How to fill out Tennessee RV-F1313201

The other half of the no-title problem: a vehicle over the $3,000 line and under thirty years old, where a certification of ownership is not available. A bond stands behind the title for three years so that anyone with a better claim has something to claim against. Tennessee writes the personal version itself at no cost to the applicant, which is unusual, and it wants two landowners to sign it with you.

Written against RV-F1313201 (Rev 09/23), issued under Tenn. Code Ann. 55-3-103. A corporate bond costs a premium and a personal bond costs two favours. Both take time - this is a Nashville review, not a counter transaction - so start it before you advertise the car, not after somebody has agreed to buy it.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank RV-F1313201 from the tn.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank RV-F1313201 — Surety Bond Application PDF at tn.gov · new tab

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is the actual RV-F1313201, rendered from the PDF the Tennessee Department of Revenue 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

Tennessee form RV-F1313201 filled in: Loretta J. Bramblett of Maryville applies for a surety bond on a 2013 Nissan Frontier SV, vehicle identification number 1N6AD0EV8DN737415, valued at 8,400 dollars, bought from Hollis P. Grider as executor of an estate whose certificate of title was never found, with the personal bond box ticked and two Tennessee landowners named as sureties with their property values, signed and dated 22 June 2026. — The personal-bond route, which Tennessee writes at no cost to the applicant. Everything in the corporate block is greyed because the two are alternatives - you choose one, and the choice decides whether you are collecting signatures or paying a premium.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
You fill this in
Confirm you are on the right side of the line
Over $3,000.01 in fair market value and under thirty model years old. Below or older, and this is the wrong form.
Watch out: The value has to be supported. Either a bill of sale from the last registered owner or a written appraisal from a dealer or a valuation site goes in with the application.
2
You fill this in
Block I, you and the vehicle
Your details, then the vehicle identification number, year, make, model and current approximate value.
Watch out: The value you write is what the bond is measured against and what the sales tax is later calculated on. Rounding it down is not a saving, it is a rejection risk.
3
You fill this in
Explain reason for application
Two lines describing why you cannot supply proof of ownership.
Watch out: Two lines is not much, so lead with the fact and not the history. An estate that closed, a lienholder that dissolved, a title that never arrived after a duplicate was ordered - the clerk reading it wants the shape of the gap.
4
You fill this in
Block II, who you bought it from
The person or company and their full address and phone number.
Watch out: If you cannot name them, say so in block I rather than leaving block II empty. An unexplained blank in a fraud-sensitive process is worse than an awkward answer.
5
You fill this in
Personal or corporate
Two sureties who own Tennessee land, or one bonding company. Tick one and complete only that half.
Watch out: The personal route costs nothing but asks two people to put their property behind your title for three years. Ask them before you write their names down.
6
You fill this in
The sureties' details and their tax cards
Name, physical street address, city, state, ZIP and property value for each, with a recent property tax bill for each attached.
Watch out: Property values come from tennesseetrustee.org, the assessor or the county website. A number remembered from a conversation is not general tax certification.
7
You fill this in
Sign, email it, and wait for the letter
Signature and date in block IV, then the whole thing to the surety bond mailbox at the Vehicle Services Division.
Watch out: The approval letter is the thing that unlocks the county clerk. Without it the clerk has nothing to process, and the letter also tells you what the sales tax will be.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
I. Applicant and vehicle information	Name, physical address, city, state, ZIP, phone, email and a mailing address if different; then vehicle identification number, year, make, model, current approximate value, and a mobile home length and width.
Explain reason for application	Two lines, and the only place on the form where the story gets told.
II. Seller information	The person or company the vehicle was bought from, with address, city, state, ZIP and phone.
III. Bond information	Two mutually exclusive routes. Personal bond needs the name, physical address - no post office boxes - and property value of two sureties. Corporate bond needs the name and address of the surety company.
IV. Certification	The applicant certifies the statements are true, with a signature and a date, and a for-office-use box holds the bond number and amount.
Page two, the required documents	A bill of sale from the last registered owner stating why the vehicle was not titled in their name; or, in its absence, a written appraisal of current value from a local licensed dealer or a valuation website such as Kelley Blue Book or J.D. Power.
The sureties' conditions	Two people other than the applicant who own land in Tennessee, who do not share an address with each other or with the applicant, and who supply general tax certification - a recent property tax bill - from tennesseetrustee.org, the assessor or the county website.
Proof of residency	Two documents from the Department's published list, because the process is only open to Tennessee residents.

What gets this one rejected

•A post office box for a surety. The form says no P.O. boxes twice, once for each route.
•Sureties who live with each other or with you. The instruction is that the two must not share the same address or live at the same address as the principal.
•Being your own surety. The principal cannot be their own surety, in the form's own words.
•No tax cards. The general tax certification is what proves the land is in Tennessee and what it is worth; without it the bond has nothing behind it.
•A legally affixed mobile home. Surety bonds cannot be written for one, and the Department checks the register of deeds for a recorded affidavit of affixation.
•An out-of-state applicant. The purpose paragraph limits the whole process to Tennessee residents.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•It goes to Nashville, not to the clerk. The application is emailed to the Vehicle Services Division, and only after an approval letter comes back does the applicant take it, with the letter and the supporting documents, to a county clerk to complete a multipurpose application and pay the fees.
•Three years, then it comes back. The issued bond is held on file for three years, and may be returned at the end of them - or sooner, if the vehicle is no longer registered in Tennessee and the certificate has been surrendered.
•Sales tax is calculated on whichever number you supplied. Either the sale price or the appraised value, depending on what went in with the application, and the approval letter states the amount.

Every line here was read off RV-F1313201 (Rev 09/23) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Tennessee Department of Revenue pages. This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ, theirs governs.

Back to all Tennessee seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Tennessee involves.

How to fill out Tennessee RV-F1313201

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

Confirm you are on the right side of the line

Block I, you and the vehicle

Explain reason for application

Block II, who you bought it from

Personal or corporate

The sureties' details and their tax cards

Sign, email it, and wait for the letter

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

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