Motor Vehicle Verifier ($5,000) Bond - Statewide in California

Brief Summary

The $5,000 verifier bond is written in your own name, not your employer's, and it has to match your OL 19 application letter for letter or the DMV sends the packet back. It is a small bond that clears quickly, and paying the premium beats leaving $5,000 in cash with the DMV for years.

California requires a $5,000 surety bond from anyone applying for a vehicle verifier license under Vehicle Code section 11301, filed on DMV form OL 26. The bond must be in the applicant's true full name. Verifiers employed by a city, county, state or other government agency do not need the bond, and peace officers, DMV employees and certain insurance fraud unit employees need no verifier license at all.

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How to Apply for a Motor Vehicle Verifier ($5,000) Bond:

• Check whether you are exempt as a government employee or are outside the license requirement entirely.
• Use your true full legal name exactly as it appears on the OL 19 application.
• Complete the bond application and review the quoted premium.
• Pay the premium so the surety can sign and issue the $5,000 OL 26 bond.
• Mail the OL 19, OL 26, OL 29 personal history questionnaire and Live Scan receipt with the $51 application fee and $1 family support fee to DMV Occupational Licensing, Individuals Unit.
• Renew every two years on a new OL 19 and keep the bond in force.

Detailed Information About the California Motor Vehicle Verifier ($5,000) Bond:

Who needs it and who does not

A vehicle verifier license is required to submit vehicle identification proof to the DMV or its authorized representative for registering a vehicle or transferring ownership. The license is governed by Vehicle Code sections 675.5, 675.6 and 11300 to 11310.

Two groups are commonly missed. First, the DMV handbook says a bond is not required if you are employed by a city, state, county or government agency. Your employer must be listed on the OL 19 and you provide employment verification on the agency's letterhead. Second, peace officers, authorized DMV employees, NICB special agents, and employees of organizations certified under Insurance Code section 12140 and following whose duties require vehicle verification can act as verifiers without a license.

The bond is personal

The bond must be issued in the applicant's true full name only. The DMV gives the example that if the application says Robert Joseph Smith, the bond must read Robert Joseph Smith. A mismatch gets the application returned. This applies even when you verify vehicles for a dealership or other company.

What it guarantees

Form OL 26 binds the verifier and surety to the People of the State of California for $5,000. The verifier must not cause any loss to the state arising out of activity under the permit, and must not cause loss to any person by incorrectly verifying an engine, vehicle identification number or hull identification number.

Cash instead of a bond

You can deposit $5,000 in cash, a passbook account or a certificate of deposit payable to the DMV instead. The handbook notes that Vehicle Code section 11301.5 requires the DMV to hold a cash deposit for three years after you stop being licensed, which is why most verifiers choose the surety bond.

Eligibility and Requirements for a California Motor Vehicle Verifier ($5,000) Bond:

• Bond amount of $5,000 on DMV form OL 26.
• Surety authorized to transact surety business in California.
• Obligee shown as the People of the State of California through the DMV.
• Principal named in the applicant's true full name only.
• Bond signed by the surety company.
• Background investigation and Live Scan fingerprinting as part of licensing.

California Motor Vehicle Verifier ($5,000) Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the California Motor Vehicle Verifier ($5,000) Bond: