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Illinois title bond appraisers establishing the current wholesale value the Secretary of State sizes a title bond from, prepared in accordance with USPAP. We appraise cars, trucks, motorcycles, RVs and trailers for Illinois bonded titles, online or onsite in Chicago, Rockford, Peoria, Springfield and statewide.
…it only took about 2 weeks to get a very nice detailed appraisal report
Excellent service!… the team was always available to answer our questions
They diligently researched both equipment items and provided well-documented reports
DEFENSIBLE, USPAP-COMPLIANT APPRAISAL REPORTS — QUALIFIED FOR ILLINOIS LENDERS, BANKS, AND SURETY COMPANIES.
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Owner & CEO
Joe founded AppraiseItNow to make a certified, USPAP-compliant appraisal as simple to order as anything else online. A former Bain & Company strategy consultant, Joe leads the entire team and specializes in strategy, growth, and the firm's tech capabilities.
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
Third-generation auctioneer and CAGA Certified Appraiser with more than 20 years valuing machinery, equipment, vehicles, business assets, and estates for banks, attorneys, and trustees across the Carolinas.
Vehicle Appraiser
CAGA Certified Appraiser since 2014, covering vehicles, boats, equipment, fine art, and collectibles. A classic-car restoration background informs her vehicle work, with reports prepared for insurance, divorce, and charitable contributions.
Client Success Manager
Manages each engagement from the first enquiry to the delivered report, and keeps you posted at every step along the way.
Certified Appraisers Guild of AmericaCertified Appraiser
The Appraisal FoundationAuthorized by Congress as the source of appraisal standardsWe appraise vehicles across Illinois for owners who need a bonded title: a car bought privately whose title never arrived, a truck inherited with no paperwork, a trailer that changed hands years ago on a bill of sale alone. The title bond appraisal establishes the current wholesale value the Illinois Secretary of State sizes the bond from, and the report documents how that value was reached rather than asserting a number.
Our appraisers work online from photographs, service records and documentation you upload, or onsite anywhere in the state, from Chicago and the collar counties through Rockford, Peoria, Springfield and the Quad Cities. See our full range of appraisal services in Illinois, and what we look at on an Illinois vehicle appraisal of any kind.
Most of this work comes from private buyers who paid for a vehicle and never received the title. We also value vehicles for estate administrators settling a decedent's cars and trailers, for used vehicle and trailer dealers cleaning up inventory paperwork, and for lenders and finance companies that will not release funds until a credible wholesale value is on file. Same vehicle and the same wholesale basis each time; what changes is who is relying on the number.
Illinois bonded titles
When the ownership paperwork for a vehicle is missing, the Illinois Secretary of State can issue a certificate of title against a surety bond instead. This is an administrative filing rather than a court proceeding, and the bond is not a flat amount: under 92 Ill. Admin. Code 1010.190, it is set at one and a half times the appraised current wholesale value. The valuation is what the whole application is built on.
Current wholesale value
What the vehicle would bring at wholesale in the condition it is actually in. Not the retail asking price, not replacement cost, and not what was paid for it.
× 1.5
Fixed by rule at one and a half times the appraised value. Illinois sets no flat minimum bond and offers no face-value alternative, so the appraisal alone decides the size of the bond.
Bond amount
The Secretary of State confirms the exact figure from the appraised value, and the surety writes the bond for that amount. A cash deposit may be filed instead of a surety bond.
The bars are illustrative and print no figure: the wholesale value is a finding of the appraisal. Authority: 625 ILCS 5/3-109 and 92 Ill. Admin. Code 1010.190(c)(3).
Illinois excludes several situations outright, and no appraisal or bond changes that. Establishing eligibility first is what keeps a rejected filing from costing a bond premium.
A written valuation of the vehicle as it sits: year, make, model, mileage, drivetrain, options, documented condition, and the completed sales and wholesale market evidence the figure rests on. Wholesale is the basis Illinois names, so a retail guide number on its own does not answer the question.
Illinois takes the value on its own affirmation form, signed under penalty of perjury by a disinterested party the rule qualifies. The written valuation is the support the affirmed figure stands on, and it is what a reviewer looks at when the number is questioned.
The surety underwrites against the figure the Secretary of State confirms, so the bond cannot be placed before the value is settled. An overstated value raises the premium; an unsupported one puts the filing at risk.
Form VSD 190 is prepared in the Electronic Registration and Title system and filed at a Secretary of State facility with the bond, the title fee then in effect, and a Motor Vehicle Use Tax Return. Nothing goes before a judge.
The bond, and any deposit filed with it, is returned three calendar years from the date of filing, or earlier at the applicant's request. Claims against it are normally barred after that, and the title is clear.
