Who requires it
South Dakota Department of Revenue — Motor Vehicle Division
License & permit · South Dakota
South Dakota Motor Vehicle Dealer Bond
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.
Common bond amount
$5,000–$25,000
$25k vehicle / used / manufactured-mobile home; $20k boat; $10k trailer (>3,000 lbs) or emergency; $5k motorcycle/ORV or snowmobile.
How you file
File the original bond with the Motor Vehicle Division application packet
Renewal
New bond or continuation each license period; restore the amount after a judgment claim
Who requires it
Applicants for and holders of South Dakota vehicle, used-vehicle, motorcycle and off-road, trailer, emergency-vehicle, snowmobile, manufactured/mobile home, or boat dealer licenses filing with the Department of Revenue Motor Vehicle Division.
How much is required
Match the Title 32 chapter and license class: $25,000 for vehicle, used-vehicle, or manufactured/mobile home; $20,000 for boat; $10,000 for emergency vehicle or for trailers over 3,000 pounds; $5,000 for motorcycle/ORV or snowmobile. Multi-license boat applicants may use one bond only if it covers every license’s required amount.
How to get and file it
Confirm the dealer class and amount, arrange a South Dakota–qualified surety bond in the exact dealership legal name, and file the original with the county treasurer application packet that the Motor Vehicle Division reviews. Deliver a new bond or continuation certificate for each license period. If the surety company cancels or pays a claim, the department must receive written notice, and a judgment-based claim requires restoring the bond to the required amount.
Cost note
The class amount is the required bond amount, not the premium you pay. See bond amount vs premium. Bond amount vs premium →
Requirement checklist
- Vehicle or used-vehicle dealer
- $25,000 (SDCL 32-6B-7)
- Motorcycle / off-road vehicle dealer
- $5,000 (SDCL 32-6B-7)
- Trailer dealer (trailers > 3,000 lbs)
- $10,000 (SDCL 32-6B-7)
- Emergency vehicle dealer
- $10,000 (SDCL 32-6B-7)
- Snowmobile dealer
- $5,000 (SDCL 32-6C-4)
- Manufactured / mobile home dealer
- $25,000 (SDCL 32-7A-5)
- Boat dealer
- $20,000 (SDCL 32-7B-6); one bond may cover multiple licenses if sized for each
Official sources
Related resources
Frequently asked questions
Do motorcycle dealers use the $25,000 vehicle bond?
No. Motorcycle and off-road vehicle dealer licenses use the $5,000 amount under SDCL 32-6B-7. A full vehicle dealer license that already authorizes motorcycle sales follows the $25,000 vehicle amount for that license.
Can one bond cover cars and boats?
SDCL 32-7B-6 allows one bond to cover multiple dealer licenses if the amount covers bonding requirements under each license. Confirm the combined amount with Motor Vehicle Division before relying on a single bond.
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.
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.
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Last verified 2026-08-12. This guide is based on verified educational content and official sources.
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