Rhode Island does not use one statewide general-contractor license bond. Most building contractors register with the Contractors’ Registration and Licensing Board; among CRLB credentials, the underground utility contractor license is the program published here with a $20,000 surety. Other published commercial instruments sit with the DMV Dealers’ License and Regulations Office for motor vehicle dealers and the Department of Business Regulation for Chapter 19 non-depository licenses. RIDOT utility and physical-alteration permits use project performance security sized to the work—not fixed statewide license amounts—so those stay outside this hub. Cities and towns may still impose local permit or contractor bonds.
Rhode Island · Surety Bond Resource Center
Rhode Island surety bonds
Rhode Island’s published statewide license bonds sit with a handful of agencies. Motor vehicle dealers file a $50,000 surety with the DMV Dealers’ License and Regulations Office. Underground utility contractors give the Contractors’ Registration and Licensing Board a $20,000 surety for a two-year license. The Department of Business Regulation uses one Chapter 19-14 schedule for lenders, loan brokers, currency transmitters, debt collectors, and related licenses. Notaries public are not bonded under current SOS materials, and ordinary CRLB contractor registration does not carry a statewide general-contractor license bond.
Rhode Island at a glance
- Motor vehicle dealer
- $50,000
- Underground utility contractor
- $20,000
- DBR licensed activities
- License-type schedule
DMV Dealers’ License & Regulations packet; calendar-year term ending December 31.
RIGL § 5-65.3-10; name RICRLB as holder.
RIGL § 19-14-6 amounts from $10,000 to $50,000 ($150,000 max for deferred-deposit check cashing with agents).
How it works in this state
How Rhode Island bonding is organized
Rhode Island 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
- DMV Motor Vehicle Dealer BondLicense & permitRhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles — Dealers’ License and Regulations Office$50,000File the DMV office form; term ends December 31Term ends December 31; 60-day written cancellation notice
- Underground Utility Contractor BondLicense & permitRhode Island Contractors’ Registration and Licensing Board$20,000File with CRLB naming RICRLB; two-year licenseMaintain while licensed; renew with each two-year license cycle
- DBR Licensed Activities BondLicense & permitRhode Island Department of Business Regulation — Banking$10,000–$150,000 by license typeFile through NMLS or DBR; stays in force while licensedMaintain while licensed; 30-day cancellation notice to the director
Who sets the requirement?
Rhode Island licensing agencies
Each agency below sets its own bond requirement. Open the related guide for amounts and filing steps.
Division of Motor Vehicles — Dealers’ License and Regulations
Licenses motor vehicle dealers and receives the $50,000 dealer surety bond.
Open related guide →Contractors’ Registration and Licensing Board
Licenses underground utility contractors and receives the $20,000 § 5-65.3-10 surety.
Open related guide →Department of Business Regulation — Banking
Licenses Chapter 19-14 activities and receives their statutory sureties.
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
Who requires it
Confirm whether you need a DMV dealer bond, a CRLB underground utility bond, or a DBR Chapter 19 licensed-activity surety.
- 2
Bond title or form
Use the Dealers’ License and Regulations Office form for dealers, a CRLB-acceptable $20,000 surety naming RICRLB for underground utility work, or a DBR/NMLS-acceptable bond for the Chapter 19 license you hold.
- 3
Required amount
Dealer amount is $50,000; underground utility is $20,000; DBR licensed-activity amounts follow the § 19-14-6 schedule.
- 4
License / business identifiers
Match the name on the bond to the DMV D/BA, CRLB license, or NMLS/DBR legal name exactly.
- 5
Term / continuation
Dealer bonds run to December 31 with 60-day cancel notice; underground utility bonds must stay in force for the two-year license; DBR § 19-14-6 bonds stay in force until released, with 30-day cancel notice to the director.
Learn more about surety bonds
Universal surety concepts explained once—linked here instead of repeated on every state or bond page.
Frequently asked questions
Do Rhode Island notaries need a surety bond?
No statewide notary surety appears in current Secretary of State commission materials or RIGL Chapter 42-30.1 qualification rules. Optional errors-and-omissions insurance is a personal choice, not a commission bond.
Is there a statewide general contractor license bond?
No verified statewide general-contractor license surety is published here. Most contractors register with CRLB; the underground utility contractor license is the CRLB program with a verified $20,000 statewide bond.
Do plumbers or mechanical contractors still need a $3,000 state bond?
The former master plumber bond in RIGL § 5-20-18 and the mechanical-trades bond in § 28-27-12 were repealed in 2002. Confirm any current city or town permit conditions locally; those are not the repealed statewide license bonds.
Is the blasting license bond listed in this commercial guide?
No. Rhode Island’s Fire Marshal blasting bond was verified at a $50,000 standard form amount under RIGL § 23-28.28-32, but it is excluded from this hub’s core commercial scope.
Start your Rhode Island bond application
Rhode Island 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 2026-08-11. Official sources are retained with this guide and checked before publication.
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