Illinois certificate of title bonds.
From $100.
When you can't prove ownership of a vehicle, Illinois lets you get a bonded title — file a surety bond under 625 ILCS 5/3-109 and the Secretary of State issues the title. The premium is 0.9% of the bond amount, $100 minimum — priced by the bond amount, not a credit tier; the bond amount itself is 1.5 times the vehicle's current wholesale value.
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How much does an Illinois certificate of title bond cost?
0.9% of the bond amount, from $100. 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 Secretary of State. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your details, the vehicle, and the bond amount (1.5× the vehicle's wholesale value) — that is the application.
Issued on the spot
No credit check up to $100,000.
File with the Secretary of State
Submit the executed bond with your title application to get your bonded title. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the office insists.
Getting a bonded title in Illinois, step by step.
Illinois Secretary of State, Vehicle Services Department, Vehicle Titles Division (Bonded Titles) handles it. The bond amount is 1.5 times the vehicle's current wholesale (trade-in) value from a written appraisal; no minimum. The bond lasts 3 calendar years from filing; returned sooner if the vehicle leaves Illinois and the title is surrendered, unless a claim is pending.
Gather proof you can claim the vehicle
Collect a bill of sale, receipt or canceled check showing you have a right to the title. If you have none, write a notarized statement explaining how you came to have the vehicle.
Get a written wholesale-value appraisal
Have a disinterested, qualified appraiser such as a licensed vehicle dealer state the current wholesale value, or use a used-vehicle price guide with copies of the cover and relevant pages. The Secretary of State publishes an Affirmation of Appraisal form (VSD 896).
Buy the bond for 1.5 times appraisal
Buy the bond on Form RT OPR 23 (Security Bond for Registration Without Certificate of Title) from a surety authorized in Illinois, which attaches its power of attorney. You can instead post a cash bond for the same amount, paid to the State Treasurer.
Complete the title application and taxes
Fill out the Application for Vehicle Transaction(s) (Form VSD 190) and include the $165 title fee payable to the Secretary of State. Add the Motor Vehicle Use Tax Return with your tax payment to the Illinois Department of Revenue.
Clear any lien on the old title
If a lienholder is listed on the vehicle's previous title record, include a lien release from that lienholder.
Mail everything to the Bonded Titles unit
Send the full packet to Secretary of State, Vehicle Titles Division, Attn: Bonded Titles, 698 Howlett Building, 501 South Second Street, Springfield, IL 62756-7000. Questions go to 217-782-9796.
Who qualifies
- A bond cannot be used to title an abandoned vehicle, a repossession, a vehicle held under a mechanic's lien, or an estate vehicle, or to remove a lienholder.
- Licensed Illinois dealers cannot appraise their own vehicle; the appraisal must come from a disinterested, qualified party.
- There is no minimum bond amount, but the Secretary of State can question any appraisal that does not fit the transaction.
- Secretary of State facilities and remitters cannot process a bond or issue plates or temporary permits on one; plates come only after the bond is approved.
- For a mobile home, you must also send proof of the Mobile Home Local Service Tax.
State fees
- Original certificate of titlepaid to Illinois Secretary of State
- $165
- Motor vehicle use taxpaid to Illinois Department of Revenue
- Varies by vehicle
These are the state’s fees. The bond premium is separate and shown in the price card.
After the bond
The bond goes to the Bonded Titles unit in Springfield with the rest of the packet, and plates or tags are issued after the bond is approved. The bond, or cash deposit, stays on file 3 calendar years from filing and is then returned unless a claim on it has been filed.
Checked on 22 October 2026 against Illinois SOS Fact Sheet: Titles Obtained by Bond (RT OPR 26.20, May 2023), Illinois SOS Form RT OPR 23: Security Bond for Registration Without Certificate of Title, Illinois SOS: Title and Registration Publications and Forms, Illinois SOS: Fees and 625 ILCS 5/3-109 (Illinois General Assembly). 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, Illinois lets you establish ownership with a bonded title under 625 ILCS 5/3-109. You post a surety bond, the Secretary of State 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 vehicle's current wholesale value, as the Secretary of State requires. You establish value from a recognized valuation guide. The bond indemnifies any prior owner, lienholder, or subsequent purchaser against loss from the issuance of the title.
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 Illinois title bond is automatically released three years after filing unless a claim is pending, after which a clean title issues.
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 Secretary of State. Submit the executed bond with your title application to get your bonded title. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the office insists.
What sets the price
The premium is 0.9% of the bond amount, $100 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 file.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Illinois bonds.
The same bond in nearby states.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Bonded title, issued today.
From $100, short application. Enter your amount and file with the Secretary of State the same day.