Georgia Bonded Title: The MV-46 Vehicle Title Bond and How to Get One

A Georgia bonded title is a Georgia Certificate of Title that DOR issues on the strength of a surety bond when you don't have the proof-of-ownership documents needed to title the vehicle in your name. The bond, executed on Form MV-46 (“Motor Vehicle Certificate of Title Bond,” Rev. Feb 2014), is payable to the Georgia Department of Revenue Commissioner and stands behind your title application for a set term.

The resulting title is not a clean title: under Rule 560-10-13-.01(1)(m) it carries a legend warning it “may be subject to undisclosed liens, security interests, salvage, odometer reading discrepancy, or other conditions” (full wording below).

To be eligible, DOR's Bonded Vehicle Title guidance indicates the owner must be a Georgia legal resident and the vehicle must be one that requires a Georgia title (confirm your situation with your County Tag Office). The bond itself must be written by a licensed insurer: Rule 560-10-13-.04(2)(b) states, “The bond shall be issued by a bonding, surety or insurance company licensed to do business in Georgia.” Form MV-46 is filled out and signed by the vehicle owner (the principal) and the surety's agent.

New to the bonded-title process overall? See how to get a bonded title.

The bond amount is set by rule. Per Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 560-10-13-.04(3), the bond must equal “double the fair market value of the motor vehicle as provided for in O.C.G.A. § 48-5C-1, or $5,000.00 whichever is greater.” DOR's Bonded Vehicle Title page states the same floor: “The minimum acceptable bond amount is $5,000.”

So the math works from the vehicle's value:

• A vehicle valued at $6,000 → double is $12,000, which is above the floor, so the bond is $12,000.
• A vehicle valued at $1,800 → double is $3,600, which is below the floor, so the bond is still $5,000.

Where the value comes from. If the vehicle has no value in the motor vehicle assessment (this can happen with commercial vehicles or trailers), Rule 560-10-13-.04(4) provides that the bond is based on double the taxable value set by the County Board of Tax Assessors, who gives the owner a signed, dated statement of that value.

How the amount is verified. Per DOR's guidance, your insurer can confirm the amount by phoning the DOR Motor Vehicle Division at 855-406-5221, and your County Tag Office can provide certain bond amounts.

A separate title fee applies at filing — DOR's page lists an $18.00 title fee. The surety premium (what you pay the carrier for the bond) is set by a licensed surety company and is not quoted on this page; BuySuretyBonds is not licensed to sell surety in Georgia.

The requirements, from the DOR Bonded Vehicle Title page and the forms themselves:

1. Determine the bond amount — double the vehicle's fair market value, or $5,000, whichever is greater (Rule 560-10-13-.04(3)); verify with DOR MVD (855-406-5221, via your insurer) or your County Tag Office if unsure.
2. Get the vehicle inspected on Form T-22B. The inspection is done by a duly constituted Georgia law enforcement officer and includes a GCIC/NCIC stolen-vehicle inquiry. T-22B states: “This form must be completed by a Georgia law enforcement officer, then submitted to the county tag office by the vehicle owner.” If the inspection shows the serial (VIN) plate is missing, Form T-128 (Missing Serial Plate Affidavit) is also required.
3. Obtain a vehicle history report. DOR's guidance calls for an NMVTIS report (or an equivalent DOR authorizes). If the title of record is from another state, a certified title history from that state is required; if a lien shows, Form T-4 is required.
4. Have the bond executed on Form MV-46. The owner (principal) and the surety's agent sign; each joint owner signs; all bond signatures are witnessed; and a power of attorney authorizing the agent is attached. MV-46 warns: “This form must be complete and legible. Any alteration or correction voids this form.” MV-46 is executed only when it is accompanied by the affidavit (MV-46A) and the inspection (T-22B).
5. Complete the affidavit, Form MV-46A, before a notary (details in the form guide below).
6. File the package at your County Tag Office with your title/tag application (Form MV-1) and pay the title fee.

Deadline: DOR's guidance says to apply for the title within six months of the bond's issue date.

Everything else about ordering your steps (what to do first, how long a tag office takes to issue the title) is not specified in the DOR materials read here — confirm with your County Tag Office.

In Georgia, titles based on a surety bond are applied for at your County Tag Office through the DOR Motor Vehicle Division. Use the DOR county tag office locator to find yours.

Start at the county tag office that serves where you live; that office receives the application and the bond forms.

Sources: Georgia DOR: Bonded vehicle title · Georgia DOR: County tag offices

Georgia salvage title and the bonded-title route

If you're searching for a Georgia salvage title, note what the DOR materials here actually say about salvage and the bond: when a vehicle was settled as a total loss by an insurer, or was wrecked so that two or more major component parts had to be replaced, Form MV-46A requires that it “must first be scheduled for a salvage vehicle inspection” before the bonded-title process. The DOR materials read here don't describe the broader salvage/rebuilt-title workflow beyond that inspection step — confirm the salvage-title requirements with your County Tag Office.

There is a note for dealers on MV-46A: “A dealer must first acquire the bonded Certificate of Title prior to assignment or transfer of the vehicle.” If you run a dealership or a title service, see title professionals.

Each form, who completes it, where it goes, and what it needs. Items marked confirm were not read directly and should be verified with your County Tag Office.

Term: 4 years. Form MV-46 states: “That said bond shall remain in force and effect for a period of four (4) years from the date of issuance of this bond unless the Georgia Department of Revenue Commissioner has been notified of a breach of a condition of the bond.” (The 4-year term is stated on the form itself; the text of O.C.G.A. § 40-3-28 is not reproduced here.)

The title carries a legend. Under Rule 560-10-13-.01(1)(m), a title issued on a surety bond carries this statement: “This Title was issued on the basis of a surety bond and may be subject to undisclosed liens, security interests, salvage, odometer reading discrepancy, or other conditions.” Rule .04(5) provides that DOR may issue a Georgia Certificate of Title that states “Surety Bond” in the legend.

What happens to the title after the four-year term ends is not described in the DOR materials read here — confirm with your County Tag Office or DOR.

If you once held a Georgia title in your own name and simply lost it, DOR's route is a replacement title, applied for at your County Tag Office on the "MV-1 Title/Tag Application" (the same form the bonded title uses); DOR's Replace a Lost or Stolen Title page lists an "$8.00 replacement title fee." For how a duplicate differs from a bonded title, see lost title vs. bonded title, and the vehicle title bonds hub for how bond routes work.

A few Georgia-specific rules decide whether a plain replacement works:

• A recorded lien. A Form T-4 is required for each lienholder still shown on the record. Georgia also satisfies old liens by time: "Any lien or security interest recorded on a Georgia Title for ten years from the title's issue date shall be considered satisfied and a release will not be required. Except for liens and security interests recorded for mobile homes, cranes, and vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight."
• A deceased owner. "A replacement title cannot be issued in a deceased person's name." If an owner has died, see the inherited-vehicle section below.
• Title lost mid-sale. "If the title in the previous owner's name is lost before a new title is issued to the new owner, the previous owner must apply for a replacement title. Then, both parties must complete the title reassignment form on the back of the title again."

We have not found a processing time on DOR's Replace a Lost or Stolen Title page; confirm current turnaround with your County Tag Office. The County Tag Office is the right first stop for all of this.

People reach for a bond when they inherited a car, bought it in a private sale, or were handed only a bill of sale. In several of these situations Georgia has a normal titling path instead. For the national picture on inherited vehicles, see inherited vehicle title bonds.

Inherited vehicle. Georgia titles an inherited vehicle through its Vehicle Inherited or Purchased from an Estate process: "Form T-20 Affidavit of Inheritance", a "Certified copy of the deceased's death certificate", and — in some cases — "Form MV-16 Affidavit to Certify Immediate Family Relationship may be required." Note the residency rule: "If a Georgia title has not been issued for the vehicle and the inheritor is not a legal resident of Georgia, the inheritor must obtain a title in their name first from their home state."

Private (casual) sale. On a casual sale, "Title and registration must be completed within 7 days of purchase date." The normal route is the title assigned to you by the seller.

When a bill of sale is named. DOR's casual-sale page names a bill of sale for one case: "Provide Bill of Sale if the vehicle is 1985 or older and does not require a title." It applies to vehicles that do not require a Georgia title.

Vehicles that do not require a Georgia title. Per DOR's Title Not Required or Optional Titles page, these include "1962 or older year model vehicles", "All terrain and off-road vehicles", "Trailers weighing 2,000 pounds or less", and "Vehicles not manufactured for highway use." For 1963–1985 model years the page sets its own conditions — such a vehicle is titled only where a title is assigned to you, and "You cannot title a 1963-1985 year model vehicle if: The vehicle has been registered in someone else's name(s)." Check your exact year and documents with your County Tag Office before assuming either a bond or a bill of sale applies.

Two situations where the MV-46 bond is not the answer.

Abandoned vehicles — the bond route is closed. DOR's Abandoned Vehicles page is explicit: "A certificate of title cannot be obtained for an abandoned vehicle on the basis of a surety bond, nor can a title be issued on a vehicle that is not required to be titled in Georgia (including 1985 or older year models)." Instead, an abandoned vehicle moves through the Abandoned Motor Vehicle Act: "The Abandoned Motor Vehicle Act (O.C.G.A. § 40-11-11 et seq.) provides that only towing and storage firms are authorized to remove vehicles from public and private property at the request of law enforcement officers or private property owners." The page adds that "towing and storage firms, repair facilities, and salvage dealers (Authorized Businesses) may obtain liens on abandoned or unclaimed motor vehicles by following a detailed process of notification" — a lien through that business process, not a title through a bond. Finding the owner to notify is part of that process: Form MV-603 requests the owner's contact information (submitted to the local county tag office or the Motor Vehicle Division), and "There is a $2 research fee for the contact information." See abandoned vehicle title bonds for how this differs from states that do allow a bond.

Out-of-state vehicles. A vehicle brought in from another state is normally titled through DOR's Transfer Title and License Plate from Another State or Country process, not a bond. A separate inspection rule applies to vehicles with no out-of-state title to surrender: a "Form T-22B Certification of Inspection" is required for 1986-or-newer vehicles coming from states that do not issue titles. In addition, "Vehicles purchased from Massachusetts, Mississippi, or Minnesota, must provide a certification from the appropriate motor vehicle agency indicating that the vehicle was not titled in that state." For older vehicles there is a hard limit: "If your 1963-1985 year model vehicle was last registered in a state or country that does not issue titles, a Georgia title will not be issued." See also out-of-state purchase title bonds.

These two are titled by different agencies, and we have not found the MV-46 bond described as the route on either agency's page.

Mobile and manufactured homes (DOR). A manufactured home is titled through DOR on Form MV-1, per the Mobile Home Title page. Each section counts on its own: "A separate title application is required for each unit", so a double- or triple-wide needs more than one application. The page lists an "$18.00 title application fee", due within 30 days of purchase, with "a title penalty fee of $10.00" for a late application. Liens recorded for mobile homes are among the exceptions to the ten-year satisfaction rule described in the replacement-title section above, so an old mobile-home lien does not clear itself by time. We have not found a surety-bond route for a manufactured home on DOR's Mobile Home Title page; confirm your situation with your County Tag Office. See also mobile home title bonds.

Boats and vessels (DNR, not DOR). Georgia titles boats through the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), not DOR. DNR reports that "Georgia became an eTitle state on July 1, 2020", so a vessel title is normally an electronic record; a paper title is issued only where the "Owner or lienholder requested a paper title for a fee of $10." Where the paperwork to transfer ownership is missing, DNR's page says: "If transfer of paper title is not available, the Vessel Affidavit of Ownership must be completed." A sale is reported to DNR within 15 days. We have not found a surety-bond route for a boat on DNR's page; confirm vessel titling with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. See also boat title bonds.

1. Read DOR's Bonded Vehicle Title guidance (eligibility, documents, and the $5,000 floor): dor.georgia.gov/bonded-vehicle-title
2. Read the bond-amount rule, Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 560-10-13-.04(3): rules.sos.ga.gov/gac/560-10-13
3. Confirm the bond amount: your insurer can call the DOR Motor Vehicle Division at 855-406-5221, and your County Tag Office can provide certain bond amounts.
4. Find your filing office at the County Tag Offices directory: dor.georgia.gov/county-tag-offices

• GA DOR: Bonded Vehicle Title

  Eligibility, 1985-or-older exclusion, $5,000 minimum, six-month deadline, NMVTIS, residency, $18 title fee, "Your County Tag Office," 855-406-5221 verification.

• Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 560-10-13 (Secretary of State official rules)

  Bond amount .04(3); value fallback .04(4); surety requirement .04(2)(b); title legend .01(1)(m) and .04(5).

• Form MV-46: Motor Vehicle Certificate of Title Bond (Rev. Feb 2014)

  4-year term; execution, witnesses, power of attorney; "Any alteration or correction voids this form"; names O.C.G.A. § 40-3-28 on its face.

• Form MV-46A: Affidavit Supporting Certificate of Title Bond Application (Rev. 12-2013)

  Abandoned-vehicle bar; salvage-inspection requirement; lien release; dealer note; affidavit fields.

• Form T-22B: Certification of Inspection (Rev. 5-2020)

  Law-enforcement inspection; GCIC/NCIC inquiry; owner submits to county tag office.

• Form MV-1: Title/Tag Application
• Form T-128: Missing Serial Plate Affidavit
• Form T-4: Notice of Satisfaction of Security Interest or Lien Holder's Affidavit
• County Tag Offices directory

Statute cited: O.C.G.A. § 40-3-28 (named on Form MV-46 and in Rule 560-10-13-.01(1)(m); statute text not reproduced here).