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 your Washington state title bond needs.
What Are They?
Purchasing a Washington state title bond (formally known as a Washington vehicle ownership bond) is a prerequisite for obtaining a bonded title for a motor vehicle. You’ll need a bonded title if you want to register, insure, or sell a vehicle you have purchased but don’t have a valid certificate of title.
The title bond protects the Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) against liability for having issued a bonded title to someone who does not legitimately own the vehicle. It also ensures that funds will be available for compensating the rightful owner for any financial loss incurred as a result of a bonded title having been issued to someone else.
Who Needs Them?
These are some common reasons why a person might need a bonded title:
- The seller did not provide a title
- The seller provided a title that is invalid due to improper assignment or damage that obscures a name or signature
- The seller provided a title but it was lost or stolen before being registered in the buyer’s name
The process of obtaining a bonded title includes steps intended to prevent one from being issued to someone other than the vehicle’s rightful owner or a lienholder. For example, doing a VIN number search to rule out the possibility that the vehicle was reported as stolen at some point.
However, those measures aren’t foolproof, which is why a bonded title remains in place for three years, backed by a Washington state title bond with a three-year term. The required amount of the bond is 1.5 times the vehicle’s 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 Washington state title bond is in force, someone could come forward with proof of ownership. It’s also possible, likely even, that this rightful owner will have suffered a financial loss as a result of the actions of the person (the bond’s “principal”) who was issued the bonded title. The vehicle’s true owner has the right to file a claim against the title bond and be compensated for that loss.
The surety bonding company (the “surety”) will verify the validity of the claim and then pay it on behalf of the principal, who must then reimburse the surety. The terms of the lost title bond make the principal entirely responsible for paying claims and therefore legally obligated to repay the surety.
If there are no claims within the three-year bond term, the bonded title can be replaced with a standard certificate of title.
What Do They Cost?
Different surety bond companies have different methods for determining the premium cost for a Washington state title bond. Many of them have a tiered cost structure, with bonds in the lowest tier (generally under $6,000) selling for a flat fee of about $100 and those in the middle tier (usually up to $25,000) costing a few dollars more per additional $1,000.
Only bonds in the highest tier (typically above $25,000) are subject to underwriting based on the principal’s personal credit score.
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Our surety bond professionals will get you the Washington state title bond you need at a competitive rate.