Who requires it
South Dakota Division of Banking — Money transmitters
License & permit · South Dakota
South Dakota Money Transmitter Bond
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.
Common bond amount
$100,000–$500,000
Greater of $100,000 or 100% of average daily SD liability (3-month), max $500,000; or $100,000 if tangible net worth exceeds 10% of total assets. Deposit may substitute with director approval.
How you file
File electronically through NMLS; director-approved deposit may replace the bond
Renewal
Stays in force while licensed; resize with average daily South Dakota liability
Who requires it
Applicants for and holders of South Dakota money transmission licenses under SDCL chapter 51A-17 filing with the Division of Banking.
How much is required
Start with the firm’s average daily South Dakota transmission exposure for the last finished three-month stretch. The required amount is whichever is higher—that exposure figure or $100,000—subject to a $500,000 ceiling. Skip the liability comparison and stay at $100,000 when tangible net worth is more than ten percent of total assets. Ask the director before substituting an approved deposit for the surety bond.
How to get and file it
Confirm the applicable amount under SDCL 51A-17-100, arrange a surety bond or director-approved deposit in the exact licensee name, and file the electronic surety bond through NMLS as Banking instructs. Leave the security device active for as long as the money-transmitter license remains open. When South Dakota average daily exposure climbs, raise the bond or deposit before it falls short of the statutory comparison. Companies already at the $500,000 ceiling can rely on the statute’s relief from ongoing average-daily calculations. Renew the December 31 license through NMLS each year.
Cost note
The formula result is the required bond amount, not the premium you pay. Approved deposits are alternatives, not free coverage. See bond amount vs premium. Bond amount vs premium →
Requirement checklist
- Standard formula
- Greater of $100,000 or 100% of average daily SD money transmission liability (latest 3 months)
- Maximum under formula
- $500,000
- High tangible-net-worth path
- $100,000 if tangible net worth exceeds 10% of total assets
- Alternative
- Director-approved deposit instead of bond
Official sources
Related resources
Frequently asked questions
Can I use a deposit instead of a surety bond?
Only after the director approves a deposit in place of the bond under SDCL 51A-17-100. Treat deposit authority as case-by-case—not automatic.
Do I still calculate liability if I already post $500,000?
When you already hold the maximum amount the statute calls for, you are not required to keep calculating average daily South Dakota transmission liability for this bonding section.
Related South Dakota bond guides
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 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.
Debt Adjuster Bond
$50,000
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.
Surety basics (not repeated here)
Universal surety concepts explained once—linked here instead of repeated on every state or bond page.
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Last verified 2026-08-12. This guide is based on verified educational content and official sources.
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