Vermont title bonds.
From $100.
When you can’t prove ownership of a vehicle or vessel, the Vermont DMV lets you get a bonded title — post a surety bond (DMV form VT-020) and the DMV issues a title in your name. Premiums cost 0.9% of the bond amount, $100 minimum, and no credit check up to $100,000; the bond amount is 1.5× the appraised value, and the term runs three years.
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How much does a Vermont 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 the DMV. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your details, the vehicle or vessel (year, make, model, serial/VIN, your county), and the bond amount (1.5× appraised value) — that is the application.
Issued on the spot
No credit check up to $100,000.
File with the DMV
Take the executed bond (form VT-020) and your supporting paperwork to the Vermont DMV to get your bonded title. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the office insists.
Getting a bonded title in Vermont, step by step.
Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles (Agency of Transportation), 120 State Street, Montpelier handles it. The bond amount is 1.5 times the vehicle's J.D. Power average trade-in value. The bond lasts 3 years from the date the bond is signed; the bonded title then generally becomes a full title.
Try to get the old title first
Contact the previous owner, the state that issued the title, or the lienholder. If the issuing state confirms by letter that no title or replacement is available, keep that letter for your application.
Work out the bond amount
Look up the vehicle's J.D. Power average trade-in value in the DMV's Vehicle Tax Estimator on myDMV and multiply it by 1.5. That figure is the bond amount.
Buy the bond on Form VT-020
Buy the bond for that amount; the surety fills out Form VT-020, Vermont Title Bond. You complete the back, explaining in detail why your ownership papers are missing, and sign it, and any erasure or strikeout gets the form rejected.
Complete Forms VD-119 and VT-010
Fill out the Vermont Registration, Tax and Title Form (VD-119) and get the VIN verified on Form VT-010, Verification of VIN/HIN. Gather any bill of sale, old registration certificates or title you have.
Submit the packet to the DMV
Send or bring the VT-020, VD-119, VT-010, your ownership papers and the registration, tax and title fees to the DMV at 120 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05603. A DMV supervisor reviews the bond and your reason, and explains any rejection in writing.
Receive your branded Vermont title
If approved, the DMV issues a Vermont title carrying a bonded brand. After 3 years the title generally converts to a full ownership title.
Who qualifies
- Only Vermont residents can get a Vermont bonded title.
- You must show you made every reasonable attempt to get the previous title from the prior owner, the issuing state or the lienholder.
- The process covers vehicles, trailers, vessels, snowmobiles and ATVs.
- If the vehicle has no NMVTIS record, the DMV also asks for Form VT-025, Affidavit of Non-titled Vehicle, and the title carries an undisclosed-lien brand.
- The DMV suggests checking for Vermont liens first with the Check Vehicle for Vermont Liens tool on myDMV.
State fees
- Certificate of title (car, truck, trailer, motorcycle)paid to Vermont DMV
- $42
- Certificate of title (ATV, ASV, motorboat, snowmobile)paid to Vermont DMV
- $27
- Lien recording, each lienpaid to Vermont DMV
- $14
- Registration and taxpaid to Vermont DMV
- Varies by vehicle; see the DMV fee pages
These are the state’s fees. The bond premium is separate and shown in the price card.
After the bond
The signed VT-020 goes to the DMV with your VD-119, VT-010, ownership papers and fees, and the DMV issues a branded Vermont title once a supervisor approves it. By law the bond is returned after 3 years, or sooner if the vehicle leaves Vermont registration and the title is surrendered, unless a claim on the bond is pending.
Checked on 22 October 2026 against Vermont DMV: Bonded Title, Vermont DMV: Form VT-020 Vermont Title Bond (07/2024), Vermont Legislature: 23 V.S.A. § 2020 and Vermont DMV: Title 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, inherit, or build a vehicle or vessel and the paperwork is missing, lost, or defective, Vermont lets you establish ownership with a bonded title. You post a surety bond, the DMV issues a certificate of title in your name, and the bond protects anyone who later proves a superior claim — so you can register, insure, and sell the vehicle or vessel.
The bonded title covers more than cars: it applies to a motor vehicle, trailer, vessel, snowmobile, or all-terrain vehicle. The bond is filed on DMV form VT-020, and the amount is 1.5 times the appraised value — establish value with a reputable valuation guide or a written appraisal, then multiply by 1.5.
If someone with a better ownership claim comes forward and is harmed, they can recover against the bond — and if the surety pays, you repay the surety. It is not insurance for you. The bond runs a three-year term; if no valid claim is made, it is released and a clean (non-bonded) certificate of title issues. We price it from a $100 minimum, and no credit check up to $100,000.
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 premium covers a one-year term from the effective date you choose.
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 (form VT-020) and your supporting paperwork to the Vermont DMV 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 the vehicle or vessel details and your bond amount (1.5× appraised value) — the executed title bond is generated instantly, ready to take to the DMV.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Vermont bonds.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Bonded title, issued today.
Premiums from $100. Enter your amount (1.5× appraised value) and take it to the DMV the same day.