Who requires it
West Virginia Division of Financial Institutions
License & permit · West Virginia
West Virginia Mortgage Broker & Lender Bond
West Virginia residential mortgage lenders and brokers license under article 17 of chapter 31 and must file electronic surety bonds through NMLS in favor of the State for consumers and for commissioner claims on unpaid civil administrative penalties or examination invoices. Section 31-17-4 sizes lender faces at one hundred thousand, one hundred fifty thousand, or two hundred fifty thousand dollars by West Virginia annual loan originations, except that lender licensees who service West Virginia mortgage loans file a two-hundred-thousand-dollar bond. Broker faces step from fifty thousand to one hundred thousand dollars by West Virginia originations, and a broker must post one hundred fifty thousand dollars before participating in a table-funded residential mortgage loan.
Common bond amount
$50,000–$250,000
Broker $50k/$75k/$100k (table-fund $150k); lender $100k/$150k/$250k (servicer $200k) under § 31-17-4.
How you file
Electronic surety bond through NMLS
Renewal
Continuous while licensed; resize when WV volume or activity changes
Who requires it
Applicants for and holders of West Virginia mortgage lender or mortgage broker licenses under the Residential Mortgage Lender, Broker and Servicer Act, filing with the Division of Financial Institutions through NMLS.
How much is required
Match your license type and West Virginia origination band in §31-17-4. Lenders: $0–$3 million → $100,000; over $3 million to $10 million → $150,000; over $10 million → $250,000; servicing lenders → $200,000. Brokers: $0–$3 million → $50,000; over $3 million to $10 million → $75,000; over $10 million → $100,000; table-funding participation → $150,000.
How to get and file it
Complete the NMLS company application for the lender or broker license, size the electronic surety bond from §31-17-4, authorize your surety in NMLS, and submit the ESB with the required net-worth evidence and fees. Keep electronic coverage in force while licensed. Recalculate the amount when West Virginia origination volume crosses a statutory band or when servicing or table-funding activity changes the required amount. Manage updates and replacements through NMLS as DFI directs.
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
- Mortgage broker (by WV originations)
- $50,000 / $75,000 / $100,000
- Broker table-funding
- $150,000 before participating in table-funded residential loans
- Mortgage lender (by WV originations)
- $100,000 / $150,000 / $250,000
- Lender who services WV mortgages
- $200,000
Official sources
Related resources
Frequently asked questions
Do West Virginia mortgage brokers and lenders share one bond amount?
No. Brokers and lenders use separate §31-17-4 schedules. Servicing lenders and table-funding brokers also have special faces ($200,000 and $150,000) that override the ordinary volume band for that activity.
Are these bonds filed on paper with DFI?
Section 31-17-4 requires filing an electronic surety bond through NMLS. Authorize your surety in the system so DFI can accept the ESB.
Related West Virginia bond guides
Money Transmitter Bond
$100,000 / $300,000–$1,000,000
Licensees under West Virginia’s checks, money-order, money-transmission, currency-transportation, and currency-exchange article must post a surety bond acceptable to the Commissioner of Financial Institutions. Section 32A-2-10 sets one hundred thousand dollars for licensees that issue or sell checks or money orders or that engage in currency exchange, and three hundred thousand dollars for licensees that receive money for transmission by wire, facsimile, or electronic transfer or that engage in currency transportation. A licensee that engages in multiple covered activities posts the higher amount. At renewal the bond increases by one percent of annual West Virginia volume above ten million dollars, rounded to the nearest thousand, but never above one million dollars. Cash deposits and pledges of cash-equivalent instruments are not accepted instead of the surety bond.
Credit Services Organization Bond
$15,000
West Virginia credit services organizations that charge or receive money before finishing every service promised to a buyer must obtain a fifteen-thousand-dollar surety bond or establish a fifteen-thousand-dollar surety account. Section 46A-6C-4 requires a copy of the bond—or notice of the depository, trustee, and account number—to be filed with the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State’s CSO registration materials mirror that rule: any early deposit, including advances for third-party fees, triggers the continuous fifteen-thousand-dollar security, while a firm that accepts no payment before completing services may register without the bond or surety account.
Collection Agency Bond
$5,000 per office
No person may operate a collection agency in West Virginia without a business franchise registration certificate—treated as the collection-agency license—and a West Virginia office. Section 47-16-4 also requires each applicant to file a $5,000 surety bond for every principal office and every branch office. The bond must be issued by a company licensed to write surety in West Virginia, run with the registration tax period, and be approved by the Tax Commissioner before the license may issue.
Surety basics (not repeated here)
Universal surety concepts explained once—linked here instead of repeated on every state or bond page.
Continue with a West Virginia application
West Virginia will be preselected. Choose your bond type in the application—we confirm the correct product against your agency form before anything is issued.
Last verified 2026-08-11. This guide is based on verified educational content and official sources.
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