TN motor vehicle auction bonds.
$250 flat. Instant issuance.
Tennessee requires every licensed automobile auction to file a $50,000 bond with the Motor Vehicle Commission. Ours is $250 flat — set by our carrier's rate book for this bond, identical for every auction. A quick soft credit check may apply, e-signed in 1–2 business days.
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Three steps to licensed.
Your auction license is waiting on this bond. Here's the whole process — no broker phone tag:
Apply once, online
Business details, owner information, effective date. That is the application — a quick soft credit check may run as part of review.
Reviewed & approved
Most of these clear quickly; if underwriting needs anything, you hear from an underwriter within 48 hours. Any credit check is a soft pull that never affects your score.
E-sign & file with the Motor Vehicle Commission
Pay online and receive the executed bond on the form the Commission provides, ready to file with your auction license application. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the state insists.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Tennessee licenses automobile auctions through the Motor Vehicle Commission, part of the Department of Commerce & Insurance, and conditions the license on a $50,000 surety bond filed on the Commission's form. The bond is a consumer-and-trade-protection guarantee backing the auction's compliance with the motor vehicle sales laws in Title 55, Chapter 17.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the State of Tennessee together with anyone — including the state — who has a cause of action under the chapter. If the auction violates dealer law and someone is harmed, they can recover against the bond.
No suit may be brought on the bond more than two years after the event that gave rise to it, and a separate bond is required for each branch. The bond 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; a soft credit check may run as part of review. Submit once and your bond is typically issued within 1–2 business days.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Tennessee bonds.
The Motor Vehicle Commission is waiting on one document.
$250 flat, short application, e-signed bond in 1–2 business days. Free until issued.