Certificate of Title Bond - Statewide in Alabama

Brief Summary

If Alabama will not title your vehicle because the paperwork is short, this bond gets the title issued now instead of waiting on a missing owner or lienholder. The amount comes off a fixed state schedule, so you know the figure before you apply, and once ALDOR approves your request the bond can be issued and filed with a designated agent.

Alabama sets title bond amounts by vehicle type and model year age, not by appraised value. Under Ala. Admin. Code 810-5-75-.34 a passenger car or pickup less than 5 model years old needs a $50,000 bond, one 5 to less than 10 model years old needs $25,000, and one 10 or more model years old needs $10,000. You request the bond on form MVT 10-1A in ALDOR's Surety Bond Portal and must apply for the title within 90 days of the bond's execution.

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How to Apply for a Certificate of Title Bond:

• Find your bond amount on the 810-5-75-.34 schedule using vehicle type and model year age, and apply the salvage percentage if the vehicle is salvage.
• Submit form MVT 10-1A, Application for Title Surety Bond, in ALDOR's Surety Bond Portal.
• After approval, complete form MVT 10-1 with your surety.
• Collect a power of attorney for each surety representative who signs.
• Gather your ownership documents, such as a bill of sale or registration.
• Apply for the title through a designated agent within 90 days of the bond's execution date.

Detailed Information About the Alabama Certificate of Title Bond:

The amount is a fixed schedule, not a multiple of value

Older guidance described the bond as one and one half times the vehicle's value. Code of Ala. 32-8-36 now lets the Department of Revenue set the amount and establish uniform bond amounts, and Ala. Admin. Code 810-5-75-.34 does that:

**Passenger vehicles and pickup trucks**

• Less than 5 model years old: $50,000
• 5 to less than 10 model years old: $25,000
• 10 or more model years old: $10,000

**Trucks, buses and recreational vehicles**

• Less than 5 model years old: $100,000
• 5 to less than 10 model years old: $50,000
• 10 or more model years old: $25,000

**Trailers and motorcycles**

• Less than 5 model years old: $25,000
• 5 to less than 10 model years old: $10,000
• 10 or more model years old: $5,000

**Manufactured homes**

• Less than 10 model years old: $50,000
• 10 or more model years old: $25,000

**Salvage vehicles.** When the vehicle is deemed salvage, the bond is 25% of the scheduled amount for a vehicle under 10 model years old and 20% for one 10 or more model years old.

When the bond is required

The department asks for it when it is not satisfied about who owns the vehicle or manufactured home, or that there are no undisclosed security interests in it. The applicant posts the bond. It protects any prior owner, lienholder, later purchaser or later secured party against loss, including reasonable attorney's fees, caused by issuing the title or by a defect in the applicant's ownership.

How the process works

1. Submit an electronic Application for Title Surety Bond, form MVT 10-1A, in ALDOR's Surety Bond Portal. 2. Once it is approved, you receive form MVT 10-1, the Certificate of Title Surety Bond, to complete with your surety. 3. Apply for the certificate of title through a designated agent within 90 days of the date the bond was executed.

The filing includes the MVT 10-1 signed by the surety, a power of attorney for each representative who signs, and the documents you claim ownership by, such as a bill of sale or registration. The printed form cannot be altered.

How long it lasts

The bond covers three years from the date it is executed, and the title is branded THIS TITLE WAS SECURED UNDER THREE-YEAR SURETY BOND. Under Code of Ala. 32-8-36 the bond is returned at the end of three years, or earlier if the vehicle is no longer registered in Alabama and the title is surrendered, unless the department has been told a claim is pending.

A bonded title from another state does not carry over. The rule requires a new Alabama bond.

How the premium is set

The surety prices the bond from the scheduled amount and its review of the applicant and the ownership documents. Get the quote after ALDOR approves your MVT 10-1A so the amount matches what the state will accept.

Eligibility and Requirements for a Alabama Certificate of Title Bond:

• Bond on the department's form MVT 10-1, unaltered.
• Bond amount from the standardized schedule in Ala. Admin. Code 810-5-75-.34.
• A surety authorized to do business in Alabama.
• Three year bond term from the execution date.
• A new Alabama bond for any vehicle carrying another state's bonded title.

Alabama Certificate of Title Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the Alabama Certificate of Title Bond: