If you are an Arkansas resident, a bonded title can effectively recover your vehicle title if you don’t have sufficient evidence of ownership.

What is a bonded title?

A bonded title is a type of title recovery method that requires the purchase of a surety bond, also known as a vehicle title bond, to secure the ownership of the vehicle. This is because, in order to receive a bonded title, you must have a major lack of proper documentation. The DMV in your state is essentially taking your word that you are the owner of the vehicle. The vehicle title bond provides security for the DMV to assign the ownership in the event that there is an ownership discrepancy after the bonded title is issued.

How to get a bonded title in Arkansas

Before beginning your bonded title process, make sure that your vehicle meets the eligibility for a bonded title.

Vehicle requirements for a bonded title in Arkansas

• The vehicle does not have a junk title or similarly branded title
• The vehicle is not subject to a mechanic’s lien or storage lien
• The vehicle was not stolen
• The vehicle is not involved in ownership litigation

How to apply for a bonded title in Arkansas

If your vehicle meets the eligibility requirements of an Arkansas bonded title, begin the application process by completing the Statement of Facts (10-345) and the Bill of Sale (10-313).

Inspection

The bonded title process requires that all vehicles are inspected prior to the title being issued. To schedule your inspection, contact your Arkansas State Police department. Once your inspection is complete, the officer who inspected the vehicle will complete the Vehicle Verification form for you.

Approval

After your vehicle has passed its inspection, gather all of the documents so far and submit them to the Department of Finance and Administration Office of Motor Vehicles – Bonded Titles. The DMV will take 10-25 business days to process your application.

If approved, the next step is to complete the Application for Vehicle Registration (10-381) and purchase your title bond.

Title bond

The Arkansas DMV will tell you the value of the bond to purchase. This value is typically based on the book value of the vehicle. Most title bonds are required to be 1.5x the value of the vehicle, however, that doesn’t mean it costs that much to purchase. Most title bonds cost around $100-$150 for average-value vehicles.

Once you’ve completed the official documents, passed inspection, and obtained your title bond, submit all of your documents and any state title fees to the Department of Finance and Administration Office of Motor Vehicles – Bonded Titles. They will process your application and return to you a bonded title in your name.

After 3 years of having BONDED stamped on your vehicle title, the bonded title brand will dissipate and you will have a clean Arkansas title in your name.