Not in Iowa? Motor vehicle dealer bonds in other states
Iowa motor vehicle dealer bonds.
$375 flat.
Also known as the Iowa auto dealer bond or car dealer bond.
Iowa requires every licensed motor vehicle dealer to file a $75,000 bond with the Iowa DOT under Iowa Code 322.4. Ours is $375 flat — the price you see is the checkout price, identical for every dealer. A quick soft credit check may apply; the bond is issued when you pay.
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Three steps to licensed.
Your dealer license is waiting on this bond. Here's the entire process — no broker phone tag:
Apply once, online
Business details, owner information, effective date. That is the application — the only extra step is a one-time consent to a soft credit pull.
Approved
Most are approved as soon as you apply. The credit check is a soft pull that never affects your score. If it needs a second look, one to two business days at most.
E-sign & file with the Iowa DOT
Pay online and receive the executed bond ready to file with your dealer license application through the Iowa DOT’s Office of Vehicle & Motor Carrier Services. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the state insists.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Iowa licenses motor vehicle dealers through the Iowa Department of Transportation, and conditions the license on a $75,000 surety bond under Iowa Code 322.4. The bond runs to the State of Iowa and is a consumer-and-public-protection guarantee standing behind clear title and the dealer’s compliance with Iowa’s motor vehicle sales laws.
It protects purchasers, sellers, financing agencies, and government agencies from monetary loss caused by a dealer’s fraud or fraudulent representation, failure to comply with the licensing law, or failure to pay required taxes and fees. The obligee is the Iowa DOT.
Iowa dealer licenses run on a biennial cycle (expiring December 31 of even-numbered years), and the bond must stay continuous across it. It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. Dealers who deliver clean title and keep good records treat the bond as a license formality.
You need this bond if you're
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual underwriting fields, including a one-time consent to a soft credit pull. Submit once and your bond is issued when you pay.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Iowa motor vehicle dealer bonds.
Not sure this is the one your license calls for? These are the other motor vehicle dealer bonds we write in Iowa. Each has its own statute and bond amount.
Other Iowa bonds.
The Iowa DOT is waiting on one document.
$375 flat, short application, bond issued when you pay. Free until issued.