Small estate affidavit forms by state: the official free forms and their printed revision dates in 13 states, checked October 14, 2026
Of the 13 states we cover, six have a statewide court form for a small-estate procedure: California, Michigan, Colorado, Ohio, Georgia and North Carolina. The newest of those is Colorado's JDF 999, marked "R: April 28, 2026"; the oldest still posted is Ohio's Form 5.1, dated 4/97, which goes with Form 5.0, dated 5/3/99. Texas, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Arizona and Pennsylvania have no statewide court form that we could find, and for New York we could not read the court system's forms pages, so its form number is not confirmed here. Every form below was read on the issuer's own website on 2026-10-14 unless noted.
- States covered
- 13
- Statewide court form
- California, Michigan, Colorado, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina
- No statewide form found
- Texas, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Arizona, Pennsylvania
- Form not readable
- New York (court forms pages could not be read)
- Newest statewide revision
- Colorado JDF 999, R: April 28, 2026
- Oldest current form
- Ohio Form 5.1, dated 4/97 (Form 5.0: 5/3/99)
- Lowest fee found
- New York, $1 (SCPA 1304(4))
- Checked
- 2026-10-14
Figures above were read from each form and from the issuing court, agency or legislature's website on 2026-10-14; the New York statute was read in a web browser on 2026-10-11. See sources.
We record each state's limit, waiting period and official forms, with the statute and the date we checked. This page lists only free forms published by a court, a court-rules body, a state agency or a county court. It is general information, not legal advice; which procedure fits an estate depends on its facts and the state's law.
Official small estate forms in 13 states
| State | Form number and title as printed | Issued by | Revision printed on the form | Where it goes | Official fee we found |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California: personal property affidavit | No Judicial Council affidavit form. Form DE-300, Maximum Values for Small Estate Set-Aside & Disposition of Estate Without Administration, must be attached for deaths on or after April 1, 2022 | Judicial Council of California (DE-300) | DE-300: Rev. April 28, 2025 | Given to the bank or other holder; no court filing | None stated (not filed) |
| California: real property | DE-305, Affidavit re Real Property of Small Value | Judicial Council of California (mandatory form) | Rev. January 1, 2026 | Filed with the superior court; the form has a clerk's certificate and a space for recording | Not confirmed |
| California: primary residence | DE-310, Petition to Determine Succession to Primary Residence | Judicial Council of California (mandatory form) | Rev. April 28, 2025 | Court petition (superior court) | Not confirmed |
| California: vehicle or vessel | REG 5, Affidavit for Transfer Without Probate, California Titled Vehicle or Vessel Only | California DMV | REV. 12/2024 | Submitted to the DMV with a copy of the death certificate | $15 transfer fee (Vehicle Code § 9255), per the DMV fee page |
| Texas | No statewide small estate affidavit form. The Texas Judicial Branch forms page lists will forms and a Transfer on Death Deed Kit under Probate & Guardianship | Not applicable | Not applicable | Filed with the clerk of the court with jurisdiction of the estate, and approved by the judge (Estates Code ch. 205) | Not confirmed |
| Florida | No statewide form found. Example: Summary Administration Packet, Intestate (checklist, affidavit of heirs, joinder, petition, order) | Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Law Library (Palm Beach County) | Rev.07/07/2026 (cover page) | Petition filed with the circuit court's probate division; ends in a court order | Orange County Clerk: $235 (estates under $1,000) or $345 ($1,000 or more) |
| New York | The affidavit is "in the form provided by the Official Forms appended to this act" (SCPA 1304(3)); form number and title not confirmed | Surrogate's Court (official form) | Not confirmed | Filed with the Surrogate's Court clerk; no court order needed | $1 filing fee (SCPA 1304(4)) |
| Illinois | No statewide court form; the form text is in the statute, 755 ILCS 5/25-1(b). Examples: Cook County CCP 0248, Small Estate Affidavit (deaths on or after August 15, 2025); McHenry County PR-AFF2, Small Estate Affidavit ($150,000 and under) | Circuit clerks (Cook County, McHenry County) | CCP 0248: (01/08/26). PR-AFF2: Revised 08-15-2025 | Given to the holder of the property (§ 25-1(a)); no court filing | None stated (not filed) |
| Michigan | PC 598, Affidavit of Decedent's Successor for Delivery of Certain Assets Owned by Decedent | State Court Administrative Office ("Approved, SCAO") | (4/24), on the copy hosted by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education | Given to the institution holding the asset; nothing is filed with the court | None stated (not filed) |
