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Texas lost title bonds.
From $100.
When you can't prove ownership of a vehicle, Texas lets you get a bonded title — file a surety bond under Transportation Code § 501.053 and the DMV issues the title. Apply at the DMV first: they send a 2-page letter stating the exact bond amount (1.5× the vehicle's value). Enter that figure — pricing starts from $100.
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Apply to bonded title in one sitting.
Get your DMV letter first, then enter the amount, pay, and take the executed bond back to the DMV. Here is the whole thing:
Get your bond amount letter
Apply for a bonded title at the DMV. They issue a 2-page letter stating the required bond amount (1.5× the vehicle’s value). You need that letter before you buy the bond.
Apply online & get issued
Enter your details, the vehicle, and the bond amount from your DMV letter. No credit check up to $100,000 — most applicants are issued the moment they pay.
File with the DMV
Take the executed bond back to the DMV to get your bonded title. The bond stays in effect for three years, after which a clean title issues. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the office insists.
Getting a bonded title in Texas, step by step.
Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) Regional Service Center, then your county tax assessor-collector handles it. The bond amount is 1.5 times the vehicle's value as TxDMV determines it. The bond lasts 3 years from the bond's effective date; the 'bonded' remark can be removed after that if no claim is pending.
Fill out the statement of fact
Complete Form VTR-130-SOF (Bonded Title Application or Tax Collector Hearing Statement of Fact), explaining how and from whom you got the vehicle. Gather any bill of sale or canceled check, your photo ID, and an original lien release or letter of no interest if a lien under 10 years old shows on the record.
Get a VIN inspection if needed
If the vehicle has no Texas record, have a law enforcement auto theft investigator complete Form VTR-68-A (Law Enforcement Identification Number Inspection). TxDMV does not perform these inspections.
File with a TxDMV Regional Service Center
Mail or bring the packet and the $15 fee to the Regional Service Center that serves your county. Mailed fees must be a check or money order; cash is taken only in person.
Get your Notice of Determination
If approved, TxDMV issues Form VTR-130-ND (Notice of Determination for a Bonded Title or Tax Assessor-Collector Hearing), which states the bond amount. TxDMV also mails notice to the owner and any lienholder of record.
Buy the bond for the notice amount
Buy a Certificate of Title Surety Bond (Form VTR-130-SB) for at least the amount on the notice, from an agency licensed to sell vehicle surety bonds in Texas. You have 1 year from the notice date; after that you need a new notice.
Apply at your county tax office
Within 30 days of the bond's effective date, take Form 130-U (Application for Texas Title and/or Registration), the original notice with its enclosures, the original bond and any power of attorney, proof of insurance and your photo ID to the county tax assessor-collector. Pay the title fee and any tax or registration fees there.
Who qualifies
- You must live in Texas or be military personnel stationed in Texas.
- The vehicle must be in your possession and complete (frame, body and motor; frame and motor for a motorcycle), though it does not need to run.
- Junked, nonrepairable or otherwise untitleable vehicles do not qualify.
- If the record shows a lien less than 10 years old, you need an original lien release or letter of no interest; without one, you need a court order awarding you ownership instead.
State fees
- Bonded title administrative fee (non-refundable)paid to TxDMV Regional Service Center
- $15
- Title application feepaid to County tax assessor-collector
- $33 in non-attainment counties; $28 in other counties
These are the state’s fees. The bond premium is separate and shown in the price card.
After the bond
File the original bond with your county tax assessor-collector within 30 days of its effective date; the title issues with a 'BONDED TITLE' remark that stays for the full 3 years, even if you sell the vehicle. After 3 years with no claim pending, ask a TxDMV Regional Service Center to remove the remark, then apply for an original title at the county and pay the title fee.
Checked on 22 October 2026 against TxDMV: Bought a vehicle with no title, TxDMV Form VTR-130-SOF (Rev 11/24), TxDMV Motor Vehicle Title Manual (August 2026), sections 3.6 and 8.3 and TxDMV adopted rules, 43 TAC 217.9 Bonded Titles. 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 rejected, Texas lets you establish ownership with a bonded title under Transportation Code § 501.053. You post a surety bond, the DMV issues a certificate of title in your name marked 'Bonded,' and the bond protects prior owners, lienholders, and future buyers against any superior claim.
Apply at the DMV before you buy the bond. The DMV determines the vehicle's value — from its Standard Presumptive Value (SPV) calculator or a NADA appraisal — and issues a 2-page letter stating the required bond amount, which is 1.5 times that value. That letter is the figure you enter here.
A Texas title bond expires on the third anniversary of its effective date. If no valid claim is made during the three years, the 'bonded' brand is removed and a clean title issues. If someone with a better claim is harmed, they can recover against the bond — and if the surety pays, you repay the surety.
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 DMV. Take the executed bond back to the DMV to get your bonded title. The bond stays in effect for three years, after which a clean title issues. 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.
Get your DMV letter, then apply here.
Enter the bond amount from your DMV 2-page letter — your exact price is set at the application, and most applicants are issued instantly, ready to take back to the DMV.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Texas bonds.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Bonded title, priced from $100.
Get your DMV letter, then a short application, exact pricing at the application. Take it back to the DMV the same day.