North Dakota key facts
- Bonded title: not issued
- What North Dakota uses instead: Untitled Vehicle Process
- Authority: N.D.C.C. § 39-05-20(1); N.D. Admin. Code § 37-12-04-01 (untitled vehicles); no bond provision
- Forms: SFN 2903 Vehicle Statement of Ownership (notarized); SFN 2888 Seller's Certificate and Bill of Sale; SFN 61999 Certificate of VIN Inspection; SFN 2872 Application for Certificate of Title and Registration
- Agency: North Dakota Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division, Bismarck
Why there is no North Dakota 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. North Dakota 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 North Dakota-titled vehicle.
What North Dakota does instead
- No bond.
- North Dakota residents only.
- An NMVTIS history check comes first; if any state has a title record the untitled-vehicle process cannot be used and the applicant must get the title from the last owner of record or obtain a court order awarding ownership.
- If there is no record: a notarized bill of sale, VIN plate and vehicle photos, the SFN 2903 statement of ownership, a VIN inspection by a registered repair business, fees and excise tax on fair market value, and an NCIC stolen check.
- A separate affidavit process exists for vehicles more than 40 years old.
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 North Dakota. 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 North Dakota is the only state in its record, the North Dakota route above is the only one.
North Dakota FAQ
Can I get a bonded title in North Dakota?
What does North Dakota do instead of a title bond?
Why do some websites sell a North Dakota lost title bond?
When might a title bond still help a North Dakota resident?
Primary sources
- N.D.C.C. § 39-05-20(1); N.D. Admin. Code § 37-12-04-01 (untitled vehicles); no bond provision
- Official form: SFN 2903 Vehicle Statement of Ownership (notarized)
- North Dakota Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division, Bismarck
Content last reviewed November 5, 2026. Confidence that North Dakota issues no bonded title: high. If North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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.