sure, ask an attorney first. The title manual also has a separate chapter on beneficiary designation, which is a different tool; your county tax office can explain the difference.

What to bring and ask

• Legal names as they appear on each person's government-issued photo ID. The form asks for exactly that.
• Everyone who's signing, there in person, or ready to sign before the paperwork is submitted. Remember, no power of attorney.
• The question: "Can we add a rights of survivorship agreement to the title application?"

If you're also figuring out the rest of the paperwork, see what documents you need to buy a car in Texas and Texas car tax, title, and registration fees explained. Buying used? Run a TxDMV title check before you buy.

How I can help

I'm Steven Wilson, Sales and Social Media & Marketing Manager at Kramer Autoplex. I help people in Houston and East Texas get financed with good credit, bad credit, thin credit, or no credit by shopping each application across a wide lender network. If you're buying with someone else, tell me up front who'll be on the title, and ask about the survivorship option when we get to the paperwork.

The first step is just your name plus a phone number or email. It takes about 20 seconds and there's no credit check yet. The full application, which does involve a credit check, comes after. Same-day answers on where you stand are typical, but they're not a guarantee of approval. Free delivery is available anywhere in Texas, and nationwide delivery is available outside Texas.

Bottom line

A rights of survivorship agreement decides, in advance, who owns a jointly owned car if one owner dies. Texas makes it optional and simple: Form VTR-122, signed by everyone involved, either noted on the title or kept with your records. Ask for it when you buy.

Want to know where you stand before you shop? Start your pre-approval at Steven Sells Cars. It takes about 20 seconds to start, and there's no credit check at that step. Same-day answers are typical, not guaranteed.