KY motor vehicle dealer bonds.
From $100.
When the Kentucky Motor Vehicle Commission requires a dealer bond, it sets the amount — up to $100,000 under KRS 190.030 — based on your sales and financial position. The premium is 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum. A quick soft credit check may apply — never a hard inquiry, no impact on your score.
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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, the bond amount the Commission set, and an effective date. The only extra step is a one-time consent to a soft credit pull.
Reviewed & approved
Most of these clear quickly; if underwriting needs anything, you hear from an underwriter within 48 hours. The credit check is a soft pull that never affects your score.
E-sign & file with the Commission
Pay online and receive the executed bond ready to file with your Motor Vehicle Commission dealer license application. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the state insists.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Kentucky licenses motor vehicle dealers through the Motor Vehicle Commission under KRS Chapter 190. The Commission can condition a license on a surety bond, and under KRS 190.030 it may require a bond up to $100,000 when it has cause to question a dealer’s financial responsibility or compliance.
The bond is a consumer-and-public-protection guarantee: it stands behind clear title on the vehicles you sell and your compliance with Kentucky’s motor vehicle sales laws. It’s a three-party arrangement — you (the principal), the surety, and the Commonwealth together with harmed buyers as the protected parties.
The amount is set by the Commission from your prior sales and financial position — dealers who can demonstrate the required liquid assets may avoid a bond, while others are bonded between $15,000 and $100,000. We issue whatever figure the Commission names starting from $100, with one soft credit pull that never touches your score. If the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety.
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 typically issued within 1–2 business days.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Kentucky bonds.
The Motor Vehicle Commission is waiting on one document.
From $100, short application, soft pull only, e-signed bond in 1–2 business days. Free until issued.