The last resort when nothing else establishes ownership. You are the principal, a surety company is the surety, and together you are bound to the People of the State of Illinois for the benefit of any prior owner, any lienholder, and any subsequent purchaser of the vehicle. It is an insurance product with a form attached, not a form with a fee attached.
Written against RT OPR 23 (RT OPR 23.12, July 2021), issued under 625 ILCS 5/3-109.
This is a genuine surety bond, bought from a bonding company. Nothing on this page is a substitute for the fact sheet the Secretary of State publishes on titles obtained by bond, and nothing here is legal or insurance advice.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank RT OPR 23 from the ilsos.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is the actual RT OPR 23, rendered from the PDF the Illinois Secretary of State publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.
Amber — you write it
Grey — not yours to fill
Numbered — explained below
The actual RT OPR 23. Two notary blocks, and they are not duplicates: the upper one certifies that you appeared, the lower one that the surety's attorney-in-fact did. Only the upper one carries fillable fields - the lower is a printed rule with nothing behind it, which is why it is blank here and why it has to be completed in ink. The sum appears twice on one line, once in words and once in figures, and that is an easy thing to leave half done.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
Know all men by these presents, that we
Your complete name and address as principal. A corporation gives its state of incorporation and its principal Illinois office.
Watch out: The bond is a contract naming you personally. Whoever will be named on the title is the person who has to be named here.
2
The lienholder fills this in
and ______, a corporation organized under the laws of
The surety, the state whose laws it is organised under, and its principal office.
Watch out: This is not something you type in on your own account. The bonding company completes its own half and its attorney-in-fact signs it.
3
You fill this in
in the sum of ______ dollars
The penal sum, written out in words and then repeated in figures.
Watch out: Both halves. A bond written in words with an empty figure box is an incomplete instrument, and the wording of the sum is what the surety is liable for.
4
You fill this in
The vehicle row
Make, year and model, body style and VIN.
Watch out: This is the whereas clause - it recites that you have applied to the Secretary of State for a certificate of title for this vehicle and that the bond is a condition of issuing it.
5
You fill this in
In witness whereof
The day, the month and the year the bond is signed, written into the closing sentence.
Watch out: The date has to agree with both notary acknowledgements underneath it.
6
You fill this in
Your signature and the first notary block
You sign as principal, and the notary certifies that the principal personally appeared before me this date and acknowledged execution of the above bond.
Watch out: Commission expiration and stamp go in the box beside it. A stamp that has expired invalidates the acknowledgement, not just the aesthetics.
7
The lienholder fills this in
The surety's signature and the second notary block
Signed by, then the attorney-in-fact, with its own separate acknowledgement.
Watch out: Chase this before you send anything. The commonest way this form arrives incomplete is with one notarisation done and the other assumed.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
The principal
Your complete name and address - and if a corporation, the state of incorporation and the principal office in Illinois.
The surety
The corporation standing behind you, the state under whose laws it is organised, and its principal office. It has to be duly authorized to transact business in the State of Illinois.
The sum
Written in words and then in figures, on the same line.
The vehicle
Make, year and model, body style and vehicle identification number, in a row.
In witness whereof
The day, the month and the year, written into the closing sentence. The form has no box labelled Executed on - that is VSD 703's wording, not this one's.
The principal's signature and notary block
You sign, and a notary certifies that the principal personally appeared before me this date and acknowledged execution of the above bond.
The surety's signature and notary block
Signed by an attorney-in-fact for the surety, with a second, separate notary acknowledgement.
What gets this one rejected
•One notarisation. There are two blocks on this form and they certify two different appearances - yours and the surety's attorney-in-fact.
•A surety not authorised in Illinois. The bond describes the corporation as being duly authorized to transact business in the State of Illinois, and one that is not cannot stand behind it.
•Trying to cancel it early. The bond may not be cancelled or revoked by the principal or surety before the Secretary of State is required to return it under 625 ILCS 5/3-109.
•Reaching for it before the simpler routes. Illinois offers a notarised Statement of Ownership first, and it costs a notary rather than a premium.
•Filling in the sum without an appraisal to justify it.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•What it actually promises. Read the obligation clause rather than the title of the form. It binds the principal or surety to indemnify all prior owners, lienholders and subsequent purchasers, and their successors, against any expense, loss or damage - including reasonable attorney's fees - arising from the issuance of the certificate of title or from any defect in, or undisclosed security interest on, your right and title to the vehicle.
•The appraisal is a separate form. The value the bond is written for comes from an appraisal, and Illinois has its own sheet for that: VSD 896, signed by an appraiser with a licence number and a firm name. Read the fact sheet on titles obtained by bond before you buy anything.
Every line here was read off RT OPR 23 (RT OPR 23.12, July 2021) itself —
the PDF is here — and off the Illinois Secretary of State pages.
This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ,
theirs governs.
