Five Steps to Obtaining a Bonded Title

• By: Guest Blogger
• On: 09/14/2021 12:44:58
• In: Texas Posts
• Comments: 0

Five Steps to Obtaining a Bonded Title

Here are the five steps to obtaining a bonded title:
1. Contact the DMV Regional Service Center and apply for a title.   
2. Complete the required paperwork – usually a Statement of Fact – Application VTR-130-S0F, supporting evidence such as a bill of sale, invoice, maybe a canceled check, etc., and a photo ID.  If the car is an out-of-state vehicle, then the VIN will need to be verified by a Texas certified Safety Inspection Station. If you know upfront, you will need this form, the process is sped up by submitting the verification along with the other documents. 
3. Once the application is approved, the DMV issues a letter including the amount of the required surety bond – generally one and one-half of the appraised value of the vehicle.     
4. Buy a bond. Call your insurance agent and, provided there are no ‘gotchas' your bond for any vehicle valued at $6,000 or less will be issued at a cost of $100.  $6,001 to $25,000 has a cost of $15 per $1000 of value. 
5. With the bond in hand, you have 30 days to submit it along with any additional documents outlined in step two to the county tax office.  They, in turn, will issue a bonded title; bonded titles are good for 3 years, and then an original title will be issued. 

In the next Industry Newsletter, we will discuss some of the possible ‘gotchas' when it comes to bonded titles.