The way out of a car whose previous owner or lienholder cannot be found. It is a sworn statement that you looked and failed, and it opens the bonded-title route: DVS values the vehicle, a surety bond is bought against that value, the title is issued branded, and after three years without a claim the brand comes off. It has a hard threshold - the vehicle has to be six model years or older - and it cannot be posted.
Written against PS2026 (PS2026-06, 6/2026), issued under Minnesota Statutes 168A.07.
This affidavit is for a vehicle whose paperwork has failed, not for one whose owner is simply slow. If the seller can still be reached, a duplicate title in their name is faster, cheaper and leaves no brand on the record.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank PS2026 from the assets.dps.mn.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is the actual PS2026, rendered from the PDF the Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services 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 affidavit completed for a vehicle whose seller stopped answering. Option B is ticked rather than A because the prior owner was known - the failure was contact, not identification, and the two are different claims.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
The buyer fills this in
The vehicle description
Model year, make, model, type and plate number, then the vehicle identification number on the line below.
Watch out: The model year is what decides whether you qualify at all, so take it from the identification number rather than from what the seller said.
2
The buyer fills this in
Fair market value
One figure, with the evidence tick beside it confirming a valuation and photographs are attached.
Watch out: Do not guess low to save on the bond. DVS reviews the application and works the bond out from the value it determines, not from the number in the box.
3
The buyer fills this in
Full name and address of applicant
The two lines that open the sworn statement.
Watch out: This is the person who will own the vehicle and who signs on oath. It cannot be a friend with more patience for paperwork.
4
The buyer fills this in
I purchased the vehicle from
The seller's name, the date of sale and the seller's address.
Watch out: Put down what you actually have, including an address that turned out to be wrong - the affidavit is about a failed attempt and a blank line looks like no attempt at all.
5
The buyer fills this in
The four qualifying boxes
Six model years or older; application for title attached with taxes and fees paid; I am an owner; I have physical possession. All four.
Watch out: The form says to qualify, applicant must attest by checking all boxes. Three out of four is not a partial qualification, it is a rejection.
6
The buyer fills this in
A or B
Unable to determine the names or locations of one or more owners, prior owners, or lienholders - or unable to successfully contact ones known to you.
Watch out: Choose the one that is true. A lender that has been absorbed twice and whose successor will not answer is B; a handwritten bill of sale with a surname on it and nothing else is A.
7
The buyer fills this in
Sign it in front of a notary
The verification at the foot: I swear/affirm under oath, that the statements set forth herein are true and correct.
Watch out: Notarise it before you go, then take it to a deputy registrar in person. This is one of the forms DVS specifically says not to post.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
Vehicle description
Model year, make, model, type and plate number on one row, with the vehicle identification number on its own line beneath.
Fair market value
One box, plus a tick confirming that evidence of fair market value, pictures of the vehicle, etching of VIN or picture of VIN are attached.
I, _____ being sworn/affirmed on oath state
The applicant's full name and address, on the two lines that open the affidavit.
I purchased the vehicle from
Name of seller, date of sale and address of seller - the person the affidavit says could not be reached, or could not be identified.
The four qualifying ticks
All of them have to be checked: the vehicle is six model years or older, calculated as current calendar year minus vehicle model year; an Application for Title is attached and all required taxes and fees have been paid; I am an owner of the vehicle; and I have physical possession of the vehicle.
The due diligence tick
A fifth box covering the attempt itself, then a choice of two: (A) unable to determine the names or locations of one or more owners, prior owners, or lienholders, or (B) unable to successfully contact one or more owners, prior owners, or lienholders known to me.
Verification and acknowledgement
I swear/affirm under oath, that the statements set forth herein are true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief - with the applicant's signature beneath and a notary block after it.
What gets this one rejected
•Posting it. Instruction 2 is unusually blunt for a state form: the form and additional documents must be submitted at a Deputy Registrar office, and do not mail in the form.
•A vehicle that is too new. Six model years is arithmetic, not judgement - current calendar year minus vehicle model year has to come to six or more.
•A valuation with nothing behind it. The form asks for evidence such as a printout of the NADA or Blue Book price guide, and the figure is what the size of the surety bond is worked out from.
•Photographs of one side of the car. Pictures should clearly show all sides of the vehicle, and a picture or etching of the identification number is required as well.
•Ticking both A and B. They are alternatives: either you could not find out who the owner or lienholder was, or you knew and could not reach them.
•An unnotarised signature. DVS's own no-proof-of-ownership page says the Affidavit of Due Diligence must be completed by the applicant and notarized.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•It is only half the application. One of the four ticks is that a completed Application for Title is attached and the taxes and fees are paid. The affidavit explains the gap; the application is still what titles the car.
•Which route you are on depends on the record. DVS decides by looking for the vehicle in the national title information system. Where a record exists, this affidavit is the document; where none does, a Statement of Facts is.
•The bond is one and a half times the value. That is why the fair market value box and its evidence matter more than they look. The bond is held for three years, the title is branded, and the brand comes off if nobody claims the vehicle.
Every line here was read off PS2026 (PS2026-06, 6/2026) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services pages.
This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ,
theirs governs.
