District of Columbia key facts
- Bonded title: not issued
- What District of Columbia uses instead: See below
- Authority: No bonded title provision in D.C. Code Title 50 or DC DMV rules
- Forms: None
- Agency: District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles
Why there is no District of Columbia title bond
Thirty-five states have adopted some form of the Uniform Motor Vehicle Certificate of Title and Anti-Theft Act's bond provision, which lets an applicant who cannot prove ownership post a surety bond and receive a branded title. District of Columbia has not. Its vehicle code requires the titling agency to be satisfied as to ownership before a title issues, and gives the applicant an administrative or judicial route when the paper trail is broken. A surety bond that the agency has no authority to accept does not help, and we will not sell you one for a District of Columbia-titled vehicle.
What District of Columbia does instead
- DC DMV requires a current title or manufacturer's certificate of origin; a duplicate title issues only to the owner of record or through a vehicle power of attorney.
- No surety bond or bonded title option is published.
- Applicants without a title must obtain one from the issuing jurisdiction or a court order.
When a title bond may still apply
If the vehicle was last titled in a state that does bond titles, the fastest path is often to obtain a bonded title there and surrender it to District of Columbia. Oregon's DMV manual, for example, expressly accepts other states' bonded titles and issues a clean Oregon title against them, and most non-bond states take the same view because the surrendered bonded title is a valid certificate of title from the issuing state. The catch is that the bonding state will usually require you to be its resident or to have the vehicle physically inside its borders. Our underwriters can read the prior-state record and tell you whether that route is open.
If the vehicle has never been titled anywhere, or District of Columbia is the only state in its record, the District of Columbia route above is the only one.
District of Columbia FAQ
Can I get a bonded title in District of Columbia?
What does District of Columbia do instead of a title bond?
Why do some websites sell a District of Columbia lost title bond?
When might a title bond still help a District of Columbia resident?
Primary sources
- No bonded title provision in D.C. Code Title 50 or DC DMV rules
- District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles
- dmv.dc.gov
Content last reviewed November 5, 2026. Confidence that District of Columbia issues no bonded title: medium. If District of Columbia adopts a bond provision, this page will change.
States that do bond titles
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 →
Vehicle last titled elsewhere?
Tell an underwriter where the vehicle was last titled and we will say whether a bonded title in that state will get you a clean District of Columbia title.
Quote a bond in another state
Pick the state, enter the vehicle's value, and the statutory multiplier does the rest. Rounded up to the next $1,000.