Who requires it
Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles (Secretary of State)
License & permit · Maine
Maine Motor Vehicle Dealer Bond
Maine dealers other than equipment and light trailer dealers must file and keep a surety with the Secretary of State under 29-A M.R.S. §901. The amount follows prior-year sales: twenty-five thousand dollars for up to fifty sales, fifty thousand for fifty-one to one hundred, seventy-five thousand for one hundred one to one hundred fifty, and one hundred thousand for one hundred fifty-one or more. New licensees size from projected volume, and the Secretary of State reviews every licensee annually so the bond matches actual sales. Official Form MVD-390 names the Secretary of State, runs with the dealer license, and lets the surety cancel only after thirty days’ registered or certified mail notice to the Motor Vehicle Division. Anyone claiming on the bond must do so within three years of the sale date.
Common bond amount
$25,000–$100,000
By prior-year sales (or projected sales for new dealers) under 29-A M.R.S. § 901; equipment and light trailer dealers exempt from this subsection.
How you file
File Form MVD-390 with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles
Renewal
Keep the bond in place while licensed. Increase the amount if sales move into a higher tier
Who requires it
Applicants for and holders of Maine motor vehicle dealer licenses under Title 29-A, other than equipment and light trailer dealers, filing with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
How much is required
Use the §901 sales table for the prior license year’s sales count, or projected sales when first licensed. After opening, expect volume-based review so a growing dealership steps up to the matching amount. Equipment and light trailer dealers are outside this surety subsection.
How to get and file it
Count prior-year or projected sales, complete Form MVD-390 for that amount in the exact dealership legal name, have an authorized surety execute it, and file the original with the dealer license package. Keep MVD-390 coverage aligned with the current sales tier throughout each license year. The Secretary of State’s annual review can force an increase when volume rises. If the surety cancels, it must mail thirty days’ registered or certified notice to the Motor Vehicle Division; replace the bond before any gap—failure to maintain coverage can suspend the dealer license immediately.
Cost note
The sales-tier figure is the required bond amount, not the premium you pay. See bond amount vs premium. Bond amount vs premium →
Requirement checklist
- 0–50 sales
- $25,000
- 51–100 sales
- $50,000
- 101–150 sales
- $75,000
- 151+ sales
- $100,000
- Claims
- Claims can be filed for 3 years after the sale
Official sources
Related resources
Frequently asked questions
Do light trailer or equipment dealers need this bond?
Section 901(4) expressly excludes equipment and light trailer dealers from this surety schedule. Confirm any other BMV credentials for those classes separately.
What if my sales jump mid-year?
The Secretary of State reviews licensees annually for the correct bond amount and may require an increase when volume moves into a higher §901 tier. Do not wait for a suspension notice if you already know your sales have crossed a threshold.
Related Maine bond guides
Loan Broker / Supervised Lender Bond
$25,000 / $50,000
Maine’s Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection treats loan brokerage and supervised lending as related Consumer Credit Code credentials with different bond amounts. Article 10 loan brokers—including firms that improve credit records or arrange consumer credit for a fee—must accompany each application with a $25,000 surety under 9-A M.R.S. §10-202, reduced to $10,000 when the broker works solely as a refund-anticipation loan or check facilitator. Bureau FAQs require that $25,000 coverage for every licensed location and allow one combined bond that lists each address. Supervised lenders under §2-302 must attach a $50,000 surety to each branch application; the administrator may also require a main-office bond not exceeding $50,000. Both license paths now file through NMLS.
Money Transmitter Bond
$100,000
Money transmission applicants and licensees under Title 32 chapter 79-A must keep $100,000 of security on file with the Bureau. Section 6100-S allows either a surety bond the Bureau accepts or, with approval, a deposit instead of a bond. You may need more than $100,000 if the Bureau’s investment rules under section 6100-T require it. Licensing and bonding for this program run through NMLS.
Debt Collector Bond
$5,000–$50,000
Debt collectors licensed under Maine’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act must keep a surety the Bureau finds reasonably necessary under 32 M.R.S. §11032. The Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection publishes the operative amounts: new direct-collection applicants post $20,000, repossession or residential property-preservation applicants post $15,000, and letter-writing companies that make no direct collections post $5,000. At renewal, average monthly gross Maine collections set the amount from $15,000 under $10,000 a month up to $50,000 when monthly averages exceed $40,000. Repossession and property-preservation renewals stay at $15,000, and letter-writing renewals stay at $5,000. Sureties may cancel with thirty days’ notice to the Bureau, and most debt-collector bonds now file through NMLS.
Surety basics (not repeated here)
Universal surety concepts explained once—linked here instead of repeated on every state or bond page.
Continue with a Maine application
Maine 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 2026-08-12. This guide is based on verified educational content and official sources.
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