Check your vehicle’s age before you ask about a bond
Connecticut does have a real bonded-title process — Form H-113, filed under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-176. But most people asking this question don’t need it. If your vehicle is more than 20 model years old, Connecticut doesn’t require a title at all — your registration is your proof of ownership. If it’s newer and you simply lost the paper title you already had, that’s a $25 replacement, not a bond. The H-113 surety bond only comes in for the third case: a newer vehicle where DMV genuinely can’t confirm who owns it.
We check the exemption first
Before quoting any bond
Real H-113 bond, done right
Cited to § 14-176
Exact CT forms
H-113, H6B, Q-1, H-31
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Step 1: Is your vehicle more than 20 model years old?
Connecticut is one of a handful of states that simply stops requiring a title once a vehicle passes a model-year cutoff. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-166, “the acquisition of a certificate of title shall not be required for a motor vehicle older than twenty model years.” DMV’s own guidance confirms it in plain language: vehicles more than 20 model years old are “non-titled,” and your registration certificate is your proof of ownership instead of a title.
In 2026, that means any vehicle with a model year of 2006 or earlier falls under this exemption. To register or transfer one of these vehicles, you don’t need a title application or a bond — you need the prior owner’s registration, a completed Form Q-1 (Supplemental Assignment of Ownership), and, if the registration alone doesn’t establish the sale, a Form H-31 Bill of Sale. If you’d still prefer a title on record, § 14-166 lets you request one voluntarily for the standard title fee under § 14-192 — but nothing forces you to.
If your vehicle qualifies here, stop. You don’t need the rest of this page, and you definitely don’t need a bond. Everything below applies only to vehicles 20 model years old or newer.
Step 2: For vehicles 20 years or newer, which of these two are you?
This is where most of the confusion happens. Connecticut has two completely different processes depending on whether ownership is actually in question — only one of them involves a bond.
You own it, you just lost the paper
Title was already issued in your name, or a previous owner properly signed it over, and the physical certificate is lost, damaged, or was never mailed to you. File Form H6B (Application for Replacement Certificate of Title). If ownership still needs to move from the last titled owner to you, pair it with Form Q-1. DMV issues a clean replacement — no bond notation, no surety company involved.
Form
H6B (+ Q-1 if reassigning)
Cost
$25 duplicate title fee — no premium
Bond required?
No
Ownership can’t be confirmed — Form H-113
You have the vehicle but never received any title, the last titled owner is unreachable or won’t sign, or there’s a break in the paper trail the H6B/Q-1 process can’t bridge. Here, DMV’s Vehicle and Business Regulation Division can require a surety bond under § 14-176 as a condition of issuing the title — Form H-113, executed by you and a licensed surety company, in an amount equal to twice the vehicle’s DMV-determined value. The bond indemnifies any prior owner, lienholder, or later purchaser who shows up with a valid claim.
Statute / Form
§ 14-176 / Form H-113
Bond amount
2x DMV-determined vehicle value
Term
5 years (or until title surrendered)
Submit the completed bond, with a current power of attorney if a surety company executes it, to DMV’s Vehicle and Business Regulation Division at 60 State Street, Wethersfield, CT 06161.
Official Connecticut Requirements
"The Principal has been required, as a condition, to furnish the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles a bond satisfactory to him in the amount equal to twice the value of the vehicle above specified as determined by the commissioner... The bond, and any deposit accompanying it, shall be returned at the end of five years or prior thereto if the vehicle is no longer registered in this state and the currently valid certificate of title is surrendered to the commissioner."Connecticut DMV, Form H-113 (Rev. 9-2018), citing Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-176 • Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-176
How Connecticut’s bond compares to other states
Connecticut’s 2x-value bond amount matches the higher end of what other states require, but its 5-year hold is longer than the 3-year term used by most bonded-title states we cover — including Texas and Florida. That matters if you plan to resell before the notation clears.
Connecticut vs. Texas & Florida bonded titles
Bond multiplier and term, side by side
| State | Bond amount | Term | Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut — § 14-176 | 2x DMV-determined value | 5 years | H-113 |
| Texas — Transp. Code § 501.053 | 1.5x TxDMV-determined value | 3 years | VTR-130-SOF |
| Florida — F.S. § 319.23(7) | 2x KBB/NADA value | 3 years | HSMV 82033 |
Connecticut figures verified against DMV Form H-113 and Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-176. Texas and Florida figures reflect the published requirements on their respective BuySuretyBonds.com state guides.
Sources: portal.ct.gov/dmv (Form H-113); cga.ct.gov Title 14, Chapter 246.
Don’t buy a bond you don’t need
Because “Connecticut bonded title” is a real, searchable product, some sites quote every visitor the same H-113 bond regardless of vehicle age or paperwork status. Two things to check before you pay a premium:
- Run the 20-year math first. A 2006 model year vehicle in 2026 is already exempt under § 14-166 — no title, no bond, registration is enough.
- A lost title isn’t a defective title. If you’re already the titled owner on record and just misplaced the paper, Form H6B replaces it for $25. The H-113 bond is for when ownership itself can’t be confirmed — not for a missing document you’re otherwise entitled to.
