The route for everything the self-certification cannot reach: a newer vehicle, a more valuable one, or one titled in another state. You file a bond with the Michigan Department of State alongside the title application, and the bond indemnifies the department, any prior owner and any subsequent purchaser against a defect in your right to the vehicle.
Written against TR-121 (09/2025), issued under section 217(1)(d) of the Michigan Vehicle Code together with sections 803 and 821 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act.
This is the expensive branch of the same decision, and the fork is decided by two numbers: the vehicle's age in calendar years and its appraised value. Get the appraisal before you approach a bonding company - if it falls under both of the ceilings the TR-205 sets, you do not need a bond at all.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank TR-121 from the michigan.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is all 2 pages of the actual TR-121, rendered from the PDF the Michigan Department 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
Page 1 of 2. The nine numbered instructions, and the two that decide the cost: the amount must equal twice the value of the item, and a bond is issued for three years.Page 2 of 2. The bond itself. Two signatures at the foot, and only one of them is yours - the other belongs to a surety company licensed in Michigan.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
Type of item bonded
Seven tick boxes, matching the ones on the self-certification.
Watch out: Bond the thing you are titling. A titled trailer and a trailer coach are different boxes and Michigan treats them as different vehicles.
2
You fill this in
VIN/HIN
The complete identification number, under the year, make and body style.
Watch out: Complete is the instruction's word. Where the department holds no Michigan record for it, a TR-54 inspection by a Michigan law enforcement agency has to come in with the bond.
3
You fill this in
Printed name of Principal
You, with a complete residence or business address on the line beneath.
Watch out: The person applying for the title signs the bond. Where a business is applying, a representative of the business signs, and the address has to be the business's.
4
You fill this in
Bond amount
One box, and the number in it is fixed by rule rather than negotiated.
Watch out: Twice the value of the item. Get the value settled by an appraisal before you approach a bonding company, because it also sets the tax.
5
The lienholder fills this in
Printed name of Authorized Surety Company
The company issuing the bond.
Watch out: Licensed by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, and its authorisation to issue surety bonds has to be attached.
6
You fill this in
Signature and printed name of principal
Two rows at the foot of page two, both yours.
Watch out: Signing this makes you liable to indemnify the Secretary of State, every department employee, any prior owner and any subsequent purchaser against a defect in your title.
7
The lienholder fills this in
Signature of authorized agent of surety company
The last two rows, signed and printed by the surety's agent.
Watch out: A duly authorized agent has to issue it, and a licensed nonresident agent's signature needs a licensed resident agent to countersign.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
Type of item bonded
The same seven tick boxes as the self-certification: vehicle, trailer coach, titled trailer, ORV, moped, watercraft, snowmobile.
Year, make, body style, VIN/HIN
The subject of the bond. The instructions require the complete VIN or HIN, and where the department holds no Michigan record a TR-54 inspection by a Michigan law enforcement agency has to be submitted with it.
Printed name of Principal and address
You. The instructions call the applicant the Principal and require a complete residence or business address.
Bond amount and bond execution date
The amount is not yours to choose: the bond's amount must equal twice the value of the item in question. The execution date must be no later than the date of application for the title.
Printed name of Authorized Surety Company
The company standing behind the bond. It has to be licensed by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, and proof of its authorisation to issue surety bonds has to accompany the bond.
Provisions of this bond
Five printed paragraphs. They bind the Principal and Surety jointly and severally to the department for the benefit of any interested person, allow any interested party to sue on the bond in their own name and recover costs and attorney fees, and cap the Surety's aggregate liability at the bond amount.
Signature of principal
Yours, or an authorised agent's, with the printed name underneath.
Signature of authorized agent of surety company
The bonding company's. A licensed nonresident agent's signature has to be countersigned by a licensed resident agent.
What gets this one rejected
•A bond written for the value of the vehicle. The instruction says twice the value, and half a bond is not a bond.
•A bond dated after the title application. The effective date must be no later than the date of application for the title or registration.
•Filing it on its own. In addition to the bond, all applicants must complete a TR-205 Self-Certification of Vehicle Ownership - the two go in together, even though the bond exists because the self-certification alone was not available.
•No proof of the surety's authorisation. It has to accompany the bond, and the surety company has to be licensed in Michigan.
•No VIN inspection where there is no Michigan record. A TR-54 completed by a Michigan law enforcement agency has to be submitted with the bond in that case.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•Three years, and it does not lapse quietly. A surety bond is issued for three years. The bond's own wording is that if the item is no longer titled or registered in this state and the currently valid title is surrendered, the latest the bond will be in effect is at the end of three years from the time it was issued, unless the department receives notification of pending action to recover on it.
•Tax is calculated from half the bond. The instruction spells the arithmetic out: use tax is due on 6% of the value, which it defines in the same breath as one half of the surety bond amount, or the purchase price, whichever is higher.
Every line here was read off TR-121 (09/2025) itself —
the PDF is here — and off the Michigan Department 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.
