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I’m writing this answer because I assume a few hundred people a year find themselves in this situation and they won’t know what to do. I’m writing a long answer giving all the details so if they search for similar stories using Google they might find this and be heartened by it.Super hard? Yes, I’m afraid so. But sometimes it’s the only option. Thanks, self, for asking! I did it, and it felt like I went through all nine circles of hell in the process. But if it absolutely must be done, here’s the drill:If only I knew then in 2008 what I know now in 2019, what tales my past self would whisper to my future self. Ghostly tales told with a flashlight shining up under my chin in dark of night. Chilling tales. Getting a bond title in North Carolina is scary.My story isn’t even all that weird—it’s just a hair too weird to get a free and clear title in North Carolina, so that’s why the bonded title. I bought a cheap used car in 2008 on finance in a debt shared by my ex and me, in Augusta, Georgia. A 2005 Scion.[1][1][1][1] Nothing to write home about, but it’ll probably run trouble free for years. About 6 months later in the fall of that year, my first marriage became irretrievably broken and I moved out and filed for divorce, stipulating that the Scion went to me and the Korean hatchback went to my ex husband, because even at that time our bank accounts were relatively separate and that’s who was paying for (and driving) what. Seemed fair.For reasons too complicated to get thoroughly into, a 500 dollar friendly divorce turned into a 3,000 dollar ex parte affair. If I had a single dollar for every time I said “ex parte” to some paeon on the phone in the course of trying to title this car, I could’ve bought at least a used Forester free and clear from the salvage lot on Patton Ave in Asheville. Or at least a moped.So the ex parte divorce was granted in Georgia in February, 2009, but at that time I was TDY in DC, preparing to PCS to Africa indefinitely, and the registration was still current in mine and my ex husband’s name in Georgia.I remained overseas for a long time. Years, actually. Pay was good. I paid off the car lickety split. If there ever was a release of lien, though, the bank sent from the bank to a dead mailbox in a suburb of Augusta, outside of Ft. Gordon. My ex husband and I both long gone, and purposefully not talking.After a period of time, life overseas started to feel more and more untenable to me and I quit my job and moved nearby family in North Carolina. Problem was that even though I had perfectly valid divorce papers that had the car transfer in writing, I’d have needed to remain in Georgia with a good lien release to actually transfer the car to me. I had neither.And at this point, driving this stupid car to Georgia (risking arrest along the way for a long-dead plate in the process) and hiring a lawyer to explain why I had Georgia title but no Georgia residency, then getting the title and filling out additional paperwork to transfer the title to North Carolina for a car registration was going to cost literally more than the car was worth.I had a large piece of metal in my driveway that I couldn’t get rid of. I couldn’t sell it. I couldn’t donate it for a tax deduction. Most junkyards wouldn’t take it. I was worried that if I left it unlocked on the bad side of town the police might find it and try to return it to me. No good!So I asked some questions on Quora:How do you register a car without a title in North Carolina?Why is it so hard to register your car if you don't have the title?If you were deeded a car in a divorce, how do you get a copy of the title?Can you donate a car without a title to a charity such as the Salvation Army or Goodwill in the United States?Is there any state where I can register my car in a single day without a title?What happens if you abandon a vehicle in North Carolina and do not attempt to retrieve it?In the process I found out (for the very first time) that “bond” titles were thing that you could do if you weren’t able to get a regular title for a car due to extraordinary circumstances. Sounds good. So I decided to take a week off of work (paid vacation) and see if I couldn’t figure out how to pull this off at my leisure.I also happen to be privy to some locals-only information that the NC DMV Tag office at Marshall, NC is simply superb and worth the trip if you live within an hour of there. You’ll never have a nicer, cozier experience at a DMV everywhere. 10/10 would go again! Seriously they’re super sweet. Any indictment of the system forthcoming comes with only the very nicest things to say about its frontline support team. Let’s give underappreciated bureaucrats and civil servants a well-deserved ovation!This is an image from their facebook page, to give you an idea about how small-town Pinteresty cute these Marshall DMV folks are.Day 1 of my week off work. Research required documents from the DMV.First thing I did was definitively rule out getting a “straight” title. Based on the cost of the required steps and the resale value of the car (1500–2000) it was out of the question.Second thing I did was look up what a “bond” title would require (mind you I’m not a used car salesperson and I don’t do this for a living)You need a affidavit of facts as to how you found yourself in this ridiculous situation. This has to be notarized. The license and theft inspector will need to see it filled out before they do their report (more on this later)You will need a licence and theft inspection certificate from the law enforcement arm of the DMV.To get this, I showed them my divorce decree putting the car in my name and a