The Expert Podcast

So very often, one of the questions we get is, can you do a bonded title in the state of New Jersey? The question is sort of, New Jersey has a process that's basically the same as a bonded title in other states, but they don't call it bonded title; they call it, very curiously, "improper evidence of ownership procedure." Kind of a complicated name, right? You can see it on the screen. Why is it not a bonded title? Well, a bonded title requires that you purchase a surety bond from a Bonding Agency, just like, you know, bonding somebody out of jail. It's like bonding your car title out of jail. But in New Jersey, you don't have to buy a surety bond. You save that expense. New Jersey MVC doesn't require you to purchase a surety bond. You still have to go through the other steps that you would in other states that do require a surety bond, but you don't have to buy a bond, so that's a good thing.

It's a 12-step process: proof of ownership, application for title, CER IFI affidavit, publication notice. It gives you all the steps, and it's a process that you can go through. Fill out the forms, sign them, send out some notices, and once it's all done, you notice that it says, "Do not mail any of the following steps until the entire process is complete." That's an important thing because all the steps have to be done before you send it into the Motor Vehicle Commission. It's a process that has a little bit of red tape, a little bit, a bunch of forms with it. You could do it all yourself for free. We also have a title service where if you want us to do the paperwork and some of the steps for you, we can.

But remember that in the state of New Jersey, you have an advantage over a bonded title in most states in that you don't have to buy the bond. You have another option. In New Jersey, you could do a court order title. It's about the same amount of paperwork. It might be a little slower, but you're dealing with the court rather than the Motor Vehicle Commission, so there might be an advantage there. If you do have questions about your options in the state of New Jersey for getting a title when you don't have the right paperwork, you can click our link, cartitles.com. We also have available title consultation. You can book a live one-on-one conversation, video call with a certified title agent, and they can go through your particular case, look up your VIN number, do a bunch of research for you, and tell you what your options are to see what is the best, best way for you to go to get a title for your vehicle.