Dealer bonds file with the Motor Vehicle Division under separate Title 39 chapters for motor vehicles, trailers, motor-powered recreational vehicles, and mobile or manufactured homes. All stay in force while you are licensed, and the surety must give 30 days’ notice to cancel. Money brokering, residential mortgage lending, money transmission, and collection-agency licensing run through the Department of Financial Institutions, typically via NMLS. Notaries file a Secretary of State bond under the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts. Statewide contractor licensing with the Secretary of State centers on liability insurance and Workforce Safety & Insurance verification—not a surety bond.
North Dakota · Surety Bond Resource Center
North Dakota surety bonds
North Dakota’s published statewide license bonds sit with the Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division for vehicle dealers, the Department of Financial Institutions for money brokers, residential mortgage lenders, money transmitters, and collection agencies, and the Secretary of State for notaries. Dealer amounts run $10,000, $25,000, or $50,000 by dealer class under Title 39, and the license is suspended if the bond is cancelled. Money brokers and residential mortgage lenders each keep at least $50,000 under DFI chapters 13-04.1 and 13-12. Money transmitters size the bond under NDCC 13-09.1-33 from $100,000 up to $500,000 based on average daily North Dakota transmission liability, with a deposit alternative and a $100,000 path when tangible net worth exceeds ten percent of total assets. Collection agencies post a fixed $50,000. Notaries file a $7,500 bond for the four-year commission. Statewide contractor licensing under NDCC chapter 43-07 requires liability insurance, not a surety bond.
North Dakota at a glance
- Motor vehicle / specialty dealers
- $10,000–$50,000
- Money broker / residential mortgage lender
- ≥ $50,000
- Money transmitter
- $100,000–$500,000
- Collection agency
- $50,000
- Notary public
- $7,500
By dealer class under Title 39; stays in force while licensed; cancel suspends license.
NDCC 13-04.1-04.1 and 13-12-07; DFI commissioner form.
Greater of $100k or 100% of average daily ND liability; deposit alternative.
Fixed under NDCC 13-05-04.1.
NDCC 44-06.1-20; Form SFN 19355; four-year commission.
How it works in this state
How North Dakota bonding is organized
What this hub does not treat as statewide license bonds
NDCC chapter 43-07 contractor licenses do not require a statewide surety; the Secretary of State contractor page lists insurance and Workforce Safety & Insurance documents instead. Residential mortgage loan servicers under chapter 13-13 follow net-worth and liquidity rules, with a $1,000,000 surety available only as an alternative to net worth for certain portfolios—not as a required amount for every servicer. Municipal contractor bonds, water-well or other niche trade bonds, public-works performance and payment bonds, and court bonds remain outside these guides.
North Dakota 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.
BondAgencyCommon amountHow you file
- Motor Vehicle Dealer BondLicense & permitNorth Dakota Department of Transportation — Motor Vehicle Division$10,000–$50,000File with Motor Vehicle Division; stays in force while licensedKeep the bond active while licensed. Canceling suspends the license after 30 days’ notice.
- Money Broker / Mortgage Lender BondLicense & permitNorth Dakota Department of Financial Institutions≥ $50,000File electronically through NMLS on the commissioner formKeep the bond while licensed. If a claim is paid, restore the required amount.
- Money Transmitter BondLicense & permitNorth Dakota Department of Financial Institutions — Money transmitters$100,000–$500,000Surety bond, or a deposit the commissioner approves insteadKeep the bond active while licensed. Increase the amount if North Dakota volume grows.
- Collection Agency BondLicense & permitNorth Dakota Department of Financial Institutions — Collection agencies$50,000File electronically through NMLS on the commissioner formStay covered while licensed. If a claim is paid, restore the required amount.
- Notary Public BondLicense & permitNorth Dakota Secretary of State — Notaries Public$7,500File Form SFN 19355 with the Secretary of StateFour-year commission; new or renewed bond with each appointment; 30-day cancel notice
Who sets the requirement?
North Dakota licensing agencies
Each agency below sets its own bond requirement. Open the related guide for amounts and filing steps.
North Dakota DOT — Motor Vehicle Division
Licenses motor vehicle, trailer, MPR, and mobile/manufactured home dealers and receives Title 39 bonds.
Open related guide →Department of Financial Institutions — Money brokers / mortgage lenders
Licenses money brokers and residential mortgage lenders and receives bonds of at least $50,000.
Open related guide →Department of Financial Institutions — Money transmitters
Licenses money transmitters and receives the NDCC 13-09.1-33 bond or approved deposit.
Open related guide →Department of Financial Institutions — Collection agencies
Licenses collection agencies and receives NDCC 13-05-04.1 bonds.
Open related guide →North Dakota Secretary of State — Notaries Public
Commissions notaries and receives NDCC 44-06.1-20 bonds.
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
Agency and credential
Confirm whether you need an MVD dealer bond, a DFI money-broker or mortgage-lender bond, a money-transmitter bond or approved deposit, a collection-agency bond, or a Secretary of State notary bond.
- 2
Dealer class or transmission liability
Dealer amounts follow license class. Money-transmitter bonds scale with average daily North Dakota transmission liability unless the tangible-net-worth path applies.
- 3
Surety vs deposit alternatives
Money transmitters may, with commissioner approval, deposit funds instead of a bond. Dealer, money-broker, mortgage-lender, collection, and notary credentials use a surety bond (or the notary’s approved equivalent).
- 4
Exact legal name
Match the name on the bond to the license application. MVD issues the dealership license in the business name shown on the dealer bond.
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 a North Dakota Class B contractor need a statewide surety bond?
No. The Secretary of State’s contractor licensing process requires a certificate of liability insurance and Workforce Safety & Insurance verification. It does not list a surety bond for Class A–D contractor licenses under NDCC chapter 43-07.
What happens if my North Dakota dealer bond is cancelled?
Under the dealer statutes, the surety must give 30 days’ certified-mail notice to the dealer and the department. After that, the bond no longer covers new claims. The MVD dealer handbook states that cancellation suspends the dealer’s license.
Is the money broker bond the same as the residential mortgage lender bond?
Both require at least $50,000 on a commissioner-prescribed form under parallel DFI statutes (NDCC 13-04.1-04.1 and 13-12-07). They are separate licenses—confirm which credential your activity requires after the 2023 residential mortgage lender chapter took effect.
Start your North Dakota bond application
North Dakota will be preselected in the application. Choose the bond type on the next step—we verify the current agency form before anything is issued.
Last verified 2026-08-12. Official sources are retained with this guide and checked before publication.
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