Official documents needed to register vehicles owned by a deceased person

Any person who is seeking to sell, purchase or change the registration of a vehicle previously owned by someone who died, must have the legal authority to do so.

Acting Principal State Council with the Ministry of Transport, Works and Water Resources, Jared Richards is advising citizens to be aware of the procedure because, without the correct documents, purchasers will not be able to register the vehicle with the Barbados Licensing Authority (BLA).

“If the deceased had a will, the seller should provide the buyer with a certified copy of the will from the Registration Department, along with the death certificate and a transfer form or letter signed by the named executor of the person’s estate.

The buyer will then submit these documents to the BLA. If the deceased did not have a will, the seller must provide the Letters of Administration of the deceased’s estate or Letters Testamentary from the Public Trustee, along with the transfer form or letter signed by the administrator of the estate. The buyer can then take those documents to the BLA to begin the re-registration process,” Mr. Richards explained.

He also clarified that the transfer form functions as a sales notice to inform the BLA that the vehicle had been sold to another individual.

However, if a seller is unable to collect a transfer form from the BLA, a transfer letter can be written instead. The letter must have the name of the deceased, the name of the person who is transferring the vehicle, that is, the executor or the administrator of the estate; a description of the vehicle along with the registration, chassis and engine number The Principal State Council noted that the process was simpler in cases where the vehicle had more than one owner. “If the vehicle was owned jointly, and one of those persons or more die, you will bring the transfer form or letter signed by the surviving owner or owners along with the death certificate to the BLA to have the
vehicle registered.”

For persons wishing to use the vehicle before Letters of Administration have been granted, he stated that the vehicle should then be registered in the estate of the deceased. “You may visit your insurance company to have the insurance placed in the name of the estate of the deceased and produce that insurance cover note and the transfer form or letter to the BLA.”

Once all the relevant documents have been procured and submitted to the BLA, a note will be placed on the vehicle’s record in the database.

The documents will then have to be taken to the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) where the buyer will pay the relevant fee in order to have the vehicle registered in the buyer’s name.

Registration for a private vehicle is $400, while registration for a commercial vehicle is $1000. However, Public Service Vehicles (PSV), such as taxis, route taxis, tour buses, ZM, hired cars, or hired limos, are required to pay the commercial registration fee along with the relevant permit fees to the BRA. The Transport Authority will issue the documentation regarding permit fees to the individual PSV
operators. (MTWW)