Who requires it
Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities — Non-Depository Licensing
License & permit · Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Money Transmitter Bond
Anyone transmitting money—or, after Act 7 of 2025, virtual currency—for a fee under Pennsylvania’s Money Transmission and Virtual Currency Transmission Business Licensing Law must file a one-million-dollar surety with the Department of Banking and Securities through NMLS before a license issues or renews.
Common bond amount
$1,000,000
Fixed statutory amount; DoBS may order an additional bond after examination up to average daily PA outstanding transmission receipts (prior 30 days) plus 10%.
How you file
Upload the company bond in NMLS (not Electronic Surety Bond)
Renewal
Renewal application must include a conforming bond; license term ≤ 14 months
Who requires it
Persons and entities that engage in the business of transmitting money or virtual currency by a transmittal instrument for a fee or other consideration and that need a DoBS money transmitter license. This is separate from mortgage, sales-finance, debt-management, and debt-settlement licensing instruments.
How much is required
Section 6(a)(3) of the Money Transmission Business Licensing Law sets a fixed $1,000,000 amount, executed by a surety authorized in Pennsylvania, running to the Commonwealth for the Commonwealth and for Pennsylvania residents who have a cause of action on a transmittal instrument. If DoBS later decides that amount is inadequate, section 6(b.1) lets the department—after an examination and a consent agreement or order—require an additional bond up to the average daily outstanding balance of money received for transmission in Pennsylvania during the thirty days before the requirement, plus ten percent of that average. Renewal applications under section 9(b) must include a bond meeting the same terms unless that additional bond already applies.
How to get and file it
Obtain the current Pennsylvania money transmitter surety form from the NMLS checklist materials, have an authorized surety execute it in the exact legal name (including trade names) on the MU1, and upload the original bond, any amount updates, and continuation certificates under Surety Bond in NMLS Document Uploads. DoBS directs that originals not be mailed or emailed to the department. Electronic Surety Bond (ESB) is not the Pennsylvania path for this license. Keep the statutory bond (and any ordered additional bond) in force while licensed. File renewals before the license expires with a conforming bond; licenses under the act run for a term of not more than fourteen months as the department determines. Separately maintain the act’s tangible net worth minimum of $500,000—financial responsibility beside the surety, not a substitute for it.
Cost note
$1,000,000 (and any DoBS-ordered additional amount) is the required bond amount, not the premium you pay. See bond amount vs premium. Bond amount vs premium →
Requirement checklist
- Statutory amount
- $1,000,000 under Act 249 § 6(a)(3)
- Additional bond
- Possible after DoBS exam/consent under § 6(b.1) volume formula
- Related net worth
- $500,000 tangible net worth (separate from the surety)
Official sources
Frequently asked questions
Does virtual currency transmission need this bond?
Act 7 of 2025 amended the licensing law so transmitting virtual currency for a fee requires a DoBS money transmitter license. The section 6 surety accompanies that license path the same way money transmission does—confirm the live NMLS Pennsylvania Money Transmitter checklist for document labels.
Can I deposit securities instead of a bond?
The current Act 249 text deletes the old securities-deposit alternative. The NMLS checklist calls for a $1,000,000 company surety uploaded in NMLS.
Related Pennsylvania bond guides
Credit Services Organization Bond
$5,000–$25,000
Credit services organizations that want to charge or receive money before fully performing contracted services must post a Credit Services Act surety bond—or establish a qualifying trust account—sized to recent buyer fees, with a $5,000 floor and $25,000 ceiling.
Mortgage Licensing Act Bond
$25,000–$500,000 by license type
Mortgage brokers, lenders, servicers, and certain mortgage originators licensed under Pennsylvania’s Mortgage Licensing Act must maintain surety bonds in forms acceptable to the Department of Banking and Securities. Amounts follow license type and, for several categories, Pennsylvania dwelling/residential mortgage volume.
Surety basics (not repeated here)
Universal surety concepts explained once—linked here instead of repeated on every state or bond page.
Continue with a Pennsylvania application
Pennsylvania 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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