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West Virginia · Surety Bond Resource Center

West Virginia surety bonds

West Virginia’s published statewide license bonds in this hub sit with the Division of Motor Vehicles, the Division of Labor, the Division of Financial Institutions, the Tax Commissioner, and the Secretary of State. Motor vehicle dealers generally post a twenty-five-thousand-dollar DMV surety under W. Va. Code §17A-6-4, subject to the Dealer Recovery Fund exemptions in §17A-6-2a. Construction and mineral employers that are not exempt furnish a wage bond sized at four weeks’ West Virginia gross payroll at full capacity plus fifteen percent under §21-5-14. Mortgage lenders and brokers file electronic NMLS sureties under §31-17-4 on volume-based schedules, with special faces for servicing lenders and table-funding brokers. Money transmitters post one hundred thousand or three hundred thousand dollars under §32A-2-10, with a renewal uplift capped at one million dollars. Collection agencies file a five-thousand-dollar continuing bond for each office with the Tax Commissioner under §47-16-4. Credit services organizations that take prepayment file a fifteen-thousand-dollar bond or surety account under §46A-6C-4. West Virginia does not require a notary surety and no longer maintains a statewide general-contractor license bond after repeal of the Contractor Licensing Act’s core provisions.

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West Virginia at a glance

Motor vehicle dealer
$25,000

W. Va. Code § 17A-6-4; possible exemption under § 17A-6-2a.

Contractor / mineral wage bond
4 weeks payroll + 15%

§ 21-5-14; exemptions for experience, assets, or parent company.

Mortgage broker / lender
$50,000–$250,000

Volume schedules in § 31-17-4; servicer $200k; table-fund broker $150k.

Money transmitter
$100,000 / $300,000–$1,000,000

Activity base + 1% renewal uplift above $10M WV volume (§ 32A-2-10).

Collection agency
$5,000 per office

Tax Commissioner (§ 47-16-4).

Credit services organization
$15,000

Bond or surety account when taking prepayment (§ 46A-6C-4).

How it works in this state

How West Virginia bonding is organized

How West Virginia organizes these bonds

Dealer sureties file on the Division of Motor Vehicles Form MV-126-DS-P and run with the article 6 license. Wage bonds protect employee pay on construction and mineral work and lodge with the Division of Labor on commissioner-prescribed forms—often alongside a Wage Bond Status Affidavit even when an exemption applies. Mortgage and money-transmission licenses run through the Division of Financial Institutions on NMLS, with electronic surety bonds sized by statute. Collection agencies couple a business franchise registration certificate with a Tax Commissioner bond for every office. Credit services organizations register with the Secretary of State and post a fifteen-thousand-dollar instrument only when they take money before finishing services.

What this hub does not treat as statewide license bonds

West Virginia repealed the core of its Contractor Licensing Act, so there is no statewide general-contractor license surety. The Division of Labor wage bond is a wage-payment security, not a trade-license bond. Plumbing, HVAC, electrical, elevator, and crane licenses are exam-and-fee programs without published statewide license bonds. Notaries need no surety. Public-adjuster financial-responsibility legislation advanced in the 2026 session was not treated as enacted law for this hub because current article 12B does not yet publish a statewide public-adjuster bond. Local permit bonds and project/court bonds stay outside this commercial-core set.

West Virginia 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.

Who sets the requirement?

West Virginia licensing agencies

Each agency below sets its own bond requirement. Open the related guide for amounts and filing steps.

West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles

Licenses dealers under article 6 and receives the $25,000 §17A-6-4 surety.

Open related guide →

West Virginia Division of Labor — Wage bonding

Administers §21-5-14 wage bonds for construction and mineral employers.

Open related guide →

Division of Financial Institutions — Mortgage

Licenses residential mortgage lenders and brokers and receives §31-17-4 electronic sureties.

Open related guide →

Division of Financial Institutions — Money transmission

Licenses money transmitters and receives §32A-2-10 sureties.

Open related guide →

West Virginia Tax Commissioner — Collection agencies

Receives the $5,000 §47-16-4 bond for each collection-agency office.

Open related guide →

Secretary of State — Credit services organizations

Registers CSOs and receives the $15,000 §46A-6C-4 bond or surety-account notice.

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. 1

    Check the dealer bond exemption before ordering coverage

    Section 17A-6-2a can relieve qualifying dealers from continuing the $25,000 surety after three clean years and Dealer Recovery Fund participation. Confirm your status with DMV before renewing a bond you may no longer need.

  2. 2

    Size wage bonds from full-capacity West Virginia payroll

    Use four weeks of gross WV payroll at maximum capacity or production, then add fifteen percent. Out-of-state employers count only West Virginia payroll. File a Wage Bond Status Affidavit even when claiming an exemption.

  3. 3

    Do not expect a statewide contractor license bond

    There is no statewide general-contractor license surety. Confirm any city or county permit bond where you work, and treat the Division of Labor wage bond as a separate wage-payment requirement.

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 West Virginia require a statewide contractor license bond?

No. The core Contractor Licensing Act provisions were repealed, so there is no statewide general-contractor license surety. Employers in construction or mineral work may still need a Division of Labor wage bond under §21-5-14 unless an exemption applies.

Do West Virginia notaries need a surety bond?

No. The Secretary of State’s Notary Handbook states no surety bond is needed. The former assurance requirement was eliminated in 2018.

Is every West Virginia auto dealer always bonded at $25,000?

Section 17A-6-4 requires a $25,000 surety bond with the dealer application except as provided in §17A-6-2a. Qualifying dealers with three clean years and Dealer Recovery Fund participation may be relieved from continuing the bond—confirm with DMV before you assume coverage is optional.

Start your West Virginia bond application

West Virginia will be preselected in the application. Choose the bond type on the next step—we verify the current agency form before anything is issued.

Start a bond application

Last verified 2026-08-11. Official sources are retained with this guide and checked before publication.

Agents Ready to Help

Need help matching a West Virginia agency notice to the correct bond form? Our surety team can review the requirement with you.

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