Lease transfer: how to transfer or take over a car lease in California
A lease transfer, also called a lease takeover, lease swap or lease assumption, moves the rest of your lease to another person, who takes over the payments and returns or buys the car at the end.
How a lease transfer works
The leasing company approves every transfer. It also decides if you stay liable.
Firstask your lender
Confirm transfers are allowed
- Ask for the transfer packet and the fees
- Ask about limits on timing or location
- Ask whether you will be released from liability
Thenfind someone to take it over
Find the new lessee
- A friend, relative or coworker is simplest
- Lease takeover marketplaces list leases too
Approvalthe leasing company decides
The new lessee applies
- The leasing company runs the credit check, not the seller or the marketplace
- Put the mileage and any damage in writing
- Both of you sign the lender's paperwork, and the fees are paid
Handoverinsure, register, confirm
Hand over the car and confirm
- The new lessee insures the car before driving it
- The registration is changed to the new lessee
- Hand over every key and accessory
- Stop automatic payments only after the lease shows the new lessee's name
Key takeaways
The leasing company has to approve it: it checks the new lessee's credit, usually charges a transfer fee, and decides if you stay liable should the new lessee stop paying. Not every lender allows transfers: as of September 2026, GM Financial, Nissan and Ford Credit describe a process, while Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Tesla, Hyundai and Kia allow them only in narrow cases or not at all. In California, the DMV records a change of lessee without charging use tax, although a transfer fee and, on older cars, a smog certificate apply.
Which lenders allow a lease transfer
As of September 30, 2026. Where a lender publishes nothing, the entry says what lease-transfer marketplaces report, and you should confirm the rule with the lender before you list your car.
GM Financial: allows a lease assumption when the lease is not in its last six months, the account is current, the new lessee meets GM Financial's credit guidelines and registers the car in the same state, and the new lessee pays the transfer fee plus tax.
Nissan and INFINITI: describe a transfer of the lease, but the original lessee is not released from liability.
Ford Credit: offers a transfer of equity or lease, with a questionnaire and a credit application for the new lessee, and a fee may apply.
BMW Financial Services: marketplaces list it as accepting assumptions with credit approval of the new lessee and a release for the original one.
Toyota and Lexus Financial Services: list transfers after a lessee's death, and marketplaces report they also allow them outside the first 60 days and the last six months of the lease.
Porsche Financial Services: marketplaces report transfers with credit approval of the new lessee, but not in the last six months.
Mercedes-Benz Financial Services: does not accept transfers, apart from narrow cases such as the lessee's death.
Audi Financial Services: does not let another person take over a lease under normal circumstances; the exception involves the account holder's death.
Tesla: ended lease transfers on November 27, 2024.
Hyundai, Kia and Genesis: allow an assumption only by a spouse or other entitled party after the lessee's death.
Subaru, Jaguar and Land Rover (all serviced by Chase): say they cannot add or remove anyone on a lease.
Honda, Acura, Volkswagen, Volvo and Stellantis: publish no clear rule, and Volkswagen's own FAQ gives two different answers. Ask the lender directly.
Which lenders allow a lease transfer
Not every lender allows a lease transfer.
Not in the last six months. The account is current and the new lessee meets its credit guidelines.
A questionnaire and a credit application for the new lessee. A fee may apply.
They describe a transfer of the lease, but the original lessee is not released from liability.
Marketplaces report they accept transfers, with credit approval or timing limits. Confirm with the lender.
Only by a spouse or other entitled party after the lessee's death.
Neither lets another person take over a lease, apart from narrow cases such as the lessee's death.
Ended lease transfers on November 27, 2024.
All serviced by Chase. They say they cannot add or remove anyone on a lease.
As of September 30, 2026. Honda, Acura, Volkswagen, Volvo and Stellantis publish no clear rule. Confirm the rule with the lender before you list your car.
How a lease transfer works, step by step
Ask your lender. Confirm transfers are allowed on your contract, ask for the transfer packet, the fees, any restrictions on timing or location, and whether you will be released from liability.
Find someone to take it over. A friend, relative or coworker is simplest. Otherwise, lease takeover marketplaces list leases for people looking for a short commitment.
The new lessee applies. The leasing company, not the seller or the marketplace, runs the credit check and approves or declines the application.
Agree on the car's condition. Put the mileage and any damage in writing, ideally after an independent inspection, so there is no argument at the end of the lease.
Sign the transfer documents. Both of you sign the lender's assumption paperwork, and the fees are paid.
Insure and register. The new lessee insures the car before driving it, and the registration is changed to the new lessee.
