California Defective Title / Motor Vehicle Ownership Bonds

The state of California requires Motor Vehicle Ownership Surety Bonds (aka Defective Title Bonds or Certificate of Title Bonds) for certain individuals to establish ownership and properly register a vehicle. If supporting evidence of ownership for the vehicle is not available, the vehicle owner must post a California motor vehicle ownership surety bond. The bond is written for a 3 year term and the required bond amount must be equal to the fair market value of the vehicle, which is determined in one of the following methods;