Washington bonded title bonds.
From $100.
When you can't prove you own a vehicle, Washington lets you get a bonded title — file a surety bond under RCW 46.12.680 and the Department of Licensing issues the title. Pricing starts from $100; your exact price appears at the application, and the amount is one and a half times the vehicle's value.
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How much does a Washington bonded 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 Department of Licensing. 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 for your bonded title
Take the executed bond (Vehicle Ownership Bond, form 420054), your value documentation, and the title application to a vehicle licensing office. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the office insists.
Getting a bonded title in Washington, step by step.
Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL), through vehicle licensing offices; the Washington State Patrol does the VIN inspection handles it. The bond amount is 1.5 times the vehicle's value as DOL determines it. The bond lasts 3 years; then you can apply for a title without the BONDED mark.
Start at a vehicle licensing office
Tell the agent you cannot get proof of ownership and ask which option fits: a bonded title or a 3-year registration without a title. If your vehicle needs a State Patrol inspection, the agent issues the Washington State Patrol Inspection Request Form you need to book it.
Get the State Patrol VIN inspection
Book an appointment online and bring the vehicle, the request form and your paperwork; the inspector confirms the VIN, year and make. Some vehicles are exempt and use an owner affidavit with a VIN photo or etching instead.
Sign the ownership-in-doubt affidavit
Complete Form TD-420-008, Bonded Title or Three-Year Registration Without Title Affidavit, check the bonded-title box and explain how you got the vehicle. Every owner signs in front of a licensing agent or a notary.
Buy the bond on Form TD-420-054
After the inspection, buy the bond for 1.5 times the value DOL sets. The surety completes Form TD-420-054, Vehicle Ownership Bond.
File within 6 months of the bond date
Take the original bond, the affidavit, the Vehicle Title Application, the inspection form and your other papers to a licensing office and pay the title fees. DOL must receive the bond within 6 months of its issue date.
Get the BONDED title, then clear it
DOL issues a title marked BONDED. After 3 years, apply for a reissued title without the BONDED mark.
Who qualifies
- You must have gotten the vehicle by purchase, trade, gift, lease or inheritance from the owner of record or a later owner.
- A bond is required only if you are a Washington licensed dealer or the state record shows an open lien; other owners may choose a 3-year registration without a title, with no bond.
- The process is not available for abandoned or unauthorized vehicles, snowmobiles, or sales by Washington dealers.
- Mopeds, trailers under 2,000 lb, manufactured and mobile homes, and campers, travel trailers, park models and NEFRU vehicles 10 or more model years old skip the State Patrol inspection when a title or registration record exists.
- If someone contests your ownership during the 3 years, a court judgment awarding ownership is required.
State fees
- Application for certificate of titlepaid to DOL, at a vehicle licensing office
- $15
- Filing fee, title only (title with registration: $12.50)paid to Vehicle licensing office
- $6.50
- Service fee, title transaction (title with registration: $29)paid to Vehicle licensing office
- $18
- Quick Title, optional, plus the fees abovepaid to Quick Title licensing office
- $50
These are the state’s fees. The bond premium is separate and shown in the price card.
After the bond
Attach the original bond to your title application; DOL must receive it within 6 months of the bond's issue date, and it then issues a title marked BONDED. You can sell the vehicle during the 3 years, and the buyer applies for title and finishes out the rest of the period.
Checked on 22 October 2026 against Washington Legislature: RCW 46.12.680 Ownership in doubt, Washington Legislature: WAC 308-56A-210 (effective 10/17/2025), DOL: Form TD-420-054 Vehicle Ownership Bond, DOL: Form TD-420-008 Bonded Title or Three-Year Registration Without Title Affidavit, DOL: Calculate vehicle tab fees (title fees), DOL: Vehicle title application instructions and Washington State Patrol: Schedule a VIN inspection. 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 your proof of ownership is missing or insufficient, Washington lets you establish ownership with a bonded title under RCW 46.12.680. You post a surety bond, the Department of Licensing 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. You establish value with the Department of Licensing's automated value system, a published guide like KBB or NADA, or a written appraisal from a licensed dealer or appraisal company on letterhead.
If a previous owner, secured party, or later purchaser proves a superior claim and is harmed, they can recover against the bond — including reasonable attorneys' fees — and if the surety pays, you repay the surety. The bond runs a three-year term, 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 for your bonded title. Take the executed bond (Vehicle Ownership Bond, form 420054), your value documentation, and the title application to a vehicle licensing office. 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 take to a licensing office.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Washington bonds.
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 a licensing office the same day.