California Vehicle Title Bond

A bonded title in California means you submit a Motor Vehicle Ownership Surety Bond (REG 5057) to the DMV when the required evidence of ownership is not available and at least one condition applies, such as a vehicle valued at $5,000 or more (CVC 4157, 38050 and CCR 152).

The bond must be for the vehicle's fair market value, set by a written appraisal from a licensed dealer or motor vehicle insurance representative (or a yacht and ship broker for a vessel), or by a REG 256 using a recognized valuation handbook. The surety must sign and have the signature notarized; a preprinted signature and notary acknowledgement is not accepted.

Source: California DMV: Motor Vehicle Ownership Surety Bond (REG 5057)

A lost title is a different matter from missing ownership evidence. If you have simply misplaced the paper, the DMV reissues it on an Application for Replacement or Transfer of Title (REG 227). The DMV's title transfers and changes page sets the terms: if the registration shows a legal owner or lienholder, section 5 of the REG 227 must be notarized; if it shows none, notarization is not required. A duplicate title for a lost title is $28 (the DMV's gift and inheritance title transfer checklist), and titles usually arrive by mail within 15 to 30 days. Report any change in ownership or lienholder to the DMV within 10 days, and use the DMV's fee calculator to estimate the total. Questions go to the DMV at 1-800-777-0133.

A California title bond enters the picture when the required ownership evidence is not available and one of the DMV's listed conditions applies, not when a title on record can be reissued. For the full replacement route and the documents the DMV asks for, see our guide to replacing a lost California title.

Replace it first, and look at a bond only if the DMV tells you a replacement title is not possible.

The DMV form guide further down this page walks each form in detail; this is the order to do them in before you pay a surety. California's vehicle title bond triggers sit in section 23.020 of the DMV's Vehicle Industry Registration Procedures Manual: a bond is required when ownership evidence is missing and the vehicle is worth $5,000 or more, the vessel is worth $2,000 or more, or the title is nontransferable (goldenrod). Note the separate vessel figure — a boat at $2,000 can fall under the rule where a car at the same value would not. See a California boat or vessel title bond for that path.

The order of steps:

1. Send the diligent-effort letter first. The DMV accepts "A certified letter, returned to the sender unclaimed and unopened, as evidence of a diligent effort"; if 30 days pass with no response, a postal receipt showing the addressee received it may be accepted.
2. Complete the Statement of Facts (REG 256) yourself. A dealer, dismantler, or registration service cannot complete it for you.
3. Then choose the bond or the deposit. The REG 5057 surety bond and the REG 5059 deposit are alternatives — you post one or the other.

If the vehicle is under $5,000 and not a nontransferable or missing-release case, the bond process is not required; for a vessel below $2,000, confirm with the DMV. Ask the DMV about the lighter documentation path either way. If the vehicle came from another state, the inspection and documents differ — see titling an out-of-state vehicle in California.

Chapter 23 of the DMV's Vehicle Industry Registration Procedures Manual names the forms below. Here is what each one is for, who completes it and where it goes.

What the DMV asks for when ownership papers are missing

When the seller paperwork is gone, section 23.010 requires a Statement of Facts, REG 256, from you. Section 23.010 tells you what that statement has to say: what effort you made to reach the last owner of record and why the documents could not be obtained, how and when and from whom you acquired the vehicle, that it is free of liens not shown on the application, and the current value and how you determined it. If an appraisal set the value, that appraisal rides along with the REG 256. One limit: section 23.010 says a REG 256 cannot be completed by a dealer, dismantler, or registration service on your behalf. You sign it yourself, under penalty of perjury.

The certified letter is your proof of diligent effort. Section 23.010 describes it as a certified letter returned to you unclaimed and unopened. If 30 days pass with no response, the manual says a postal receipt acknowledging the addressee received the letter may be accepted instead. The manual also notes the diligent effort satisfies the application's supporting-document requirements, including the seller's odometer disclosure.

There is a lighter path under $5,000. Section 23.010 says that if the vehicle is worth $4,999 or less (and it is not a nontransferable “goldenrod” case and not a missing lienholder release), the diligent-effort and bond process is not required. Instead you submit any documentation that establishes ownership plus a REG 256 stating from whom you acquired the vehicle, its current value, and that it is free of liens not shown on the application. Confirm with the DMV that your vehicle qualifies before you skip the bond.

