Surety Bond Professionals is a family-owned and operated bonding agency with over 30 years of experience. With access to a broad range of surety markets, our expert agents are ready to assist with all of your Maine title bond needs.
What Are They?
Maine title bonds are required as part of the process for obtaining a bonded title for a vehicle you purchased in Maine but do not have a valid title for. A Maine title bond is a type of surety bond that serves as your guarantee that you are the vehicle’s rightful owner. It allows you to get issued a bonded title that will enable you to register, sell, donate, or otherwise transfer ownership of the vehicle to someone else.
The bond provides protection for the Maine Bureaus of Motor Vehicles should it later be proven that you should not have been issued a bonded title because you are not the rightful owner. The bond also ensures that funds will be available to compensate the rightful owner or a lienholder who suffers a financial loss as a result of you having been issued a bonded title, perhaps because you crashed, sold, donated, or junked the vehicle in the meantime.
Who Needs Them?
You’ll need to purchase a Maine title bond and obtain a bonded title if you:
- Were never given the title to a vehicle you bought
- Were given a title that is invalid due to alteration, forgery, missing information, etc.
- Were given a valid title that was lost or stolen before you could register the vehicle in your name
You’ll need to find out from your local Bureau of Motor Vehicles office whether you are eligible for a Maine bonded title. If the vehicle in question was manufactured prior to 1995, you do not need a bonded title. If you do need a bonded title, you will need to purchase a three-year Maine title bond in an amount equal to 1.5 times the vehicle’s current appraised value.
Speak with a Surety Bond Professionals agent today to discuss your bonding needs.
How Do They Work?
During the three years that a Maine title bond is in force, it’s possible that someone could surface and be able to prove an ownership interest in the vehicle. If that is the case, and you cannot return the vehicle in an intact, undamaged condition, that party can file a claim against your Maine title bond for the loss incurred as the result of your actions. The surety bond company will investigate the claim, and if it is found to be valid, will go ahead and pay it on your behalf.
The surety bond represents a line of credit established by the surety company that’s activated as needed to pay claims. It’s essentially a short-term loan from the surety (the company issuing the bond) to the “principal” (the bonded individual) for the protection of the “obligee” (the government entity requiring the bond) and consumers. Consequently, the principal is legally obligated to reimburse the surety for claims paid in advance on behalf of the principal.
If nobody comes forward to challenge the principal’s ownership of the vehicle within the three-year bond period, the bond expires and a regular title is issued to replace the bonded title.
What Do They Cost?
The premium for a Maine title bond is a small percentage of the required bond amount, which is in turn based on the vehicle’s appraised value. Most surety bond companies have a flat fee schedule for title bonds that establishes several tranches of vehicle values and assigns a cost figure to each.
Typically, a Maine title bond can be purchased for $100 to $250. Only title bonds for vehicles appraised at more than $25,000 require a credit check.
Get a Quote
Request a convenient online quote today, or call us to discuss the Maine title bond you may need to obtain a bonded vehicle title.