Who requires it
South Dakota Division of Banking — Mortgage licenses
License & permit · South Dakota
South Dakota Mortgage Lender and Broker Bond
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.
Common bond amount
$25,000–$50,000
ARSD 20:07:19:07: <$25M → $25k; $25M–$100M → $35k; >$100M → $50k (prior-year SD originated/brokered/serviced volume).
How you file
File electronically through NMLS on the director-prescribed form
Renewal
Stays in force while licensed; 30-day cancel; replace after a claim or recovery
Who requires it
Applicants for and holders of South Dakota mortgage lender, mortgage brokerage, mortgage broker, or mortgage loan originator credentials under SDCL chapter 54-14 filing with the Division of Banking through NMLS.
How much is required
Use ARSD 20:07:19:07 against prior-calendar-year South Dakota originated, brokered, or serviced volume, subject to the statutory floor of $25,000. New applicants typically start at the $25,000 tier unless the director directs otherwise.
How to get and file it
Confirm the volume tier, arrange a South Dakota–qualified surety bond on the director-prescribed form, and file electronically through NMLS as the Division of Banking instructs. Keep the bond in force for the license term. Resize when volume pushes you into a higher ARSD tier. Replace the bond promptly after claim action or recovery as the statute requires.
Cost note
The schedule amount is the required bond amount, not the premium you pay. See bond amount vs premium. Bond amount vs premium →
Requirement checklist
- Under $25,000,000 prior-year SD volume
- $25,000
- $25,000,001 to $100,000,000
- $35,000
- Over $100,000,000
- $50,000
- MLO / exclusive broker coverage
- Employing licensee’s bond may satisfy the individual requirement
- Cancellation
- Surety may cancel on 30 days’ notice to licensee and director
Official sources
Related resources
Frequently asked questions
Does servicing volume count toward the bond tier?
Yes for the administrative schedule. ARSD 20:07:19:07 measures the dollar amount of mortgage loans originated, brokered, or serviced with respect to South Dakota property in the preceding calendar year.
Do I need a separate bond as an employed mortgage loan originator?
Not if you are an employee or exclusive agent of a chapter 54-14 licensee whose bond already covers you. Otherwise SDCL 54-14-24 still requires coverage in the prescribed amount.
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.
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.
Motor Vehicle Dealer Bond
$5,000–$25,000
South Dakota dealers file a surety bond with the Department of Revenue Motor Vehicle Division before the matching dealer license issues. SDCL 32-6B-7 sets twenty-five thousand dollars for vehicle or used-vehicle licenses, five thousand dollars for motorcycle and off-road vehicle licenses, ten thousand dollars for trailer licenses when trailers weigh more than three thousand pounds, and ten thousand dollars for emergency-vehicle licenses. Snowmobile dealers post five thousand dollars under SDCL 32-6C-4. Manufactured-home and mobile-home dealers post twenty-five thousand dollars under SDCL 32-7A-5. Boat dealers post twenty thousand dollars under SDCL 32-7B-6, which also allows one bond to cover multiple dealer licenses if the amount is large enough for every license. Across these chapters the bond runs to the department for customers harmed by title failure, fraudulent misrepresentation, or lien-warranty breaches. Coverage tracks the license period; a new bond or continuation certificate is due at the start of each period. The surety company must notify the department in writing of paid claims or cancellations, and a dealer who faces a judgment-based claim against the bond must restore the bond to the required amount.
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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