Tell us your situation before we quote anything — if you don’t need the bond, we’ll say so.
Connecticut Title FAQs — 20-Year Rule, H6B, and the H-113 Bond
Does Connecticut actually offer a bonded title, or is it like Virginia with no bond option?
Connecticut does offer a real bonded title — unlike states such as Virginia that have no bond-for-title provision at all. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-176 lets the DMV require an applicant to file a surety bond, on Form H-113, as a condition of issuing a certificate of title when ownership can't otherwise be confirmed. What trips people up is that most Connecticut vehicles never need this bond in the first place — the 20-model-year exemption under § 14-166 removes the title requirement entirely for older vehicles, and a simple lost-title replacement (Form H6B) covers the most common "I just misplaced the paper" case without any bond at all. The H-113 bond is real, but it's the third option, not the first.
My car is more than 20 model years old. Do I need a title, a bond, or anything?
Neither. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-166, "the acquisition of a certificate of title shall not be required for a motor vehicle older than 20 model years." Your vehicle is "non-titled," and your registration certificate stands as proof of ownership instead. To register or transfer a non-titled vehicle you use the prior owner's registration plus a Supplemental Assignment of Ownership (Form Q-1) and, if needed, a Bill of Sale (Form H-31) — no bond, no title fee tied to a bond. You can still request a title voluntarily under § 14-166 if you want one (DMV will issue it for the standard title fee under § 14-192), but it's optional.
My vehicle is newer than 20 years and I just lost the paper title. Do I need the H-113 bond?
Almost certainly not. If the title is already in your name (or was properly assigned to you) and you simply can't find the paper copy, that's a straightforward replacement, not a bonded-title situation. File Form H6B (Application for Replacement Certificate of Title) along with Form Q-1 if ownership needs to be reassigned. There's a $25 duplicate-title fee, and no surety bond involved. The H-113 bond only comes into play when the DMV can't verify your ownership at all from the documents on hand.
When does CT DMV actually require the H-113 surety bond?
Connecticut's Specialized Registry Services / Vehicle and Business Regulation Division requires the § 14-176 bond when it cannot confirm your ownership through the normal replacement process — most often because you never received any title from the seller, the last titled owner can't be found or won't sign off, or there's a break in the paper trail the standard H6B/Q-1 process can't fix. In that scenario, DMV sets a vehicle value, you or your surety company complete Form H-113 for twice that value, and the bond (plus any accompanying deposit) is submitted to DMV at 60 State Street, Wethersfield, CT 06161 before a title issues.
How much does the Connecticut title bond cost, and how long does it last?
The bond amount itself is fixed by statute at twice the DMV-determined vehicle value — not a range you can shop down. What you pay is the premium a surety company charges to issue that bond, typically 1-5% of the bond amount depending on your credit profile, similar to other title-bond states. The bond term is longer than most: Connecticut holds it for five years (or until the vehicle is deregistered and a valid title surrendered), where states like Texas, Florida, and North Carolina release theirs after three. That extra two years matters if you're planning to sell before the notation clears.
What happens when the 5-year Connecticut bond period ends?
If no one has filed a claim against the bond and the vehicle is still registered in Connecticut, the bond and any accompanying deposit are returned at the end of five years, and you can apply for a standard, unencumbered title. If you sell or deregister the vehicle before five years are up, you can get the bond released earlier by surrendering the valid certificate of title to the commissioner. Either way, until one of those two things happens, the bond stays active and the surety remains on the hook up to the bond amount for any valid ownership claim.
Not sure which of the three applies?
Tell us your vehicle’s year and situation — we’ll tell you if you actually need the H-113 bond.
Compare to other states
See how Connecticut’s process stacks up against every other state we cover on the full 50-state vehicle title bond directory, including states with no bond option at all like Virginia.
Full directory
All 50-state title bond guides
Compare bond amounts, terms, and forms across every state we cover.
3-year term, 1.5x value
Texas title bonds
VTR-130-SOF, shorter term and lower multiplier than Connecticut’s H-113.
No bond option
Virginia title process
Virginia has no bonded-title statute at all — affidavit and court paths only.
Official Connecticut sources
- Connecticut DMV — Proof of Vehicle Ownership
Official guidance on the 20-model-year exemption and non-titled vehicles.
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 14-176 (Withholding of certificate; bond requirement)
The statute behind Form H-113 and the 2x-value, 5-year surety bond.
- Connecticut DMV — Vehicle Title Service
Replacement titles (Form H6B), Q-1 assignments, and title change transactions.
Statutes and DMV procedures change. Always verify against the live Connecticut DMV and cga.ct.gov pages above before filing — we last reviewed this page on 2026-08-04.
All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov) and verified before publication. BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-certified, A-minimum rated surety carriers serving all 50 states.
Tell Us Your Connecticut Title Situation
We’ll tell you whether the 20-year exemption applies, whether you just need Form H6B, or whether you genuinely need the H-113 bond — before you pay for anything.