Who requires it
Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles — Dealers’ License and Regulations Office
License & permit · Rhode Island
Rhode Island Motor Vehicle Dealer Bond
Rhode Island motor vehicle dealers licensed through the DMV Dealers’ License and Regulations Office must file a fifty-thousand-dollar surety in the dealership’s D/BA name—alongside the office’s separate fifty-thousand-dollar line-of-credit requirement—before a first license issues.
Common bond amount
$50,000
Fixed amount in the current DMV dealer application packet and bond form; separate $50,000 line of credit is also required and is not this surety.
How you file
File the DMV office form; term ends December 31
Renewal
Bond lasts through December 31. The surety must give 60 days’ written notice to cancel.
Who requires it
Applicants for a Rhode Island motor vehicle dealer license under Title 31, Chapter 5, including persons who sell or broker more than four vehicles in a calendar year as RIGL § 31-5-5 defines. This bond is separate from Department of Business Regulation lending, currency-transmission, and debt-collection sureties.
How much is required
The current Dealers’ License and Regulations first-application packet (revised July 24, 2025) and the enclosed surety form require a $50,000 bond completed, signed, and notarized in the D/BA name, with power of attorney attached. The amount is fixed in those materials—not a volume schedule.
How to get and file it
Have a surety authorized in Rhode Island complete the Dealers’ License and Regulations Office bond form for $50,000 in the exact D/BA name on your dealer application, attach the insurer’s power-of-attorney form, notarize as the form requires, and submit the original with your dealer package to the Cranston Dealers’ License and Regulation Office. The bond lasts through December 31 of that year unless it is canceled earlier. The surety may cancel by giving 60 days’ written notice to you and the Dealers’ License and Regulations Office. After that, the bond no longer covers new problems. Keep a qualifying bond on file while you hold the dealer license, and renew coverage before each December 31 cutoff the office uses.
Cost note
$50,000 is the required bond amount, not the premium you pay. See bond amount vs premium. Bond amount vs premium →
Requirement checklist
- Required amount
- $50,000 in the dealership D/BA name
- Filing
- Original bond with power of attorney to Dealers’ License and Regulation Office, Cranston
- Related (separate)
- $50,000 approved line of credit from a financial institution in the dealership’s name
Official sources
Related resources
Frequently asked questions
Is the line of credit the same as the surety bond?
No. The application packet requires both a $50,000 surety bond from an insurance company and a separate $50,000 approved line of credit from a financial institution.
When does the dealer bond expire?
The official form states that, unless previously canceled, the bond lasts through December 31 of the stated calendar year. Mid-term cancellation requires 60 days’ written notice to you and the Dealers’ License and Regulations Office.
Surety basics (not repeated here)
Universal surety concepts explained once—linked here instead of repeated on every state or bond page.
Continue with a Rhode Island application
Rhode Island 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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