What the route is for
What a bond will not title
The Affirmation of Appraisal is made by a disinterested person of suitable qualifications, and the rule names licensed new and used vehicle dealers (including motorcycle, mobile home and trailer dealers), licensed rebuilders for salvage and junk vehicles, licensed real estate agents for mobile homes, and officers of an antique vehicle club for antique vehicles. What we prepare is the independent, USPAP-compliant written valuation of current wholesale value that the affirmed figure rests on, and the same report answers the insurance, estate, lending, and resale questions that follow the vehicle afterwards.
Every one of these is titled through the state rather than through a court, and every one of them is valued on the same wholesale basis the bond is calculated from. Each card goes to what we look at on that vehicle, and to the market evidence its value is supported with.
What clients say we are known for
Across 80+ published AppraiseItNow reviews the picture is consistent: every one is from a client who paid us for an appraisal, and the three things they raise most often are that they would hire us again, how quickly we answer, and how much research is visible in the report.
They appraised an older trailer for me that required a bonded title. They were great with communication and it only took about 2 weeks to get a very nice detailed appraisal report, which finding comps for older trailers is not straight forward. Highly recommend!
Trailer Appraisal for Title Bond
Excellent service! We received a truck appraisal for a title bond quickly and efficiently. Most importantly, the team was always available to answer our questions. I highly recommend AppraiseItNow Inc.
Auto Appraisal for Title Bond
Excellent final product. Very professional. Questions were answered promptly, and the pricing was reasonable. I would highly recommend them and will continue to do so.
Auto Appraisal for Title Bond
Had a great experience working with AppraiseItNow for a potential loan our company was working on. I was very appreciative of the time they took to prepare the appraisal, plus the extra effort to advise us and explain the appraisal findings.
Inventory Appraisal for Loan Collateral
AppraiseItNow did an outstanding job appraising my 1998 Bobcat Skid Steer and circa 2010 Yuchai Crawler Dozer. We could not locate a serial number on the dozer, and there were no online sales available, but they were still able to develop an accurate appraisal using known specifications for my dozer compared to other comparable make and model dozers. They diligently researched both equipment items and provided well-documented reports.
Machinery & Equipment Appraisal
I was in dire need of an appraisal for my father's mobile home, which he needed for Medicaid approval. I couldn’t find anyone to do it for a long time, but then I found this company online and decided to give them a try. I’m so glad I did. They were wonderful to work with. I sent the pictures, and within just a few days I received the appraisal. They are absolutely worth the money.
Mobile Home Appraisal
Real assignments, with what the vehicle was, why the title was missing, and how the wholesale value the bond was written against was supported. The Illinois work comes first.
The surety or cash bond must equal 1.5 times the vehicle's appraised current wholesale value under 92 Ill. Admin. Code 1010.190, the rule implementing 625 ILCS 5/3-109. Wholesale value, not retail or replacement value, is the base, and the Secretary of State confirms the exact bond figure from the appraisal before a surety will write it.
The rule defines the appraisal as an affirmation of current wholesale value by a disinterested person of suitable qualifications, and names licensed new and used vehicle dealers (including motorcycle, mobile home and trailer dealers), licensed rebuilders for salvage or junk vehicles, licensed real estate agents for mobile homes only, and officers of an antique vehicle club for antique vehicles. The value is affirmed on the Secretary of State's Affirmation of Appraisal, Form VSD 896, filed with the Vehicle Services Department. What we prepare is the independent, USPAP-compliant written valuation of current wholesale value that the affirmed figure rests on.
The vehicle as it actually sits, and the evidence behind the figure: VIN, year, make, model, trim and drivetrain, mileage, options, and the condition found on inspection or in the photographs and records supplied. The wholesale value is then supported with completed sales and wholesale market data for comparable vehicles. A retail guide number on its own does not answer the question Illinois asks, because retail and wholesale are different markets.
Yes. Illinois will not accept a bond to issue title on an abandoned vehicle, a vehicle subject to a mechanic's lien, or a repossessed vehicle, and a bond cannot stand behind a salvage or junking certificate, even with a valid appraisal and bond in hand. The bonded title path is designed for missing-paperwork situations, not for resolving those ownership disputes, which follow separate procedures.
Three calendar years from the date of filing, after which the bond and any deposit filed with it are returned and claims against it are normally barred. It can also be released earlier at the applicant's request. The application itself is administrative: Form VSD 190 is completed through the Electronic Registration and Title system and submitted to a Secretary of State facility with the title fee then in effect and a Motor Vehicle Use Tax Return, rather than through any court proceeding.
