Minnesota certificate of title bonds.
From $100.
When you can't prove ownership of a vehicle, Minnesota lets you get a bonded title — file a surety bond under Minn. Stat. 168A.07 and Driver and Vehicle Services issues the title. Pricing starts from $100; your exact price appears at the application. The amount is one and a half times the vehicle's value.
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How much does a Minnesota 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 take the executed bond to Driver and Vehicle Services. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your details, the vehicle, and the bond amount (one and a half times the vehicle's value) — that is the application.
Issued on the spot
No credit check up to $100,000.
File with Driver and Vehicle Services
Take the executed bond and your title application to Driver and Vehicle Services to get your bonded title. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the office insists.
Getting a bonded title in Minnesota, step by step.
Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS), through a deputy registrar office handles it. The bond amount is 1.5 times the vehicle's value as DVS determines it from your photos. The bond lasts DVS holds the bond 3 years; then it may be returned and the 'BONDED' brand dropped if no claim is made.
Check for a vehicle record
DVS uses the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System to decide which papers you need. A deputy registrar office or DVS at 651-201-7777 can tell you whether a record exists.
Fill out the right affidavit
If a record exists, complete Form PS2026 (Affidavit Regarding Due Diligence) and have it notarized. If no record exists, complete Form PS2002 (Statement of Facts) and include a bill of sale, or have the seller sign the title application.
Complete the title application and photos
Fill out Form PS2000 (Application to Title and Register a Motor Vehicle) with the full vehicle description and VIN. Take clear photos of all 4 sides of the vehicle and of the VIN; DVS uses them to set the value.
Submit at a deputy registrar office
Turn in the packet and pay title and registration fees at a deputy registrar office; a PS2026 cannot be mailed. A PS2002 packet may instead be mailed to Driver and Vehicle Services.
Buy the bond for the amount DVS sets
After DVS reviews your application and sets the value, buy a surety bond for 1.5 times that value from a company authorized to do business in Minnesota, on the form DVS prescribes. The law also allows a cash deposit instead of a bond.
Who qualifies
- The vehicle's model year must be more than 5 years before the year you apply; the due diligence form puts this as 6 or more model years old.
- You must be an owner, have the vehicle in your possession, and have been unable to find or reach an owner, prior owner or lienholder despite due diligence.
- It covers having no title, not having the most current title, being unable to get a lien release, or missing a required signature.
- Newer vehicles, or owners who cannot get a bonded title for another reason, need a court order directing the Department of Public Safety to issue a title.
- Park model trailers do not qualify and need a court order.
State fees
- Title feepaid to Driver and Vehicle Services
- $8.25
- Filing feepaid to Driver and Vehicle Services
- $12
- Technology surchargepaid to Driver and Vehicle Services
- $2.25
- Local office surchargepaid to Deputy registrar
- $1
- Expedited title, optionalpaid to Driver and Vehicle Services
- $20
These are the state’s fees. The bond premium is separate and shown in the price card.
After the bond
DVS holds the bond for 3 years and issues a title branded 'BONDED'. If no ownership claims are made in those 3 years, the bond may be returned and a new title issued without the brand.
Checked on 22 October 2026 against Minnesota DVS: No proof of ownership vehicle title application, Minn. Stat. 168A.07, DVS Form PS2026 Affidavit Regarding Due Diligence (PS2026-06, 9/2026), DVS Form PS2002 Statement of Facts (PS2002-04, 10/26) and Minnesota DVS: Vehicle fees. 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, Minnesota lets you establish ownership with a bonded title under Minn. Stat. 168A.07. You post a surety bond, Driver and Vehicle Services 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 a half times the vehicle's value, as determined by the department. The bond indemnifies any prior owner, secured party, and any later purchaser against expense, loss, or damage — including reasonable attorney's fees — by reason of the issuance of the title or any undisclosed security interest.
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 runs for three years from the date of issuance, after which a clean title issues if no valid claim was made.
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 Driver and Vehicle Services. Take the executed bond and your title application to Driver and Vehicle Services 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 (one and a half times the vehicle's value) — the executed title bond is generated instantly, ready to take to Driver and Vehicle Services.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Minnesota bonds.
The same bond in nearby states.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Bonded title, issued today.
Pricing from $100. Enter your amount and take it to Driver and Vehicle Services the same day.