| New Jersey | No statewide form found; the affidavit is executed before the county Surrogate (or the Superior Court). Example: Gloucester County Surrogate, Consent of Next of Kin | County Surrogate | None printed on the Gloucester form | Filed and recorded in the Surrogate's office (N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3, 3B:10-4) | $5 per $100 of assets, total not over $50; waived up to $200 (N.J.S.A. 22A:2-30) |
| Colorado | JDF 999, Collection of Personal Property by Affidavit (guide: JDF 998, Guide to Collecting a Decedent's Personal Property) | Colorado Judicial Branch | JDF 999: R: April 28, 2026. JDF 998: R: March 19, 2026 | Given to the holder with a copy of the death certificate; not filed with the court | None; JDF 998 says no filing fee is required |
| Arizona | No statewide form on the Arizona Judicial Branch's Probate Forms page. Examples: Maricopa County PBSE11f, Affidavit for Collection of All Personal Property, and PBSE12f, Affidavit for Transfer of Title to Real Property (packet PBSE1); Pima County Small Estate Affidavit packet "For Use in Pima County" | Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County; Pima County Superior Court | Maricopa: code 092625 on each page (not labeled as a date). Pima: none found | Personal property: given to the holder, not filed. Real property: filed with the court | Personal property: none (not filed). Real property: Maricopa says there is a fee, amount not stated |
| Pennsylvania | No statewide form. The Unified Judicial System's Orphans' Court Forms page lists no small estate petition | Not applicable | Not applicable | Petition to the orphans' court division of the county of domicile (20 Pa.C.S. § 3102) | Not confirmed |
| Ohio | Form 5.0, Application to Relieve Estate From Administration, with Form 5.1 (assets and liabilities) and Form 5.6, Entry Relieving Estate from Administration. Smaller route: Form 5.10, Application for Summary Release From Administration | Supreme Court of Ohio, Standard Probate Forms | 5.0: 5/3/99. 5.1: 4/97. 5.10: Eff. Date March 1, 2008 | Filed with the county probate court; ends in a court entry | Not confirmed |
| Georgia | GPCSF 9, Petition for Order Declaring No Administration Necessary | Council of Probate Court Judges of Georgia (standard form) | Eff. July 2021 | Filed with the county probate court; intestate estates only | Not confirmed |
| North Carolina | AOC-E-203B, Affidavit For Collection Of Personal Property Of Decedent (For Decedents Dying On Or After Jan. 1, 2012) | North Carolina Judicial Branch | Form page: published May 1, 2012, last modified June 28, 2024 (date printed on the PDF not confirmed) | Filed with the clerk of superior court of the county of domicile before any assets are collected (G.S. 28A-25-1(b)) | $120 at filing ($10 + $4 + $106 under G.S. 7A-307), plus 40 cents per $100 of gross estate when the closing affidavit is filed |
Filed with a court, or handed to the holder
In five of the states, the main small estate document does not go to a court at all. The person collecting signs it and gives it to the bank or other holder:
- California: the Self-Help Guide says to give the affidavit to the person, company or bank that has the property, and that "Many companies and institutions have their own and will want you to use their version." For a sample, it points to one from the Sacramento Law Library.
- Illinois: under 755 ILCS 5/25-1(a), a holder must pay or deliver when it is "furnished with a small estate affidavit in substantially the form hereinafter set forth".
- Michigan: the Oakland County Probate Court's instructions for PC 598 say "Nothing is filed with the court."
- Colorado: JDF 998 says "No filing fee is required, as this document is not filed with the Court."
- Arizona (personal property): the Maricopa County packet says "Filing: No. This affidavit may be used once it is complete. It does not get filed with the Court."
In the other states the document is filed: with the Surrogate's Court clerk in New York, before the county Surrogate in New Jersey, with the clerk of superior court in North Carolina (G.S. 28A-25-1(b) says "The affidavit shall be filed by the clerk upon payment of the fee provided in G.S. 7A-307"), and with the court for approval or an order in Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Georgia. California's real property affidavit (DE-305) and primary residence petition (DE-310), and Arizona's real property affidavit, also go to the court.
States without a statewide form
Texas. Since 2015, Government Code section 22.020 has directed the Supreme Court of Texas to promulgate, as it considers appropriate, forms for self-represented people, including forms for a small estate affidavit proceeding under Estates Code chapter 205. In July 2023 the Court asked its advisory committee to review a proposed small estate affidavit kit from its Probate Forms Task Force. On 2026-10-14 the Judicial Branch forms page still listed no small estate affidavit.
Illinois. The statute itself sets out the affidavit's text, and circuit clerks publish their own versions. The Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to Justice's list of approved statewide forms, which says "All Illinois Courts must accept these forms.", has no small estate affidavit.
