Dealer bonds file with the Motor Vehicle Division under separate Title 32 chapters for motor vehicles, snowmobiles, manufactured or mobile homes, and boats, but they share the same customer-protection purpose—title failure, fraud, and lien-warranty breaches—and the same license-period renewal pattern. Mortgage, money-lender, and money-transmission licensing runs through the Division of Banking, typically via NMLS.
South Dakota · Surety Bond Resource Center
South Dakota surety bonds
South Dakota’s statewide license bonds in this hub sit with a few agencies. Vehicle and specialty dealers file $5,000 to $25,000 bonds with the Department of Revenue Motor Vehicle Division, by license class, and need a current bond for each license period. Mortgage lenders, brokerages, brokers, and originators file $25,000 to $50,000 bonds with the Division of Banking based on prior-year South Dakota loan volume. Money transmitters use SDCL 51A-17-100’s formula between $100,000 and $500,000, or a deposit if the director approves. Money lenders must file a bond; the statute caps that amount at $10,000 for the first license and $2,500 for each extra location—confirm the figure the Division of Banking currently requires. Commercial debt adjusting is generally prohibited. State law lists specific exceptions, including a $50,000 Attorney General bond path, but that is not a statewide licensing bond in this hub. Notary bonding ended July 1, 2025, and there is no statewide general-contractor license bond.
South Dakota at a glance
- Vehicle & specialty dealers
- $5,000–$25,000
- Mortgage lender / brokerage / broker
- $25,000–$50,000
- Money transmitter
- $100,000–$500,000
- Money lender
- ≤ $10,000 + $2,500 / location
By dealer class under Title 32. Keep a current bond for each license period.
ARSD 20:07:19:07 volume tiers; ≥ $25,000 statutory floor.
Greater of $100k or 100% of average daily SD liability; deposit alternative.
SDCL 54-4-42 statutory maximum. Confirm the amount Banking currently requires.
How it works in this state
How South Dakota bonding is organized
What this hub does not treat as statewide license bonds
South Dakota has no statewide general-contractor license bond; the statewide construction touchpoint is the contractors’ excise tax license, not a fixed license bond. Notary public bonding was removed by HB 1133 effective July 1, 2025. Third-party collection agencies are not licensed under a statewide collection-agency bond here. Commercial debt adjusting is generally prohibited; state law lists specific exceptions, including a $50,000 Attorney General bond path, but that exception is not a statewide licensing bond in this hub. Resident surplus-lines brokers carry a separate two-thousand-dollar Division of Insurance bond that is outside this commercial-core set. Municipal contractor bonds, electrical-commission undertakings, public-works performance and payment bonds, and court bonds remain excluded.
South 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 & permitSouth Dakota Department of Revenue — Motor Vehicle Division$5,000–$25,000File the original bond with the Motor Vehicle Division application packetKeep a current bond for each license period. If a claim is paid after a judgment, bring the bond back to the required amount.
- Mortgage Lender / Broker BondLicense & permitSouth Dakota Division of Banking — Mortgage licenses$25,000–$50,000File electronically through NMLS on the director-prescribed formKeep the bond active while licensed. The surety must give 30 days’ notice to cancel. If a claim is paid, file a replacement.
- Money Transmitter BondLicense & permitSouth Dakota Division of Banking — Money transmitters$100,000–$500,000File electronically through NMLS; director-approved deposit may replace the bondKeep the bond active while licensed. Raise the amount if average daily South Dakota liability grows.
- Money Lender BondLicense & permitSouth Dakota Division of Banking — Money lenders≤ $10,000 + $2,500 per additional licenseFile electronically through NMLS with the Division of BankingKeep the bond active while licensed. Licenses run through December 31 via NMLS.
Who sets the requirement?
South Dakota licensing agencies
Each agency below sets its own bond requirement. Open the related guide for amounts and filing steps.
South Dakota Department of Revenue — Motor Vehicle Division
Licenses vehicle and specialty dealers and receives Title 32 dealer bonds.
Open related guide →Division of Banking — Mortgage licenses
Licenses mortgage lenders, brokerages, brokers, and originators and receives SDCL 54-14-24 bonds.
Open related guide →Division of Banking — Money transmitters
Licenses money transmitters and receives SDCL 51A-17-100 security.
Open related guide →Division of Banking — Money lenders
Licenses money lenders under chapter 54-4 and receives SDCL 54-4-42 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 a Department of Revenue dealer bond or a Division of Banking mortgage, money-lender, or money-transmitter security.
- 2
Dealer class or loan volume
Dealer amounts follow license class. Mortgage amounts follow prior-year South Dakota originated, brokered, or serviced volume under ARSD 20:07:19:07.
- 3
Surety vs deposit alternatives
Money transmitters may, with director approval, deposit security instead of a bond. Dealer, mortgage, and money-lender filings use a surety bond.
- 4
Exact legal name
Match the name on the bond to the license filing. Multi-license dealers using one boat-chapter bond must cover every license’s required amount.
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 South Dakota require a statewide contractor license bond?
No. There is no statewide general-contractor license bond. Contractors deal with the Department of Revenue contractors’ excise tax license statewide, and any city or county contractor bonds separately.
Do South Dakota notaries still need a surety bond?
Not for commissions issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2025. House Bill 1133 removed the former five-thousand-dollar notary bond; the Secretary of State’s how-to-become-a-notary page confirms the bond is no longer filed with the office.
Does South Dakota license commercial debt adjusters?
Commercial debt adjusting is generally prohibited. State law lists specific exceptions, including a $50,000 Attorney General bond path. That exception is not a statewide licensing bond in this hub, and it is not the same as a collection-agency license.
Start your South Dakota bond application
South 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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