The route for a vehicle whose previous title exists somewhere and cannot be obtained. It is a three-party surety bond running for three years, and it is open only to a Vermont resident - s. 2020(2) closes it to non-residents in its own last sentence. The number that decides whether it is worth doing is on page three: the bond must be one and one-half times the J.D. Power average trade-in value, which is a different figure from the clean trade-in value the tax is worked on.
Written against VT-020 (07/2024), issued under 23 V.S.A. s. 2020, withholding of certificate and bond required, and s. 3813 for vessels, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles; affirmed under penalties of 23 V.S.A. s. 202 and s. 203. This is a three-page PDF and the third page is the instruction sheet, not a duplicate. Read page 3 before you approach a surety, because it is where the bond arithmetic and the four companion documents are set out.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank VT-020 from the dmv.vermont.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our VT-020 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.
This is all 2 pages of the actual VT-020, rendered from the PDF the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, Agency of Transportation publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.
Written into the opening sentence of the bond, not into a labelled box.
Watch out: County, not town, in the third space. Vermont has fourteen and the department checks the one you name against the address on the application.
The company writing the bond, and where it sits.
Watch out: You are not choosing this from a list on the DMV website. A surety agent writes it, and the form has to say which state's laws the company exists under.
One and one-half times the J.D. Power average trade-in value of the vehicle.
Watch out: Get the value from the department's own tax estimator on myDMV before you ask for a quote, so the number on the bond and the number on the supervisor's tick are the same number.
The vehicle being bonded, in the small table halfway down the first page.
Watch out: The serial number here has to match the VT-010 verification exactly. Those two documents are read side by side.
Day, month and year, written into the closing sentence.
Watch out: This is the date the three years run from, so it is the date the brand comes off - not the date you registered the car.
A witness rather than a notary, and your licence number beside your signature.
Watch out: The witness cannot be the surety's agent, who signs the row below on their own account. Bring somebody neutral.
The surety company's signature, witnessed in turn.
Watch out: Nothing you do makes this row happen. If no surety will write the bond, the bonded route is closed and the answer is to keep chasing the previous title.
Why the proper ownership documents are unavailable, in detail.
Watch out: Write it out on a separate sheet first. "Previous owner unreachable" is not detail; three dated attempts, two letters and a returned envelope are.
The affirmation under s. 202 and s. 203, on the second page.
Watch out: Both sides of the form must be completed. A bond signed on page one and left blank on page two is the single most common return.
| On the form | What to put in it |
|---|---|
| KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS: That ___ of ___ in the County of ___ | The owner, their town and their Vermont county, written into the opening sentence rather than into a labelled block. |
| and the State of Vermont, as principal, and the ___ of ___ in the County of ___ | The surety company and where it sits, in the same sentence. |
| a corporation authorized and existing under the laws of the State of ___ | The state the surety is incorporated in, which need not be Vermont - but it must be authorised to do business here. |
| held and firmly bound ... in the sum of ___ | The bond amount. One and one-half times the J.D. Power average trade-in value, and the department checks it. |
| that whereas, the above bounden ___ desires to title and register a vehicle described as a | The owner again, and then the vehicle. |
| Year, Make, Model, Length (boat), Serial # | Five boxes describing the vehicle being bonded. |
| without meeting the full requirements as set forth under 23 V.S.A. s. 2015 and s. 3808 | The recital that says what the bond is standing in for: the ordinary proof of ownership on a title application. |
| shall settle any claim or claims for expense, loss, or damage, including reasonable attorney's fees | The condition of the bond, indemnifying any prior owner, lienholder, subsequent purchaser or person acquiring a security interest, and their successors. |
| THIS OBLIGATION SHALL REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR three years from the date of execution | The term, unless the Commissioner releases it earlier for full compliance with s. 2015 and s. 3808. |
| IN WITNESS WHEREOF ... the ___ day of ___, ___ IN PRESENCE OF | The execution date in three boxes. |
| Witness, Signature of Owner, Owner's Vermont License # | The first signature row. A witness rather than a notary. |
| Witness, Authorized Agent of Surety | The second row, for the surety company's agent. |
| Page 2: Please explain, in detail below, why proper ownership documents are unavailable | A full-page panel, and the department's warning under it: this section must be completed in detail, or the form will be returned. |
| Page 2: Owner Signature, Date, Vermont License # | The affirmation under 23 V.S.A. s. 202 and s. 203, on a second signature row. |
| Page 2: Supervisor's Review, NCIC Neg, Bond Amt OK, Previous Vermont Title, APPROVED / NOT APPROVED, REASON | The department's own block. It tells you exactly what will be checked: a stolen-vehicle search, the arithmetic on the bond, and whether Vermont ever titled this vehicle before. |
| Page 3: the six numbered conditions | The instruction sheet - who completes the form, the reasonable-attempt requirement, the bond arithmetic, the indemnity wording, the no-erasures rule, and the four documents that must travel with it. |
Every line here was read off VT-020 (07/2024) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, Agency of Transportation 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 Vermont seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Vermont involves.