What do you need a Bond for?

It's a title the state issues when you can't prove you own the vehicle the normal way, like when the title got lost or the seller never signed it over. You buy a Title Bond first. If someone later proves the vehicle was theirs, the bond pays them back.

Title Bonds here start at $50, or $100 in Alabama and Alaska and Arkansas and California and Colorado and Connecticut and Georgia and Idaho and Illinois and Iowa and Maine and Maryland and Michigan and Minnesota and Mississippi and Missouri and Montana and Nebraska and Nevada and New Hampshire and New Mexico and North Carolina and Oregon and Tennessee and Texas and Utah and Vermont and Washington and Wisconsin and Wyoming. The price covers the whole term, which is 3 years for most title bonds here. The state sets the bond amount from the vehicle's value, and you never pay that amount.

Every state words it a little differently, but it works the same way:

1. Ask your state's title office how big the bond needs to be for your vehicle.
2. Get that Title Bond here. Pick your state above and apply online.
3. Turn in the bond with your title application, and the state issues your bonded title.

Most dealer bonds here cost $100 to $500 a year. In California, the $10,000 Wholesale Dealer Bond costs $100 a year and the $50,000 Retail Dealer Bond costs $500 a year. The $10,000 is the guarantee. The $100 is the price.

It's a bond the state asks for before it issues your Dealer License. It protects your customers and the state, not you, so it isn't insurance. You pay a small yearly price, and you never hand over or set aside the bond amount.

Some bonds have one and some don't. Every bond in the table shows how it's issued: Instant issue, Credit check, Underwriter review, or Depends on bond size. The check happens inside the application, and you see your price before you pay.

All 7,171 bonds here have an online application, in 48 states. Besides dealer and title bonds, the biggest groups are construction (3,177), energy & environment (519) and employers (439). Type your license or your line of work into the search box up top.

Dealer 101® sells bonds in 48 states today: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. More states are on the way.

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