Reading REG 5057 field by field

REG 5057, the Motor Vehicle Ownership Surety Bond, is completed by the surety, not by you. The surety enters the principal's true full name (the name in which you are applying for the title), the surety's own name as filed with the Department of Insurance, the state of incorporation, and the penal sum, which is the fair market value of the vehicle. The vehicle lines ask for the California plate number, the VIN from your registration or title document, and the year model and make. The form cites Vehicle Code sections 4157 and 4307 and section 152.00 of Title 13 of the California Code of Regulations. Section 23.020 requires the surety's signature to be notarized and says a bond preprinted with the surety's signature and notary acknowledgment is not acceptable; the signature block is for the attorney-in-fact for the surety. Section 23.000 adds that the principal's signature and acknowledgment must be original, so ask the DMV how it wants your acknowledgment attached (the REG 5057 PDF itself carries no principal signature line).

On term: neither REG 5057 nor section 23.020 states a number of years. The form carries a 30-day written cancellation notice by the surety and says the bond remains effective in accordance with Vehicle Code section 4158. Section 23.035 sets a three-year return rule for deposit alternatives and cites section 4158, the same section REG 5057 cites for how long the bond stays effective. The manual does not state a term for the surety bond itself, so confirm the term with the DMV.

The deposit alternative (REG 5059)

Instead of a bond, section 23.025 lets you post a deposit on REG 5059. The form is submitted in duplicate and cites Vehicle Code sections 4157, 4158, 9923, 9924, 38050 and 38055. Section 23.025 lists the deposit types: lawful money of the United States (cash), a bearer bond or bearer note of the United States or the State of California, a certificate of deposit, or an account assigned as security. Whatever you post has to carry a value at least equal to what the bond would secure. The depositor signs, and a financial institution completes its own acknowledgment block when the deposit sits at that institution; the form notes the applicant may be the same person as the depositor. Section 23.025 says cash is held by the DMV in an interest-bearing trust account. A deposit can later be returned: section 23.035 allows it once the vehicle has not been registered in California for at least three years and the valid California certificate of ownership is surrendered. Section 23.035 names an Application for Refund (ADM 399) for a cash deposit; other deposits come back on a written request to the DMV address given in that section.

When the missing paper is the lienholder's release

Sometimes the title evidence exists but the legal owner or lienholder cannot be reached to release it. Section 23.050 says a bond may be accepted in place of the lienholder's release once all efforts to obtain a release of interest or lien satisfied have been exhausted, and that a bond is required regardless of the vehicle's value. The three cases differ:

• Individual legal owner: section 23.050 asks for your returned, unopened certified letter, a REG 256 giving the current retail value (this wording differs from section 23.020, so confirm with the DMV how it wants the value shown) and the diligent-effort information, a bond or bond alternative for the value, and fees due.
• Dealer out of business: if a lien-satisfied document from the out-of-business legal owner is not submitted, section 23.050 requires a bond or bond alternative for the value. In this case the manual's staff steps record the out-of-business dealer on line 2 of REG 227, the Application for Replacement or Transfer of Title.
• Bank or lender: if the legal owner refuses to assist, section 23.050 sends you back through the diligent-effort process and tells the DMV to forward the paperwork to headquarters, which researches whether the institution or a successor exists and advises you of additional requirements. For vehicles two model years old or newer, section 23.050 says a legal owner that is not in the electronic lien and title (ELT) program and has lost the title must itself apply for a duplicate on REG 227.

One case where the bond is not fair market value

Salvage is the exception to the fair-market-value rule. Section 23.040 says that when a regular title is not available for a vehicle reported sold as salvage, the bond amount is the payoff to the insured plus the amount paid by the salvage buyer. The manual's own example: a $2,100 payoff plus $300 paid by the salvage buyer makes a $2,400 bond. Section 23.040 also notes a bond is not required if an insurance company submits an acceptable REG 492 in place of the ownership documents.

Questions to ask the DMV before you file

• How do you want the vehicle's value shown? The manual words this three ways: section 23.000 uses the midpoint between the wholesale and retail values in a pricing handbook, section 23.020 accepts a written appraisal or averages the lowest and highest handbook prices, and section 23.050 asks for the current retail value. Ask which the DMV wants for your file.
• Does the DMV need a vehicle verification before it accepts the bond?
• How should the principal's original signature and acknowledgment be attached to REG 5057?
• Which title application fits this vehicle, and does section 23.050 apply to my lienholder situation?
• What fees are due now? Fees apply, but no dollar amount for the bond filing is stated, so confirm current fees.
• Where do I submit the bond? Section 23.000 says it may be submitted by the applicant, another person or online, and the DMV says to call 1-800-777-0133 or visit a DMV office.

