Alabama certificate of title bonds.
From $125.
When you can't prove ownership of a vehicle, Alabama lets you get a bonded title — file a surety bond under Ala. Code §32-8-36 and the Department of Revenue issues the title. The amount is one and one-half times the vehicle's value; the premium is 0.9% of the bond amount plus a $25 fee, 0.925 minimum — exact price in the on-page calculator.
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How much does an Alabama certificate of title bond cost?
0.9% of the bond amount plus a $25 fee, from $125. Enter your amount in the calculator for the exact price.
Apply to bonded title in one sitting.
No underwriting queue for the standard title bond — enter your amount, pay, and file with the Department of Revenue. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your details, the vehicle, and the bond amount (1.5× the vehicle's value) — that is the application.
Issued on the spot
No credit check up to $100,000.
File with the Department of Revenue
Submit the executed bond with your bonded title application and supporting documents to the Motor Vehicle Division. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the office insists.
Getting a bonded title in Alabama, step by step.
Alabama Department of Revenue (ALDOR), Motor Vehicle Division, then a designated title agent such as your county license plate issuing official handles it. The bond amount is A fixed amount set by vehicle type and model-year age, from $5,000 to $100,000; salvage vehicles need 20% or 25% of that. The bond lasts 3 years from the date the bond is signed; the title is printed with a 3-year surety bond legend.
Request the bond in the Surety Bond Portal
Submit Form MVT 10-1A, the Application for Title Surety Bond, through ALDOR's Surety Bond Portal, which you reach from MyDMV. ALDOR reviews the request before any bond is written.
Get Form MVT 10-1 after approval
Once ALDOR approves the request, it gives you Form MVT 10-1, the Certificate of Title Surety Bond. The bond amount comes from the state's fixed schedule for your vehicle type and age.
Buy the bond on Form MVT 10-1
Buy the bond for the amount on the form from an insurance company licensed to write surety bonds in Alabama; you and the company both complete it, and the company attaches its power of attorney. Do not change the printed form in any way, including strikeouts or whiteout.
Gather your proof of ownership
Collect the papers that show how you got the vehicle, such as a bill of sale or an old registration. They go in with your title application.
Apply for the title within 90 days
Complete Form MVT 5-1E, Application for Certificate of Title, through a designated agent within 90 days of the date the bond was signed. Bring the completed MVT 10-1, the power of attorney, your ownership papers and the fee.
Receive your bonded title
The title is issued with a legend saying it was secured under a 3-year surety bond. For those 3 years the bond protects prior owners, lienholders and later buyers.
Who qualifies
- ALDOR asks for a bond when it is not satisfied about who owns the vehicle or whether there is an undisclosed lien on it.
- The process covers trailers, cars and pickups, trucks, buses, RVs, motorcycles and manufactured homes.
- Alabama does not issue titles for motor vehicles more than 35 model years old or for trailers more than 20 model years old, so those do not go through this process.
- Salvage vehicles need a smaller bond: 25% of the schedule amount if under 10 model years old, 20% if 10 or more.
- A vehicle with another state's bonded title whose bond is still in force needs a new Alabama bond.
State fees
- Title application fee, motor vehiclepaid to ALDOR, through the designated agent
- $15
- Title application fee, manufactured homepaid to ALDOR, through the designated agent
- $20
- Designated agent commission, per applicationpaid to Designated agent
- $1.50
- License plate issuing official commission for processing and mailing, where chargedpaid to County license plate issuing official
- $1.50
These are the state’s fees. The bond premium is separate and shown in the price card.
After the bond
Take the signed MVT 10-1 and the surety's power of attorney to a designated agent with Form MVT 5-1E within 90 days of the bond date. The title is then issued with the 3-year surety bond legend.
Checked on 22 October 2026 against ALDOR FAQ: How do I apply for a surety bond?, ALDOR FAQ: Cost to apply for an Alabama certificate of title, ALDOR FAQ: What vehicles are required to be titled in Alabama? and Ala. Admin. Code ch. 810-5-75, rule 810-5-75-.34 Title Obtained Under Surety Bond. Rules and fees change; the agency’s own page has the final word.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bonded title actually does
When you buy or inherit a vehicle and the paperwork is missing, lost, or defective, Alabama lets you establish ownership with a bonded title under Ala. Code §32-8-36. You post a surety bond, the Department of Revenue's Motor Vehicle Division issues a certificate of title in your name, and the bond protects anyone who later proves a superior claim to the vehicle.
The bond amount is one and one-half times the value of the vehicle as determined by the department. The bond is conditioned to indemnify any prior owner, lienholder, or later purchaser against loss from the issuance of the title or any undisclosed security interest. By rule (Ala. Admin. Code 810-5-75-.34), the bonded title is so noted, and the bond is filed with the application.
If someone with a better claim comes forward and is harmed, they can recover against the bond — and if the surety pays, you repay the surety. The bond remains in effect for three years, after which the bonded notation clears. Enter the figure the department requires; your exact price appears at the application, starting at $100.
You need this bond if you are
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A claim comes from the party the bond protects, the obligee named on the form, when the duty the bond guarantees is not met.
The surety investigates and pays a valid claim, up to the bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The carrier issues this bond for a single three-year term; the term cannot be changed at checkout.
Renew before the expiry date to keep the bond in force: the license, permit or contract it backs expects continuous coverage.
How to file it
File with the Department of Revenue. Submit the executed bond with your bonded title application and supporting documents to the Motor Vehicle Division. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the office insists.
What sets the price
The premium is 0.9% of the bond amount plus a $25 fee, $125 minimum: the amount the obligee sets moves the price, not your business profile.
No credit check up to $100,000. Above that, the carrier may run a soft pull, which never affects your score.
Where a check runs, it decides approval; the rate is the same for everyone approved.
One application, issued on the spot.
Submit the application with your bond amount (1.5× the vehicle's value) — the executed title bond is generated instantly, ready to take to the Department of Revenue.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Alabama bonds.
The same bond in nearby states.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Bonded title, issued today.
Premiums from $125, exact price shown before you pay. Enter your amount and take it to the Department of Revenue the same day.