Not in Rhode Island? Motor vehicle dealer bonds in other states
Rhode Island motor vehicle dealer bonds.
From $500.
Also known as the Rhode Island auto dealer bond or car dealer bond.
Rhode Island requires every licensed motor vehicle dealer to file a $50,000 surety bond with the DMV Dealers’ License & Regulation Office. Premiums are 1% of the bond amount — shown at the end of the application. One soft credit pull; 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, the $50,000 amount, and an 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 DMV
Pay online and receive the executed bond ready to file with your dealer license application or renewal. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the DMV insists.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Rhode Island licenses motor vehicle dealers through the Division of Motor Vehicles, and conditions the license on a $50,000 surety bond filed with the DMV Dealers’ License & Regulation Office. The bond is a consumer-and-public-protection guarantee: it stands behind your compliance with the dealer-licensing law and indemnifies a good-faith purchaser who suffers a loss from a violation of it.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier standing behind you, and the State of Rhode Island together with harmed buyers (the protected parties). If a dealer fails to deliver clear title, misapplies a customer's money, or otherwise violates dealer law, the harmed party can recover against the bond.
The bond runs on the DMV’s statutory calendar — it is filed yearly with your renewal and stays in effect through December 31. Let it lapse and your license is at risk, so we track it and notify you ahead of the December renewal. It is not insurance for you: 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 issued when you pay.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Rhode Island bonds.
The DMV is waiting on one document.
Premiums from $500 on the statutory $50,000 amount — short application, bond issued when you pay. Free until issued.