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Alabama · Surety Bond Resource Center

Alabama surety bonds

Alabama’s published statewide license bonds cluster around a few high-volume programs. Motor vehicle dealers and related Alabama Department of Revenue (ALDOR) credentials share one $50,000 Motor Vehicle Surety Bond on Form MVT 4-3 that stays in force while the license is active. Active heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration contractors file a $20,000 Board bond. Home Builders Licensure Board (HBLB) roofers—unlike unlimited or limited home builders—post a $10,000 License/Permit Bond. Master plumbers and master gas fitters deposit a $2,000 bond with the county probate judge. Money transmitters keep Alabama Securities Commission coverage of at least $100,000. Mortgage brokers and residential consumer-credit lenders file a volume-based bond through the State Banking Department on NMLS. Notaries public record a $50,000 bond with the probate judge before using a new commission.

Browse Alabama bonds
Surety bond certificate and license approval illustration

Alabama at a glance

Motor vehicle dealer / ALDOR licensees
$50,000

Form MVT 4-3; stays in force while licensed. A dealer bond also covers designated-agent duty.

HVAC / refrigeration (active)
$20,000

Board Form BF-1; inactive certification needs no bond.

Residential roofer
$10,000

Roofers license only; unlimited and limited builders use credit reports instead.

Master plumber / gas fitter
$2,000

Deposit with the probate judge in the county of the principal place of business.

Money transmitter
$100,000 minimum

Or higher under Ala. Code § 8-7A-7 outstanding-obligations formula; max $5,000,000.

Notary public
$50,000

File with county probate within 40 days of the appointment letter (effective Sept. 1, 2023).

How it works in this state

How Alabama bonding is organized

How Alabama organizes these bonds

Dealer and title-related licenses sit with the Department of Revenue Motor Vehicle Division and share one $50,000 Form MVT 4-3 that stays in force while licensed. Construction trades split across specialized boards: Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors for active HVAC/refrigeration work; Home Builders Licensure Board for the roofers-only license tier; and the Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board’s $2,000 master bond filed locally with probate. Financial-services bonds run through the Securities Commission for money transmission and the State Banking Department Bureau of Loans for mortgage coverage. Notary bonding is a county probate filing after statewide appointment.

What this hub does not treat as statewide license bonds

Unlimited and limited Home Builders licenses rely on credit-report financial responsibility rather than a board surety. The Licensing Board for General Contractors does not impose a blanket statewide license bond for ordinary commercial classification. Collection agencies are not licensed with a statewide surety program. Onsite wastewater, land-disturbing stormwater, and local city/county contractor permits sit outside this commercial hub. Project bid, performance, and payment bonds remain separate from license surety.

Alabama bond directory

Find your bond requirement

These guides cover license and permit bonds with verified educational content. Your agency notice or application checklist is always the final authority.

Who sets the requirement?

Alabama licensing agencies

Each agency below sets its own bond requirement. Open the related guide for amounts and filing steps.

Alabama Department of Revenue — Motor Vehicle Division

Issues dealer and related licenses and receives the $50,000 Form MVT 4-3 bond.

Open related guide →

Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors

Licenses active HVAC and refrigeration contractors and receives the $20,000 Form BF-1 performance bond.

Open related guide →

Home Builders Licensure Board

Licenses residential roofers and receives the $10,000 License/Permit Bond for that limited class.

Open related guide →

Plumbers and Gas Fitters Examining Board / county probate

Licenses master plumbers and gas fitters; statute requires the $2,000 bond to be deposited with the probate judge.

Open related guide →

Alabama Securities Commission

Licenses money transmitters and sets the § 8-7A-7 bond or other accepted security, including Form USB.

Open related guide →

State Banking Department — Bureau of Loans

Licenses mortgage brokers and residential consumer-credit lenders through NMLS and receives the required mortgage bond.

Open related guide →

County judges of probate (notary commissions)

Appoint statewide notaries and approve, file, and record the $50,000 notary bond.

Open related guide →

Before you apply

Confirm these details from the agency notice

Bring these five items when you request a bond. For the full checklist, see how to read a bond requirement.

  1. 1

    Match the exact legal name

    Dealer, HACR, HBLB, ASC, and Banking Dept bonds must use the same legal and DBA names that appear on the license application or NMLS record.

  2. 2

    Confirm active vs inactive or unlimited vs roofers

    HACR inactive certifications skip the performance bond. HBLB unlimited/limited builders do not use the roofers License/Permit Bond.

  3. 3

    Use the current agency form

    ALDOR MVT 4-3, HACR BF-1, HBLB sample roofers bond, and ASC Form USB are the operative filing instruments—not generic blank surety templates.

Learn more about surety bonds

Universal surety concepts explained once—linked here instead of repeated on every state or bond page.

Frequently asked questions

Does every Alabama home builder need a surety bond?

No. Unlimited and limited Home Builders Licensure Board applicants show financial responsibility with a credit report. Only the roofers license tier requires the Board’s $10,000 License/Permit Bond.

Is there a statewide general-contractor license bond?

Not as a statewide license bond for ordinary commercial classification. Public and private projects still use separate bid, performance, and payment bonds when the contract requires them.

Where do I file an Alabama notary bond?

With the judge of probate in your county of residence. After the appointment letter, you generally have forty days to obtain, approve, file, and record the $50,000 bond before the commission is mailed.

Start your Alabama bond application

Alabama will be preselected in the application. Choose the bond type on the next step—we verify the current agency form before anything is issued.

Start a bond application

Last verified 2026-08-11. Official sources are retained with this guide and checked before publication.

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