Title Agent ($150,000) Bond - Statewide in Ohio

Brief Summary

Not every Ohio title agent needs this bond. O.A.C. 3901-7-02(C) requires it of title insurance agents and agencies that handle escrows in real property transactions not involving the issuance of title insurance, at a minimum of $150,000. If every closing you handle comes with a title policy, the bond requirement in that paragraph is not triggered. What does apply to every agent and agency is the separate errors and omissions policy, at a minimum of $250,000. The two are different instruments and neither one covers the other.

Ohio requires all title insurance agents or agencies that handle escrows in real property transactions not involving the issuance of title insurance to have a surety bond in place protecting all parties to those transactions against theft, misappropriation, fraud, or any other failure to properly disburse settlement, closing or escrow funds. The bond is on a form approved by the superintendent and provides coverage in a minimum amount of $150,000. The Department's form runs to the State of Ohio and any aggrieved person injured by the principal.

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How to Apply for a Title Agent ($150,000) Bond:

• Determine whether you handle escrows in real property transactions that do not involve the issuance of title insurance, which is what triggers the bond
• Obtain a surety bond of at least $150,000 on a form approved by the superintendent
• Have the bond protect all parties to those transactions against theft, misappropriation, fraud, or any other failure to properly disburse settlement, closing or escrow funds
• Keep the bond in full force and effect as a condition precedent to transacting escrow, settlement or closing functions on those deals
• Supply the superintendent with satisfactory evidence of the bond on request
• Maintain an errors and omissions policy of at least $250,000 covering delegation of agent or agency functions to third parties
• Confirm subcontractors are covered under your errors and omissions policy or carry their own with at least $50,000
• Report bond and errors and omissions details on the superintendent's prescribed form at the annual escrow account review under O.R.C. 3953.33
• File the annual title agent or agency review by the Department's posted deadline for the filing period

Detailed Information About the Ohio Title Agent ($150,000) Bond:

What triggers the bond

Handling escrow money on deals where no title insurance is issued. The rule ties the requirement to that activity rather than to the license itself, and it makes the bond a condition precedent to the agent's authority to transact escrow, settlement or closing functions for real estate transactions not involving the issuance of title insurance. The agent must supply the superintendent with satisfactory evidence of it on request.

The minimum is $150,000, on a form approved by the superintendent. The Department publishes a Title Agent Bond form citing section 3953.23, naming the State of Ohio or any aggrieved person who may be injured by the principal, with cancellation on 60 days written notice to the principal and the Superintendent of Insurance.

The two exemptions

Paragraph (C)(3) carves out two groups. Licensed agents who are employees of title insurance companies authorized to do business in Ohio, and direct operations of such companies, are not required to maintain separate surety bond coverage. And a title insurance company authorized in Ohio may self insure its wholly owned subsidiary title agencies and the licensed agents employed by them for surety bond purposes. Both carve outs are repeated for errors and omissions coverage in paragraph (D)(3).

The instrument everyone needs

Errors and omissions. Under paragraph (D)(1), all title insurance agents or agencies must maintain an errors and omissions policy that includes coverage for the agent's or agency's delegation of any agent or agency function to a third party, with a minimum coverage amount of $250,000. Paragraph (D)(2) puts the burden on the agent or agency to ensure subcontractors are covered under its own policy or that any subcontractor not covered maintains its own errors and omissions policy with a minimum of $50,000. O.R.C. 3953.23(D) is the statutory hook, requiring the coverage in amounts exceeding minimum limits the superintendent establishes.

How the state checks

Details of any surety bond and errors and omissions coverage required by the rule are provided on a form prescribed by the superintendent, at the time the annual escrow account review is performed under O.R.C. 3953.33. The Department's annual title filing instructions tell agents to gather errors and omissions coverage information and surety bond coverage information before filing, and set the deadline for each filing period. For the 2026 filing period, covering September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026, filings are due by January 15, 2027.

What failure costs

Paragraph (F) is short. Failure to maintain the required errors and omissions coverage, or failure to maintain a surety bond as necessary, is grounds for suspension or revocation of a title insurance license.

Eligibility and Requirements for a Ohio Title Agent ($150,000) Bond:

• Minimum bond amount of $150,000 on a form approved by the superintendent
• State of Ohio and any aggrieved person who may be injured by the principal as obligee on the Department's form
• Coverage against theft, misappropriation, fraud and failure to properly disburse settlement, closing or escrow funds
• Sixty days written notice to the principal and the Superintendent of Insurance before cancellation
• Agent or agency name on the bond matching the license exactly
• Financial and credit review of the principals, which shapes the rate rather than eligibility for most applicants

Ohio Title Agent ($150,000) Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the Ohio Title Agent ($150,000) Bond: