VIN and Title Errors: When a Bonded Title Is (and Isn't) the Answer

"VIN error" and "title error" cover very different situations, and the fix depends on which one you have. Usually only the last of these becomes a bonded-title case.

1. The DMV made a data-entry typo — your paperwork is right, the record is wrong. This is a correction, not a bond. In Texas, if a VIN error on the title is a data-entry error that can be verified against the title history, "a corrected title can be processed without further documentation" (TxDMV Motor Vehicle Title Manual, sec. 7.11). Alabama handles a mistake on the face of a title through an application for a new certificate of title through a designated agent.

2. The VIN on the vehicle doesn't match the paper, or a few characters are off. This calls for a law-enforcement VIN inspection, not a bond. Texas accepts a pencil tracing or photo of the VIN, a Vehicle Inspection Report, or a Law Enforcement Identification Number Inspection (Form VTR-68-A) when two or fewer characters are incorrect and a data-entry error can't be verified (Title Manual, sec. 7.11). Arizona matches the public, secondary, and confidential VIN to the ownership documents through an MVD level-two or level-three inspection (A.R.S. 28-2011).

3. The VIN is missing, altered, or was never assigned. The state assigns a number. In Texas, TxDMV "will assign or reassign a number and issue the owner a Notice of Assigned or Reassigned Identification Number (Form VTR-68-N)," with a $2.00 fee. Georgia handles a missing serial plate with Form T-22B plus the T-128 Missing Serial Plate Affidavit. In Missouri, the Department of Revenue "will then issue a 'DR' number, which will become the vehicle's identification number," and the owner files an Application for Vehicle/Trailer Identification Number Plate or Verification (Form 5062).

4. An assignment in the ownership chain was filled in wrong. A mistake in an assignment (the transfer section filled in by a seller or buyer) is corrected by affidavit; an error on the face of the title is not. North Carolina uses Form MVR-28 (Affidavit of Facts) for an incorrect assignment of title. Alabama uses Form MVT 5-7 for assignment errors only — it "cannot be used to correct information recorded on the face of the AL title." In Nevada, an error made while filling in title documents is handled with the Erasure Affidavit: "An Erasure Affidavit (Form VP-19) must be completed whenever an error has been made on Certificate of Title documents" (DMV Registration and Title Guide, p. 73).

5. The error means you can't prove ownership at all. This is the one branch that can become a bonded title. In Texas, when a corrected VIN still leaves a conflict, "the ownership evidence is considered insufficient, and the applicant must obtain a bonded title or tax assessor-collector hearing" (Title Manual, sec. 7.11). In Colorado, DR 2922 establishes a title by surety bond; "The bonding procedure is completed when ownership documents are not available or are incorrect." If you're in this branch and in a licensed state, the quote form above applies. You can estimate a bond amount with the title bond calculator.

Follow the step that matches your error. Where a cell says "confirm," check the current form with the agency.

If you process corrections, VIN assignments, and bonded titles in volume, see title professionals for the dealer workflow, and the guide to getting a bonded title for the end-to-end process when an error does require a bond.