Hand over the car and confirm. Hand over every key and accessory, then check your lender account until it shows the lease in the new lessee's name. Stop your automatic payments only after that.
Leaving a lease: what the person transferring out should know
Costs. Expect the lender's transfer fee, any marketplace listing fee, and possibly a cash incentive to make your lease more attractive than others. Who pays the lender's fee is up to the two of you.
Liability. Some lenders release you completely once the transfer is done; others keep you secondarily liable. Get the answer in writing, because a default by the new lessee can land on your credit if you are not released.
Deposit and equity. Ask whether your security deposit transfers or is refunded. If the car is worth more than your payoff, selling it may put money in your pocket instead; see lease equity.
Timing. Approval and paperwork take time, so a transfer is a poor fit if you need out within days. Compare it with the other exits in getting out of a lease early.
Taking over a lease: what the new lessee should check
Payments and term. Confirm the remaining payments, the maturity date and the purchase option price directly with the lender.
Miles. Compare the odometer with the allowance left. You inherit every mile already driven, and any overage at the end is yours; see lease mileage overage.
Condition. Damage you accept at the handover is damage you pay for at turn-in. Get an inspection and read excess wear and tear.
End-of-lease costs. The disposition fee and any other end-of-lease charges in the contract become yours.
How you pay. Pay the lender's fees to the lender. Do not hand money to the current lessee for a side deal that the lender has not approved.
The upside for a new lessee is a shorter commitment, often with little or nothing due at the start. The trade-off is that you cannot negotiate the price, the money factor or the terms: you take the contract as it was written.
Lease takeover marketplaces
Online lease takeover marketplaces work like classified listings for leases. The current lessee lists the car, the remaining term, the payment and any incentive; interested people contact them, and the marketplace may offer credit prescreening or help with the lender's paperwork. Two points hold everywhere: the marketplace does not approve anything, the leasing company does, and fees vary by site, so read them before you list. A taker you find on your own goes through the same lender approval.
Lease transfer in California
It is legal when the lender approves it. California's DMV has a set procedure for recording a change of lessee. What causes trouble is an informal swap the lender never approved, where the original lessee stays responsible for the car, the payments and anything the other driver does with it.
DMV paperwork. The lessor signs the title, the new lessee is added as lessee, and a Statement to Record Ownership (REG 101) accompanies the application along with a transfer fee.
No use tax on the change. The DMV does not collect use tax for a change of lessee only. The monthly payments go on being taxed as before.
Smog. The DMV asks for a smog certificate because the person in possession of the car changes, but cars other than diesels that are four or fewer model years old are exempt from the transfer smog check and pay a small smog transfer fee instead.
Fees are taxable. The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration lists lease assumption fees among the lease charges subject to sales tax.
A lease is not a car loan. Taking over someone's car loan in California triggers use tax on the loan balance. Taking over a lease through the lender does not, which is one reason lease transfers are simpler.
What to ask your lender
Do you allow transfers on my contract, and are there limits on timing, location or the new lessee's state?
What are the transfer and application fees, and who can pay them?
Will I be fully released, or remain liable if the new lessee defaults?
Does my security deposit transfer or come back to me?
What documents do both of us need, and how long does approval take?
How 021 helps
When your next car comes through 021, we can take care of the current lease as well. Most often a dealer in our network takes it in trade and any equity can go toward the next car, and we can also handle the return, a buyout or a lease transfer.
If you would rather start a lease of your own than take over someone else's, 021 Auto Leasing, a California-licensed broker, gets several dealers to quote the same car and gives you one written quote with the payment, drive-off, term, miles, taxes, fees and 021's fee before you agree to anything. If you know the car you want, send it through request a car.
Two sides of one transfer
What each side takes on.
Leaving the lease
Expect the lender's transfer fee, any marketplace listing fee, and possibly a cash incentive.
Watch forSome lenders keep you secondarily liable. Get the answer in writing.
Taking over the lease
A shorter commitment, often with little or nothing due at the start. You take the contract as it was written.
Watch forYou inherit every mile already driven and any damage you accept at the handover.
In California, the DMV records a change of lessee without charging use tax. A transfer fee and, on older cars, a smog certificate apply.
Common questions
Are lease takeovers legal in California?
Is a lease takeover a good idea?
Does a lease transfer affect my credit?
Who pays the lease transfer fee?
Am I still responsible after transferring my lease?
021 Auto Leasing is a licensed California autobroker (license #82402). All new cars arranged for sale are subject to price and availability from the selling franchised new car dealer.