Related California DMV forms beyond the bond path

A few other forms come up around these cases. They are not part of the Motor Vehicle Ownership Surety Bond itself — match the form to your situation before you file:

• REG 227, Application for Replacement or Transfer of Title — for a lost or reissued title rather than a bond. When the registration shows a legal owner or lienholder, section 5 must be notarized; when it shows none, it need not be. The lost-title section above covers when the REG 227, and not a REG 5057, is the right form.
• REG 31, Verification of Vehicle — for the in-person VIN verification an out-of-state vehicle needs. The REG 31 form is marked "NOT TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT"; it must be done by an authorized DMV representative, a California-licensed verifier, an authorized auto club employee, or a peace officer. The DMV's out-of-state title transfer checklist also notes out-of-state smog tests are not accepted. See the out-of-state vehicle checklist for that route.
• REG 5, Affidavit for Transfer Without Probate — for an inherited California-titled vehicle. The REG 5 affidavit asks that "at least 40 days have elapsed since the death of the decedent," that the estate not exceed the cap the form states ("$184,500" if the decedent died on or after April 1, 2022 — check the current form), and that a death certificate is attached. See an inherited California vehicle.
• REG 668 and REG 656 (lien sale) — a separate path for a repair, tow, or storage lienholder selling an unpaid vehicle, not for an owner seeking a title. REG 668 is the Notice of Pending Lien Sale for a vehicle valued at $4,000 or less; REG 656 is the Application for Authorization for Lien Sale for one valued over $4,000. These run through the DMV's lien-sale process, so confirm the steps with the DMV.

These sit alongside the California title bond forms above; pick the one your situation calls for rather than defaulting to the REG 5057.

If your vehicle is titled in California but has not been registered for four years or more, the DMV may no longer have a digital record of it, and the first job is to re-establish that record. The DMV's vehicles no longer in DMV records page says that if the vehicle is valued at $5,000 or more, you "may need a Motor Vehicle Ownership Surety Bond (REG 5057)." Hold onto that "may": whether a California title bond is required is the DMV's call once the record is re-established, so ask then.

If the vehicle came from another state, see bringing an out-of-state vehicle onto the California record.

Sometimes the title evidence exists but the legal owner or lienholder cannot be reached to release it. For an unobtainable release, section 23.050 of the DMV manual states: "A bond is required regardless of the vehicle or vessels value." A low-value car does not get you out of the bond here; the missing release is what triggers it.

If the lender has closed, start with the DMV's find your financial institution page, the DMV's finder for lenders that have gone out of business, before you treat the release as unobtainable. A California title bond is for the release you cannot get. For the broader duplicate-title route, see the California lost-title steps.

Keep copies of every letter you send.

If your title problem is a manufactured home rather than a car, you are at the wrong agency. The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), not the DMV, runs the Registration and Titling Program, which "provides registration and title documents for new or resold manufactured homes, commercial modulars, floating homes and truck campers." You can reach HCD's program at (800) 952-8356, and its registration and titling page is the place to start.

A California DMV title bond on REG 5057 is a vehicle-and-vessel form. We have not found a surety-bond route for HCD-titled homes on HCD's page, so confirm with HCD whether a bond is available for your situation before you assume the DMV process applies. For the national picture on these titles, see manufactured and mobile home title bonds.

Start at the right agency. HCD, not the DMV, is where a manufactured or floating home title gets sorted out.

California has no title the DMV calls a "bonded title"; a California title bond is formally a Motor Vehicle Ownership Surety Bond (REG 5057). That is separate from California's title brands. The DMV's branded titles page says a "salvaged" brand covers a vehicle that "incurred considerable damage," and that the brand "includes previously dismantled (junk) vehicles." We have not found the ownership surety bond itself listed as a brand on that page, so ask the DMV what your specific title will say.

On the term, we have not found a number of years on REG 5057 or in section 23.020, so confirm the term with the DMV. We have not found DMV guidance on how the title reads for selling or insuring after a bond, so confirm those with the DMV and with your insurer. If your vehicle carries an actual salvage or rebuilt brand, see a California salvage or rebuilt title; for what changes once the bond period ends, see what happens after the bond term.

Before you count on selling or insuring the vehicle a certain way, ask the DMV what the title will actually say.