Arizona. The Arizona Judicial Branch's Probate Forms page lists guardianship and conservatorship forms and no small estate affidavit. The Maricopa and Pima packets are county court publications; the Pima cover says "For Use in Pima County".
Pennsylvania. Section 3102 works by petition to the orphans' court division, and the Unified Judicial System's statewide Orphans' Court Forms page has no petition for it.
Florida and New Jersey. The forms we read are circuit, clerk and county Surrogate publications. Florida's summary administration ends in a court order; New Jersey's affidavit is filed and recorded in the Surrogate's office.
How to read the revision mark on each form
Each issuer prints its revision differently, usually in the footer:
- California Judicial Council: "Rev." with a full date, for example DE-305 "Rev. January 1, 2026". DE-305 has three value lines: $55,425, $61,500 and $69,625, by date of death.
- California DMV: "REG 5 (REV. 12/2024)". This revision still prints $184,500 for deaths on or after April 1, 2022; the Judicial Council's DE-300 (Rev. April 28, 2025) gives $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025. See the REG 5 page.
- Michigan SCAO: the date in parentheses after the number, "PC 598 (4/24)". Paragraph 4 reads "does not exceed $50,000, adjusted annually as provided in MCL 700.1210." The yearly figure is not printed on the form.
- Colorado Judicial Branch:
R:and a date in the footer. JDF 999 prints the figure for each year of death. - Supreme Court of Ohio: a date at the bottom right of each form (5/3/99 on Form 5.0) or
Eff. Date(Form 5.10). - Georgia Council of Probate Court Judges:
Eff.and month and year on each page; the council's standard forms list also shows GPCSF 9 as effective 7/2021. - Cook County Clerk: a date in parentheses before the form number, "(01/08/26) CCP 0248". Cook County keeps a separate form, CCP 0247, for deaths before August 15, 2025, which prints the earlier $100,000 figure.
Vehicle forms from state motor vehicle agencies
Several states use a separate motor vehicle form instead of, or in addition to, the court form:
- California: REG 5 (REV. 12/2024), above.
- Texas: Texas Department of Motor Vehicles form VTR-262, Affidavit of Heirship for a Motor Vehicle, VTR-262 Rev 11/20.
- Michigan: Secretary of State form TR-40, which contains TR-40a, TR-40b and TR-40c and is marked TR-40 (01/2026). Its introduction says it "is for vehicles that are not subject to a probated estate."
- Illinois: Vehicle Code section 3-114(b) says "The Small Estate Affidavit form shall be furnished by the Secretary of State." We could not read the Secretary of State's site.
- Colorado: JDF 998 says the DMV will not accept JDF 999 and requires its own affidavit, DR 2712. We did not read DR 2712.
What we could not confirm
- New York. The number, title and revision of the official voluntary administration affidavit. nycourts.gov returned HTTP 403 to our requests on 2026-10-14, including its Surrogate's Court forms page. The $1 fee is from SCPA 1304(4), read on nysenate.gov in a web browser on 2026-10-11.
- North Carolina. The revision date printed on the AOC-E-203B PDF itself. nccourts.gov returns HTTP 403 to automated requests; we read the form page in a web browser on 2026-10-14, and the PDF opens as a download. The filing rule and fees are from G.S. 28A-25-1 and 7A-307.
- Michigan. The revision of PC 598 on the Michigan courts website itself, whose robots.txt file disallows automated reading. The (4/24) revision comes from the copy hosted by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education. We did not read PC 556 (the court petition route).
- Court filing fees for California DE-305 and DE-310, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Georgia. The California courts' statewide fee schedule PDF returned HTTP 403; for the others we did not find an official fee schedule we could read.
- Vehicle forms. The Illinois Secretary of State's form (ilsos.gov did not respond), the Arizona Department of Transportation's forms (azdot.gov returned HTTP 403) and Colorado's DR 2712 (not read).
- Arizona. Whether Maricopa County's code 092625 is a date; the court does not label it.
- Florida and New Jersey. Whether the state courts publish a statewide form. Our searches found only circuit, clerk and county Surrogate documents; we did not read a Florida or New Jersey state court forms page for this check.
Questions
Is there one small estate affidavit form that works in every state?
No. Each state sets its own procedure and dollar limit, and the forms in the table above come from different courts and agencies. Some states, such as Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania, have no statewide court form at all.
Where do I get the California small estate affidavit PDF?
