The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2025 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Subchapter
002
:
CERTIFICATES OF TITLE
(Cite as: 23 V.S.A. § 2020)
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§ 2020. Withholding of certificate; bond required
If the Commissioner is not satisfied as to the ownership of the vehicle or that there
are no undisclosed security interests in it, the Commissioner may register the vehicle
but shall either:
(1) Withhold issuance of a certificate of title until the applicant presents documents
reasonably sufficient to satisfy the Commissioner as to the applicant’s ownership
of the vehicle and that there are no undisclosed security interests in it.
(2) As a condition of issuing a certificate of title, require an applicant who is a Vermont
resident to file with the Commissioner a bond in the form prescribed by the Commissioner
and executed by the applicant, and either accompanied by the deposit of cash with
the Commissioner or also executed by a person authorized to conduct a surety business
in this State. The bond shall be in an amount equal to one and one-half times the
value of the vehicle as determined by the Commissioner and conditioned to indemnify
any prior owner and lienholder and any subsequent purchaser of the vehicle or person
acquiring any security interest in it, and their respective successors in interest,
against any expense, loss, or damage, including reasonable attorney’s fees, by reason
of the issuance of the certificate of title of the vehicle or on account of any defect
in or undisclosed security interest upon the right, title, and interest of the applicant
in and to the vehicle. Any such interested person has a right of action to recover
on the bond for any breach of its conditions, but the aggregate liability of the surety
to all persons shall not exceed the amount of the bond. The bond, and any deposit
accompanying it, shall be returned at the end of three years or earlier if the vehicle
is no longer registered in this State and the currently valid certificate of title
is surrendered to the Commissioner, unless the Commissioner has been notified of the
pendency of an action to recover on the bond. The Commissioner shall not issue titles
to nonresidents under the provisions of this subdivision. (Added 1969, No. 297 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1971; amended 2019, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 213; 2023, No. 41, § 29, eff. July 1, 2023.)