Who requires it
Motor Vehicle Industry Board — DCCA Professional and Vocational Licensing Branch
License & permit · Hawaii
Hawaii Motor Vehicle Dealer Bond
Hawaii motor vehicle dealer and auction applicants ordinarily satisfy financial-security rules with an inventory, flooring, or secured line of credit from a qualifying lender. When that credit cannot reasonably be obtained, the Motor Vehicle Industry Board may accept a surety bond on the Board’s published motorcycle, used-vehicle, new-vehicle, or auction amounts. The official MOVE-13 bond form is what dealers file on that alternative path, under Chapter 437, HRS and HAR §16-86-12.
Common bond amount
$10,000–$200,000
Bond path only when LOC cannot reasonably be obtained; motorcycle $10k; used $25k/$100k; new $50k/$200k; auction $200k (Board checklist Tables B–C).
How you file
File MOVE-13 when the Board accepts a bond instead of inventory/flooring credit
Renewal
Continuous while licensed; resize on class or volume change; 30-day surety cancellation notice
Who requires it
Applicants for and holders of Hawaii new-vehicle, used-vehicle, motorcycle/scooter, or auction licenses who cannot reasonably obtain the required inventory, flooring, or secured line of credit and whom the Motor Vehicle Industry Board allows to post a surety bond instead.
How much is required
The Board’s dealer/auction checklist sets the ordinary credit floors first: $50,000 inventory or flooring credit for motorcycle/scooter and used-vehicle dealers; for new-vehicle dealers, $500,000 or the amount in the applicant’s Dealer Sales & Service Agreement, whichever is less; for auctions, a $100,000 secured line of credit. When the Board accepts a surety instead, the checklist bond amounts are $10,000 for motorcycle and motor scooter dealers; $25,000 for used-vehicle dealers averaging fewer than sixty units a month; $100,000 for used-vehicle dealers averaging sixty or more; $50,000 for new-vehicle dealers averaging fewer than ten new units a month; $200,000 for new-vehicle dealers averaging ten or more; and $200,000 for auctions.
How to get and file it
Confirm with the Motor Vehicle Industry Board that a surety is acceptable for your file because the required line of credit cannot reasonably be obtained. Have a surety authorized in Hawaii execute the current MOVE-13 Motor Vehicle Dealer License bond in the exact legal name on the application, in the amount that matches your new, used, motorcycle, or auction tier. File the original notarized bond with the Board’s PVL Licensing Branch and keep UCC or other credit paperwork current if you later switch back to a line of credit. Keep the bond in force while licensed on the bond path. If you change from used to new vehicles or increase monthly volume into a higher tier, file an updated or replacement bond for the higher amount. MOVE-13 allows the surety to cancel with thirty days’ written notice to the Board and to you; replace coverage before that notice expires so the license does not lose required security.
Cost note
Ten thousand to two hundred thousand dollars is the required bond amount on the alternative path, not the premium you pay. See bond amount vs premium. Bond amount vs premium →
Requirement checklist
- Primary path
- Inventory/flooring LOC (dealers) or secured LOC (auctions) from a federally insured institution or ≥$50M-net-worth financing source, plus UCC-1/security agreement at the Bureau of Conveyances
- Motorcycle / scooter bond alternative
- $10,000
- Used-vehicle bond alternative
- $25,000 (<60 units/month) or $100,000 (≥60 units/month)
- New-vehicle bond alternative
- $50,000 (<10 new units/month) or $200,000 (≥10 new units/month)
- Auction bond alternative
- $200,000 (ordinary secured LOC is $100,000)
Official sources
Frequently asked questions
Is a Hawaii dealer bond required for every dealer license?
No. The Motor Vehicle Industry Board checklist treats an inventory or flooring line of credit as the ordinary financial-security path. A surety bond is an alternative the Board may accept when that credit cannot reasonably be obtained.
Do Hawaii vehicle auctions use the same bond amounts as dealers?
Auctions follow Table C on the same checklist: a $100,000 secured line of credit is the ordinary path, and a $200,000 surety may be accepted when that credit cannot reasonably be obtained. Dealer amounts follow the motorcycle, used, and new tiers in Table B.
Related Hawaii bond guides
Contractors Bond
≥ $5,000 (when required)
Hawaii contractor licensing through the Contractors License Board does not impose one fixed surety amount on every general or specialty licensee. HRS §444-16.5 authorizes the Board to require a specialty or general contractor—individual or corporate—to furnish a surety bond of not less than five thousand dollars after weighing financial condition and experience. When that bond is imposed, HAR §16-77-76 and the Board’s maintain-bond instructions control how long it must stay in force and when a waiver may be requested.
Collection Agency Bond
$25,000 / $15,000
Hawaii collection agencies registering with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs must file and maintain a surety bond under Chapter 443B. The first office in the State carries a twenty-five-thousand-dollar amount; each additional Hawaii office carries a fifteen-thousand-dollar amount. Official Bond Form CA-02 is what PVL’s registration checklist requires for every office.
Money Transmitter Bond
$5,000 / $10,000 (up to $500,000)
Hawaii money-transmitter licensees under the Money Transmitters Act must accompany the application with a surety bond, irrevocable letter of credit, or other security the commissioner accepts. HRS §489D-7 fixes ten thousand dollars for the initial twelve months of licensure, then steps to five thousand or ten thousand dollars based on annualized money-transmission volume, while allowing the commissioner to raise the amount to as much as five hundred thousand dollars when financial condition warrants.
Surety basics (not repeated here)
Universal surety concepts explained once—linked here instead of repeated on every state or bond page.
Continue with a Hawaii application
Hawaii will be preselected. Choose your bond type in the application—we confirm the correct product against your agency form before anything is issued.
Last verified 2026-08-11. This guide is based on verified educational content and official sources.
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