Montana Form MV10 Break/Bond Title Application: Bond, VIN, and Filing

Montana Form MV10, the Break/Bond Title Application, is how you get a certificate of title when you have a vehicle but no title to transfer into your name. The Motor Vehicle Division issues a “bonded title” on the strength of your sworn affidavit and, in most cases, a surety bond that protects anyone who might later surface with a legitimate ownership claim. You can file at a county treasurer’s office or by mail to the Vehicle Services Bureau in Helena, and the bond stays attached to the title for three years.¹

When Form MV10 Is the Right Form

The typical case: you bought a vehicle, the seller never produced the title (or it was lost), and the seller is now unreachable. Without a signed title, Montana will not run the normal transfer, so you cannot register or insure the vehicle through the usual channel. MCA 61-3-208 lets you get a certificate of title anyway by submitting a sworn affidavit and posting a bond.²

The same process covers inherited vehicles with no paperwork, storage-unit finds, and chains of ownership with gaps where the vehicle changed hands informally before reaching you. The MV10 is not a workaround for a normal transfer. If you can find the previous owner and get a signed title, do that instead. It is simpler and cheaper.

Documents to Gather Before You File

The MV10 asks for the vehicle’s VIN, year, make, model, body style, and color. Pull every detail off the vehicle itself. One wrong digit in the VIN bounces the application.¹

Before you submit, assemble three things:

Proof of purchase: a bill of sale, canceled check, invoice, or similar document showing how and when you got the vehicle.
A completed VIN inspection on Form MV20, performed by law enforcement.
A surety bond, required for most vehicles under 30 years old worth more than $1,000.

The form itself contains a sworn affidavit. You have to explain how you acquired the vehicle, disclose any liens or security interests you know about, and state that you have the right to a certificate of title.² Be thorough. The form carries criminal penalties for false statements under MCA 45-7-203, and omissions about known liens are exactly what causes trouble later.³

Getting the VIN Inspection on Form MV20

A law enforcement officer has to physically inspect the vehicle and complete Form MV20, the Level 1 Vehicle/OHV Identification Number Inspection. The inspection confirms the VIN on the vehicle matches what you wrote on the MV10 and that the vehicle exists as described.⁴

The officer records year, make, model, color, body style, and odometer reading. For 1981 and newer vehicles, you also need a clear photograph of the public VIN visible through the windshield on the driver’s side of the dash, plus a photo of the Federal Standards Label in the driver’s door area. Have both photos ready when the officer arrives.⁴ Call your local sheriff’s office or police department to schedule, as availability varies by jurisdiction.

The Surety Bond

When It Is Required

A bond is required for motor vehicles, trailers, semitrailers, and pole trailers that are less than 30 years old and valued above $1,000. If the vehicle is 30 years or older, or worth $1,000 or less, no bond is needed. You still have to satisfy the MVD that the prior title is lost, and you may need a notarized statement of value if no national appraisal guide covers the vehicle.²

How Much and Where to Buy It

The bond amount equals the vehicle’s current value. Not one and a half times the value, as some older guides claim.¹ Determine value using a national appraisal guide such as J.D. Power, based on the vehicle’s condition as of January 1 of the year you apply.² A vehicle valued at $10,000 needs a $10,000 bond.

You do not pay the full face amount. You buy the bond from an insurance company or surety provider licensed in Montana and pay a premium, which is a fraction of the face value. The premium depends on the bond amount and your credit, but for most applicants it starts around $100 for lower-value vehicles and scales up. Shop around; premiums vary. The bond document has to include the vehicle’s VIN and match the owner information on your MV10.¹

Where to File and What It Costs

You have two options:

Title and registration together: bring the completed MV10, the MV20, your proof of purchase, and the bond to a participating county treasurer’s office. The treasurer processes the title and registration, issues plates, and collects fees in one visit.
Title only: mail the same packet with the title fee to the Vehicle Services Bureau, PO Box 201431, Helena, MT 59620-1431.¹

The title fee is $12 for light vehicles, trucks, and buses weighing one ton or less, and $10 for all other vehicles. If you register at the same time, the treasurer collects registration fees tied to the vehicle’s age plus a county option tax.⁵ There is no online filing for the MV10.

After the Bonded Title Is Issued

If the MVD approves the application, it issues a certificate of title stamped “BONDED TITLE” with the bond’s expiration date printed on the face. That branding tells any future buyer, lender, or dealer that a financial guarantee backs the title for three years. Once you have the bonded title, you can register, insure, and drive the vehicle normally.

During those three years, the bond is available to compensate anyone who proves a legitimate prior interest in the vehicle. The surety company pays the claim up to the bond’s face value, including reasonable attorney fees, and then looks to you for reimbursement. You are the one ultimately on the hook.²

If three years pass with no pending action against the bond, the MVD removes the bonded designation and the title becomes an ordinary Montana certificate of title with no restrictions.²

Selling the Vehicle Before the Bond Expires

You do not have to wait out the three years to sell. You can transfer a bonded title at any time, but you must tell the buyer the title is bonded and explain what that means: the title is provisional and can be contested during the remaining bond period. Not disclosing the bonded status invites legal problems.

Here is the detail that catches people: the bond stays with you, not the vehicle. If you sell and someone later makes a valid claim, you remain financially responsible for the payout through the end of the three-year period, even though the car is no longer yours. The buyer gets a transferred title; you keep the liability.

1
Montana Motor Vehicle Division. MV10 Break/Bond Title Application
2
Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 61-3-208 – Affidavit and Bond for Certificate of Title
3
Montana State Legislature. Montana Code 45-7-203 – Unsworn Falsification to Authorities
4
Montana Motor Vehicle Division. MV20 Level 1 Vehicle/OHV Identification Number Inspection
5
Montana Motor Vehicle Division. Light Vehicle Registration and Fees