replacement “release of lien” letter notarized from my former lienholder, USAA. The also accepted a (non-notarized) version of the affidavit of facts for a missing title document.I scheduled a visit ahead of time for the License and Tag office to come to my house to inspect the car since it was technically inoperable due to a long-expired Georgia tag. They seem to operate on a first-come first-serve schedule. This visit took me 2 weeks to set up. I had to say “ex parte” and “overseas” and “I have all the papers” many times over the phone to make it happen.Day 2 of my week:Contact Marshall DMV via facebook to find out the tax value of my car ($2470) so I can ask my insurer for a surety bond that covers 1.5 times that.FYI: in North carolina basically all surety bonds are $100 dollars.Meet with the license and theft inspector at my home and get him to fill out a form saying he saw my car and didn’t think it seemed to be stolen (based on documents I gave him proving definitively it was mine)Day 3 of my week:Call my auto insurers (also USAA—the GREATEST BANK EVER) to see about getting a surety or indemnity bond as required by the State of NC.End up getting routed to the financial investment office at USAA due to my saying “bond” over the automated phone systemGet routed back to insurance. Talk to a nice lady who asks me to write a bunch of “holographic” affidavits and scan them to her explaining what happened to the original title.Scanning documents is freakin’ hard. Be smart and get u a cam scanner or similar smartphone app on Google Play, or just do what I ended up doing (later) and fax them. Scanning is bullshit. Oy.Scan the same divorce and DMV documents 5–6 times and email them again and again, and again, and………again. Because “the edges look cut off on Page 6”Find out that the MVR-92 H form has to be filled out in front of a notary in order for the bond to be effective.Tell the representative “no, I can’t get my ex husband to handwrite an affidavit saying he let me have the car. It’s in the dang divorce decree already and as much as I’m fond of the poor guy, it’s not like he’s in my rolodex these days. That ship has sailed. (ex parte, ex parte, ex parte, ex parte)”The bond is 100 bucks and I’ve just spent 6.5 hours on the phone with an insurance salesman (saleswoman already went home for the night—just keep saying “ex parte, ex parte, ex parte” stick to your guns) trying to sort this out. Poor guy probably works on commission and is learning less than the saddest, shittiest Quora Partner from my business with him. I actually feel bad for him. But this simply has to be done. I can’t afford to keep this car unregistered anymore.Day 4Wake up at 7:00 AM. Futz around the house for a bit. Drive to the Marshall DMV to get the MVR-92 H notarized, per instructions.Field several further requests from bonding agency to resend different pdfs and JPGs of relevant documents. It’s a few hundred emails and photographs of documents, literally. It takes hours.Pay 5 dollars per notarized signature (total: 15 dollars)Pay 100 dollars for bond title as expected (after spending an additional 20 dollars at the UPS store to actually FAX documents in since the scans and photos weren’t cutting it)Get fax receipt at 4:30 PM from UPS store.Drive to the nearest tag office. Find out that the bond on tax value should not have been issued on a conversation “over the phone” smile real nice. It’s 4:59. The office closes at 5. The lady takes it easy on you for once.Correct your notarized affidavit because you messed it up a bit (another 5 bucks for renotarization)Show them all your other collected documents.Choose a plate—”In God We Trust”, “First in Freedom”, or “First in Flight”. As an abstaining nontheist Quaker I went with “First in Flight,” natch, and wondered if the license plate lady was judging me the whole time for not saying “In God We Trust”.I asked about a “Partially Disabled Veteran” plate and got told “yes, but we don’t keep those in stock”. I plan on going back in a bit and changing out for one, though, just in case my partial disability is relevant to anyone who would otherwise wish to pull me over for bad driving. We take what we can get! Every little bit helps!Pay another 199 dollars and a few cents for a legit NC plate (handed to me literally over the effing counter) with a year to get my car emissions inspection in order (inshallah).Get let out of the DMV office by a security guard, long after the doors were finally locked for the evening.Day 5–7Go camping and drink a fuck ton of cheap bourbon and a dude who enjoys hanging out with me sometimes. Woo hoo!In conclusion: an experience I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, made brighter by a few kind souls. Good learning and preparation for when I plan to bring the famed Toyota Tacoma from California, NC side. Thanks for reading!Footnotes[1] http://Annika Peacock's answer to What type of car do you drive and what does that say about you? (https://www.quora.com/What-type-of-car-do-you-drive-and-what-does-that-say-about-you/answer/Annika-Peacock#)[1] http://Annika Peacock's answer to What type of car do you drive and what does that say about you? (https://www.quora.com/What-type-of-car-do-you-drive-and-what-does-that-say-about-you/answer/Annika-Peacock#)[1] http://Annika Peacock's answer to What type of car do you drive and what does that say about you? (https://www.quora.com/What-type-of-car-do-you-drive-and-what-does-that-say-about-you/answer/Annika-Peacock#)[1] http://Annika Peacock's answer to What type of car do you drive and what does that say about you? (https://www.quora.com/What-type-of-car-do-you-drive-and-what-does-that-say-about-you/answer/Annika-Peacock#)