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 help you get the Alabama title bond you need.
What Is It?
An Alabama title bond (also known as a lost title or a certificate of title bond) provides a solution for anyone who cannot register or transfer ownership of a vehicle for lack of a title. You must purchase this type of bond in order to obtain a bonded title from the Motor Vehicle Division of the Alabama Department of Revenue.
A bonded title will allow you to register, insure, or sell the vehicle. The only difference between a bonded title and any other title is that it bears the brand, “BONDED.”
In purchasing the bond, you are stating that you are the vehicle’s sole owner and obtained the vehicle through legal means. The bond guarantees that if someone shows up within the next three years and can prove legitimate ownership of the vehicle, you will compensate that party appropriately.
Who Needs It?
People who are in any of the following situations need a title bond:
- You bought a vehicle from a private seller who didn’t hand over a title
- A vehicle was given to you by someone who didn’t provide a title
- You were given a defective (damaged or altered) title
- The title was stolen or lost before you were able to get the vehicle registered
A receipt or bill of sales is not adequate proof of ownership in Alabama or any other state. If you find yourself in any of the above situations, you’ll need to get a bonded title. In addition, you cannot get a bonded title for an abandoned vehicle.
Speak with a Surety Bond Professionals agent to discuss your bonding needs.
How Does It Work?
In Alabama, if nobody challenges a bonded title within three years, it can be converted into a non-bonded title. However, during the three years that a title bond is in effect, anyone who can prove an ownership interest in the vehicle can file a claim against the bond and be compensated up to the full amount of the bond.
If that should happen, the surety company that issued the bond will try to negotiate an amicable settlement. But if that fails, the surety company will typically go ahead and pay the claim, even though the person who bought the bond has the legal responsibility for paying claims.
By paying the claim in advance, the surety company makes sure the claimant doesn’t have to wait for payment and gives the person who purchased the bond time to come up with the funds to reimburse them. Depending on the circumstances, the vehicle may need to be returned to its rightful owner.
What Does It Cost?
The cost of an Alabama title bond depends on the required bond amount, which varies depending on the type of vehicle and its age. Lost title bonds are issued for passenger vehicles and pickup trucks, buses and recreational vehicles, motorcycles, trailers, and manufactured homes.
For bonding purposes, each of these types of vehicles is classified by age (less than five model years old, five to ten model years old, and ten or more model years old). The state of Alabama has established the required bond amount for each of these vehicle age groupings. So, for example, a passenger vehicle that’s less than five model years old requires a $50,000 lost title bond, while the required bond amount for one that’s more than ten model years old is only $10,000.
Different surety bond companies employ different methods for determining the cost you will pay for a title bond. Some charge a fixed price for each bond amount class, some charge a certain dollar amount per thousand dollars of coverage, and some go through an underwriting process, particularly for higher bond amounts.
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Our surety bond experts will help you get the Alabama title bond you need in order to get a bonded title for your vehicle.