Colorado Motor Vehicle Title Bond

What a Colorado title bond does

When you hold a vehicle but cannot produce a properly assigned certificate of title, Colorado will not issue a new title on your word alone. Under C.R.S. § 42-6-115(3), the state accepts a surety bond in place of the missing proof of ownership. The bond, which Colorado calls a title established by surety bond, promises that anyone who later proves a better claim to the vehicle (a prior owner, a lienholder, a subsequent purchaser) will be paid their loss up to the bond amount. On the strength of that promise Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles issues a title in your name. It is a real title: you can register, insure, drive and sell the vehicle. The only difference is a brand on the face of the title that lapses when the bond term runs without a claim.

Three parties sign on. You are the principal. Colorado Department of Revenue and every potential claimant are the obligees. Surety One, Inc. is the surety that guarantees your claim. If the surety ever pays, it looks to you under the indemnity agreement in the application, which is why we ask for evidence of how you came to possess the vehicle before issuing.

How much bond do you need in Colorado?

Colorado fixes the penal sum at 2.0× vehicle value. We round up to the next $1,000 because sureties issue in whole thousands and the DMV never objects to a bond that exceeds the requirement.

At $20 per $1,000 that $17,000 bond carries a premium of $340.00, plus the $85 administrative fee, for a total of $425.00 covering the full 3-year term. Nothing renews and nothing is refunded; the premium is fully earned when the bond is executed.

Where the value comes from. An appraisal reflecting current condition from a Colorado-licensed dealer on letterhead (signed, dated, with the dealer license number, and over $350), or a current Kelley Blue Book or NADA value with a DR 2444 Statement of Fact. Where both retail and wholesale appear, the greater applies. Manufactured homes use the county assessor's actual value. The Director fixes the bond amount at not less than twice the reasonable value.

How to get a bonded title in Colorado

1. A certified VIN inspection by a P.O.S.T.-certified inspector (DR 2704) with the vehicle physically in Colorado, under one year old; a Colorado record search (DR 2489A) under one year old, plus a national title and lien search if there is no Colorado record; certified or registered mail notice to every owner and lienholder of record with proof of mailing; lien releases on letterhead, or a bond for the greater of the lien amount or twice the appraised value; odometer disclosure where applicable.
2. Exempt from bonding: vehicles 25 or more years old with a VIN inspection and a bill of sale within 24 months (DR 2462); trailers of 2,000 lbs or less (DR 2908); certain off-highway vehicles; manufactured homes 25 or more years old (DR 2463).
3. No DBA names on the bond.
4. The title issues in the principal's name exactly as it appears on the bond.
5. Not available for vehicles abandoned without an agreement with the owner of record.

Once the bond is in hand, file it with the title application at Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles. The executed bond carries the surety's power of attorney, is signed and witnessed as the state requires, and matches the vehicle description on your application exactly. Any discrepancy between the bond and the application (a transposed VIN digit, a name that does not match your ID) is the most common reason a bonded title is rejected.

Colorado title bond FAQ

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Written and reviewed by C. Constantin Poindexter, MA, JD, CPCU, AFSB, ASLI, ARe, AINS, AIS, CPLP, founder of Surety One, Inc. and CEO of Janus Assurance Re, with more than thirty years of surety and reinsurance underwriting experience. Author of The Contractor's Guide to Surety Bonds. Reflects state law and DMV practice as of November 5, 2026. More about the author →