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Read. Follow. Verify.Connecticut bill permits vehicle registration and title transfer to a designated beneficiary upon owner's death
Last action · April 15, 2026: File Number 645
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What This Bill Proposed
To facilitate transfer of a motor vehicle registration to a beneficiary upon the death of the owner of the vehicle.
Vehicle owners can pass registration directly to a chosen beneficiary without probate proceedings, giving beneficiaries up to three years depending on when in the registration cycle the death occurs.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
motor vehicle owners
Vehicle owners may designate a beneficiary on their registration certificate to receive the vehicle upon their death.
designated beneficiaries
Beneficiaries gain the right to apply for vehicle ownership and registration following the owner's death within an extended timeframe.
Department of Motor Vehicles
The department is authorized to issue certificates of title and registration to beneficiaries and may adopt implementing regulations.
Key Facts
- A motor vehicle owned by a single natural person may have a designated beneficiary written on the certificate of registration.
- The beneficiary assumes ownership after the owner's death upon making an application to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles.
- The beneficiary has until 60 days after the owner's death or the end of the registration period, whichever is longer, to apply for a title and registration.
- Failure to apply within the specified timeframe revokes the beneficiary's right to obtain ownership and title.
Show all 6 facts
- The beneficiary's right to obtain ownership is subordinate to any recorded lienholder's security interest.
- The Commissioner of Motor Vehicles is authorized to adopt regulations to implement the beneficiary designation provisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to designate a beneficiary for their motor vehicle?
How long does a beneficiary have to apply for the title after the owner passes away?
Does the beneficiary have any ownership rights while the vehicle owner is still alive?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · on the Senate floor.
Procedural history
9 actions- Apr 15, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyFile Number 645
- Apr 15, 2026SenateSenate Calendar Number 408
- Apr 15, 2026SenateFavorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, Senate
- Apr 15, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyReported Out of Legislative Commissioners' Office
- Apr 9, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyReferred to Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis 04/14/26 5:00 PM
- Mar 30, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyFiled with Legislative Commissioners' Office
Show 3 earlier actions
- Mar 30, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyJoint Favorable
- Feb 23, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyPublic Hearing 02/27
- Feb 19, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyCommitteeReferred to Joint Committee on Judiciary
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Connected Entities
Sources
cga.ct.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 40)
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz15Current news / social attention level
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