Title Bonds Explained

You just purchased a vehicle or trailer from an individual or perhaps a used car dealer. Before you hit the road, you will need to get the title transferred to your name. But what if the person you bought the vehicle from didn’t provide you with a title because it’s either lost or damaged. Or perhaps the used car dealer you purchased from provided you with a title that had not been properly sign off on. What do you do now?

More often that not, you will be required to supply your local county tax assessors office with a title bond as required by the Department of Motor Vehicles in order to complete the process of obtaining a title in your name. A title bond is a guarantee to the DMV that the vehicle is rightfully yours, but it also protects the interests of a potential rightful owner that may make a claim to be the legitimate owner of the vehicle. Typically, in most States, after 3 years of a clean title, the bonded portion dissolves and no one else but yourself has any legitimate rights to the vehicle.

There are several steps you will need to take in order to finalize your title with a governing body such as the DMV or county tax assessors office. You will need to apply for a bonded title which will include an affidavit or statement of fact, pay a fee to the DMV, and then apply for a title bond. The amount of the bond is determined by the DMV and is typically 1.5x the value of the vehicle. As a general rule, any title bond amount under $6,000 will likely cost only $100 which is a one time cost. For amounts over $6,000, the cost can vary & amounts over $25,000 are subject to more strict underwriting criteria such as a personal credit check on the vehicle owner.

JM Surety has experienced agents that are readily available to issue your title bond once you have completed the application process with the DMV. The bond process takes about 10 minutes and then you will be on your way to finalize the last step to getting your vehicles title issued in your name. Call today to get your title bond quote or apply online here

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