Florida Vehicle Title Bond (Bonded Title)

A bonded title (title brand “BT”) is a Florida certificate of title issued when an owner cannot produce a title that properly assigns the prior owner's interest. Under TL-70's legal authority, “Section 319.23(7), Florida Statutes, provides the department may accept a bond as prescribed on form HSMV 82033, along with an affidavit prescribed on form HSMV 82026, along with a completed vehicle identification number verification as provided on form HSMV 82040 or HSMV 82042” (FLHSMV TL-70, p. 2).

The surety bond protects prior owners, lienholders, and later purchasers against a defective title claim. Florida is restrictive about when this route is even available. See who qualifies below.

TL-70 limits the bonded-title route sharply. A bonded title may be issued only “Due to a private (casual) sale when money is exchanged between a buyer and a seller who is the owner of an automobile, truck weighing less than 8,000 pounds (net weight) or a motorcycle” (TL-70, p. 2), and only “When the vehicle has a current Florida paper title as reflected in the motor vehicle issuance system with no security interest, liens, or encumbrances” (TL-70, p. 2).

Additional conditions:

• Florida resident or Florida-based business. “Any customer applying for a bonded title must be a Florida resident or a Florida based business” (TL-70, p. 4), with proof of ID.
• Eligible model years. The eligible window currently runs from model year 1997 through 2010 (TL-70's chart for current year 2026: eligible model year 2010, last model year 1997). The window moves forward each January 1; in 2027 it becomes 1998 through 2010. Confirm the current window with FLHSMV before you apply.
• The title record must already name the seller. The owner shown on the title record must match the owner/seller named on form HSMV 82026, or “the transaction must be rejected” (TL-70, p. 5).

Not eligible (TL-70, pp. 3-4):

• A vehicle with an electronic title
• A vehicle model year 2011 or newer
• A vehicle more than 29 years old as of January 1 of the current year
• A vehicle titled out of state
• A vehicle with an NMVTIS record other than Florida
• A vehicle with a security interest, lien, or encumbrance on the title or title record, or one where a lien is to be added
• A “Vessel, mobile home, recreational vehicle, or off-highway vehicle”
• A “Truck weighing 8,000 pounds or more (net weight)”

And the route cannot be used for certain transactions at all: “Bonded titles cannot be issued as the result of inheritance, gift, divorce, transfer between a married couple, even trade or trade down, or any transaction other than defined under Vehicles Eligible for a Bonded Title” (TL-70, p. 4). It also “cannot be issued if the purchaser has an unpaid balance on their bill of sale, or if they are securing financing for a lien” (TL-70, p. 10).

If your situation is not on the eligible list, TL-70 refers ineligible customers to procedure TL-07 for other titling options — confirm your path with FLHSMV.

Amount. The bond's penal sum “must be at least two (2) times the amount of the ‘Current Retail Value’ on the form” (TL-70, p. 8); the HSMV 82033 bond form states it is “twice the value of the vehicle.” FLHSMV determines that value: “FLHSMV has selected Kelley Blue Book as the valuation guide for all vehicles that are titled with a Bonded Title (BT) brand” (TL-70, p. 10). You provide a clear Kelley Blue Book screenshot showing the Private Party Value (“current retail value”) for your residential ZIP code, mileage, options, and color, at a condition of at least “good.” Trade-in values, other ZIP codes, or condition below “good” are rejected, and the value must match across the KBB screenshot, HSMV 82026, and HSMV 82033.

Term. The bond runs three years: “The bond expires three (3) years from the date of issuance; The bonded title brand is then removed from the title record three (3) years from the date of the issuance of the title; therefore, you must ensure the bond will be in force for the three (3) years required by statute” (TL-70, p. 8). This mirrors Fla. Stat. 319.23(7), under which the bond expires on the third anniversary of its effective date.

After three years. FLHSMV's system “systematically removes the brand from the title record three (3) years from the effective date… the customer may request a duplicate title without the brand, but title fees will apply” (TL-70, p. 11). The history is retained.

The bond itself. It must be the FLHSMV form — no other state's form, and no cash in lieu of the paper bond (TL-70 FAQ, p. 12). The surety company must be licensed to issue bonds in Florida; out-of-state companies are accepted if licensed in Florida (TL-70, pp. 8-9). The bond is null and void unless signed by both the principal and the surety, and any alteration requires a new bond or a surety amendment.

For the general process across states, see how to get a bonded title.

Each form in the FLHSMV bonded-title set, step by step. All are filed together with the title application at a tax collector's office or license plate agent.

See the Sources section for each form's official FLHSMV link.

A bonded title and a salvage/rebuilt-title inspection are different processes. The TL-70 pages reviewed for this page contain no salvage bond provision, and TL-70 requires the vehicle to already have a current Florida paper title with no lien. For salvage or rebuilt inspection requirements, confirm with FLHSMV.

The main difficulty is eligibility, not paperwork. Many common situations are excluded outright: gifts, inheritance, divorce, trades, financed purchases, out-of-state vehicles, electronic titles, liens, and whole vehicle classes (RVs, mobile homes, vessels, off-highway vehicles, trucks 8,000 lb or more). The vehicle must already hold a current Florida paper title with no lien, fall within the model-year window, and have been bought in a private sale where money changed hands, and you must be a Florida resident or Florida-based business. If every one of those is true, the remaining work is the KBB valuation, the three forms, the VIN verification, and filing at a tax collector's office or license plate agent.

• Fla. Stat. 319.23(7)

  2024 edition; TL-70, revised 09/26, is newer.

• FLHSMV Motor Vehicle Procedure Manual TL-70, "Bonded Titles"
• Form HSMV 82033, Title Surety Bond for a Motor Vehicle
• Form HSMV 82026, Affidavit to Accompany Application for Bonded Title
• Form HSMV 82040, Application for Certificate of Motor Vehicle Title
• Form HSMV 82042, Vehicle Identification Number and Odometer Verification