The Judicial Council does not publish an affidavit form for personal property under Probate Code section 13101. Its Self-Help Guide says many banks and institutions have their own and points to a sample from the Sacramento Law Library. Form DE-300 (Rev. April 28, 2025) must be attached for deaths on or after April 1, 2022. Real property uses DE-305 (Rev. January 1, 2026).
How can I tell if a small estate affidavit form is the current version?
Compare the revision mark in the form's footer with the copy on the issuer's own website, and check the dollar figure against the state's statute. California's DMV form REG 5 (REV. 12/2024), for example, still prints $184,500, while the court table gives $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025.
Does a small estate affidavit have a filing fee?
Not where it is handed to the holder instead of filed: Colorado's guide says no filing fee is required. Where it is filed, fees differ: $1 in New York under SCPA 1304(4); $5 per $100 in New Jersey, capped at $50 in county fee schedules; and $120 at filing plus a percentage at closing in North Carolina.
Sources
- Form DE-300 (Rev. April 28, 2025) - Judicial Council of California (PDF), read 2026-10-14
- Form DE-305 (Rev. January 1, 2026) - Judicial Council of California (PDF), read 2026-10-14
- Form DE-310 (Rev. April 28, 2025) - Judicial Council of California (PDF), read 2026-10-14
- Small estate affidavit - California Courts Self-Help Guide, read 2026-10-14
- Form REG 5 (REV. 12/2024) - California DMV (PDF); Registration Fees - California DMV, read 2026-10-14
- Forms (Probate & Guardianship) - Texas Judicial Branch, read 2026-10-14
- Estates Code chapter 205 and Government Code section 22.020 - Texas Constitution and Statutes (ch. 205), (ch. 22), read 2026-10-14 from the site editor's saved text
- Referral of the Probate Forms Task Force's small estate affidavit kit, July 2023 - Supreme Court of Texas (PDF), read 2026-10-14 from the site editor's saved text
- Form VTR-262 (Rev 11/20) - Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (PDF), read 2026-10-14
- Summary Administration Packet, Intestate, Rev.07/07/2026 - Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida, Law Library (PDF), read 2026-10-14
- Petition for Summary Administration information and filing fee - Orange County Clerk of Courts (PDF), read 2026-10-14
- SCPA 1304 - New York State Senate, read in a web browser 2026-10-11
- 755 ILCS 5/25-1 - Illinois General Assembly; 625 ILCS 5/3-114 - Illinois General Assembly, read 2026-10-14
- Small Estate Affidavit, CCP 0248 - Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County (PDF); CCP 0247 - (PDF), read 2026-10-14
- Small Estate Affidavit, PR-AFF2 Revised 08-15-2025 - McHenry County Circuit Clerk (PDF), read 2026-10-14
- Approved Statewide Standardized Forms - Illinois Courts, read 2026-10-14
- Form PC 598 (4/24), approved by SCAO - copy hosted by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (PDF), read 2026-10-14
- Instructions for PC 598 - Oakland County Probate Court (PDF), read 2026-10-14
- Form TR-40 (01/2026) - Michigan Department of State (PDF), read 2026-10-14
- N.J.S.A. 3B:10-3, 3B:10-4 and 22A:2-30 - New Jersey Legislature statutes database, read 2026-10-14 from the site editor's saved text
- Consent of Next of Kin - Gloucester County Surrogate (PDF), read 2026-10-14
- JDF 999 (R: April 28, 2026) - Colorado Judicial Branch (PDF); JDF 998 (R: March 19, 2026) - Colorado Judicial Branch (PDF), read 2026-10-14
- Transfer of Small Estate by Affidavit, packet PBSE1 - Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County and full packet (PDF), read 2026-10-14
- Small Estate Affidavit, For Use in Pima County - Pima County Superior Court (PDF), read 2026-10-14
- Probate Forms - Arizona Judicial Branch, read 2026-10-14
- 20 Pa.C.S. § 3102 - Pennsylvania General Assembly (PDF); Orphans' Court Forms - Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania, read 2026-10-14
- Standard Probate Forms 5.0, 5.1, 5.6 and 5.10 - Supreme Court of Ohio (forms list), Form 5.0 (PDF), Form 5.1 (PDF), Form 5.6 (PDF), Form 5.10 (PDF), read 2026-10-14
- GPCSF 9, Petition for Order Declaring No Administration Necessary (Eff. July 2021) - Council of Probate Court Judges of Georgia (PDF); standard forms list, read 2026-10-14
- Form AOC-E-203B - North Carolina Judicial Branch, read 2026-10-14 (in a web browser)
- G.S. 28A-25-1 - North Carolina General Assembly; G.S. 7A-307 - North Carolina General Assembly, read 2026-10-14
Source links are not affiliate links. This page is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.
