The statute
O.C.G.A. § 40-3-28 lets the commissioner register a vehicle and require the applicant to file “a bond in the form prescribed by the commissioner and executed by the applicant and by a bonding, surety, or insurance company licensed to do business in Georgia”.
The bond is “payable to the commissioner for the benefit of any prior owner, lienholder, or security interest holder, and any subsequent purchaser of the vehicle or person acquiring any security interest or lien on it”, against expense, loss or damage from the issuance of the title or from a defect in or undisclosed security interest on the applicant’s interest.
O.C.G.A. § 40-3-28.
How the amount is set
The Rules and Regulations put a figure on the statute’s standard:
Double, not one and a half — Texas uses a different multiple, and neither state’s figure can be used to estimate the other. Texas title bond →
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 560-10-13-.04.
The inspection, and who does it
The application has to carry “a certification of the vehicle identification number (VIN) inspection on a form prescribed by the commissioner made by a duly constituted city, county or state law enforcement officer”, and that officer “shall query the Georgia Crime Information Center to determine if the vehicle in question is stolen”.
Georgia’s form for it is T-22B, Certification of Inspection. Any duly constituted city, county or state officer may complete it, so this is not a trip to a single central office.
Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 560-10-13-.04.
What stops a Georgia bonded title
- A lien or security interest — absolutely“No application for title shall be accepted for any vehicle subject to a security interest or lien” (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 560-10-13-.04). The release comes first.
- An abandoned vehicleThe Department of Revenue states the vehicle “cannot be an abandoned vehicle” — Georgia has a separate abandoned-vehicle process and the bond route is not a substitute for it.
- A 1985 or older modelThe Department of Revenue states the vehicle “cannot be a 1985 or older year model vehicle”.
- A non-resident applicant“The owner must be a legal resident of Georgia” and “the vehicle must require a Georgia title”.
Georgia Department of Revenue, Bonded Vehicle Title.
What the packet contains
The Department of Revenue lists the documents rather than a single form: the title/tag application (MV-1), the certificate of title bond (MV-46) and its affidavit (MV-46A), the certification of inspection (T-22B), a missing serial plate affidavit (T-128) where the plate is gone, a lien satisfaction or lienholder affidavit (T-4) where one is needed, an NMVTIS report, any ownership papers you do have, and the title fee.
The NMVTIS requirement is worth noticing: the national salvage and title database turns up on the way into a bonded title, not only when somebody runs a history on the truck later. What NMVTIS is →
The application is filed at a county tag office. Current forms, the fee and the full list are here, and this is the source to use rather than any figure on this page:
Georgia Department of Revenue — Bonded Vehicle Title →
Georgia Department of Revenue, Bonded Vehicle Title.
And then it sells
“Salvage, rebuilt and bonded titles are accepted.” — Terms of Service
Current as of 14 September 2026. This page describes rules, not your situation, and it is information rather than legal advice. Rules change; the linked official source is always the current one.