Who requires it
South Dakota Office of the Attorney General — Consumer Protection
License & permit · South Dakota
South Dakota Debt Adjuster Bond
South Dakota generally forbids engaging in the business of debt adjusting. SDCL 37-34-2 makes a violation a Class 2 misdemeanor except as provided in SDCL 37-34-3. One commercial exception is subdivision (10): a person who files and maintains with the Attorney General a fifty-thousand-dollar bond approved by that office, conditioned on faithful performance and payment of debt-adjuster obligations and damages. The Attorney General’s official bond form and instructions set the same fifty-thousand-dollar amount, require original signatures from you and the surety company, a South Dakota resident-agent countersignature, and Attorney General approval. Nonprofit or charitable debt adjusters and several other listed categories are separate exceptions that do not use this bond path. This bond is not a statewide third-party collection-agency license bond.
Common bond amount
$50,000
Fixed under SDCL 37-34-3(10); Attorney General–approved form. Exception path—not a general collection license.
How you file
File the Attorney General bond form for Attorney General approval
Renewal
Keep the approved bond in force while you operate under the exception
Who requires it
Commercial debt adjusters who rely on the SDCL 37-34-3(10) exception to lawfully engage in debt adjusting in South Dakota and who are not covered by another statutory exception.
How much is required
SDCL 37-34-3(10) and the Attorney General form fix the amount at $50,000.
How to get and file it
Complete the Attorney General debt-adjusting bond form for $50,000 with original signatures and required acknowledgments, attach the surety’s power of attorney, obtain the South Dakota resident-agent countersignature, and file for Attorney General approval. Maintain the approved bond while you operate under the exception. Use only the AG-prescribed form wording unless the Attorney General pre-approves other language.
Cost note
Fifty thousand dollars 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
- Legal role
- Statutory exception to the chapter 37-34 debt-adjusting prohibition
- Form
- Attorney General–prescribed bond; original signatures required
Official sources
Frequently asked questions
Is debt adjusting legal in South Dakota if I post the bond?
The business is generally prohibited, but SDCL 37-34-3 lists exceptions. Filing and maintaining the $50,000 Attorney General bond is one of those exceptions for commercial operators who do not fit another listed category.
Does a nonprofit debt counselor need this bond?
Nonprofit or charitable corporations or associations engaged in debt adjusting are a separate exception under SDCL 37-34-3(5) and do not use the subdivision (10) bond path.
Related South Dakota bond guides
Money Lender Bond
≤ $10,000 + $2,500 per additional license
South Dakota money lenders—including payday and title lenders licensed under SDCL chapter 54-4—must submit a surety bond with the license application. SDCL 54-4-42 establishes a bond in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars for the first license and two thousand five hundred dollars for each additional license, issued by a surety company qualified in this state and satisfactory to the director. The bond runs in favor of the state and persons with chapter 54-4 claims, and it is conditioned on faithful performance and payment of amounts due during the calendar year for which the bond is given. The Division of Banking requires a separate license for each money-lender location, so additional sites add the two-thousand-five-hundred-dollar increment. Certain nonprofit and development entities remain subject to licensure but are exempt from the bond under SDCL 54-4-40 and Banking guidance.
Mortgage Lender / Broker Bond
$25,000–$50,000
South Dakota mortgage lenders, mortgage brokerages, mortgage brokers, and mortgage loan originators must keep a surety bond under SDCL 54-14-24. The statute sets a floor of twenty-five thousand dollars and requires an amount that reflects the total dollar amount of loans originated by the licensee and its employees and agents, on a form and in an amount the director prescribes. ARSD 20:07:19:07 supplies the current schedule: twenty-five thousand dollars when prior-year South Dakota originated, brokered, or serviced volume is under twenty-five million dollars; thirty-five thousand dollars from twenty-five million one dollar through one hundred million dollars; and fifty thousand dollars above one hundred million dollars. An employee or exclusive-agent originator or broker may rely on the employing licensee’s bond instead of posting a separate personal bond. The bond may stay in force while you are licensed, and the surety company may cancel on thirty days’ notice to you and the director. After a claim action starts, the director may require a new bond, and any recovery triggers an immediate replacement filing.
Money Transmitter Bond
$100,000–$500,000
Under South Dakota’s money transmission act, SDCL 51A-17-100, every applicant and licensee must keep security on file with the Division of Banking. That security is either a director-approved surety bond or—only with the director’s consent—a deposit that stands in for the bond. Size the instrument by comparing one hundred thousand dollars against one hundred percent of the firm’s average daily South Dakota transmission liability for the most recent completed three-month window, then take the larger figure, stopping at five hundred thousand dollars. Firms whose tangible net worth tops ten percent of total assets instead post a flat one-hundred-thousand-dollar bond. Once a licensee already holds the maximum amount the statute allows, it does not have to keep recomputing average daily South Dakota liability for this section. File through NMLS on Banking’s money-transmitter workflow and leave the security in force for the full license year ending December 31.
Surety basics (not repeated here)
Universal surety concepts explained once—linked here instead of repeated on every state or bond page.
Continue with a South Dakota application
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Last verified 2026-08-12. This guide is based on verified educational content and official sources.
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