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Virginia household goods carrier bonds.
$500 flat.
Every intrastate household goods carrier — a mover operating within Virginia — must keep a $50,000 bond on file with DMV Motor Carrier Services (form OA 436). Ours is $500 flat, the price our carrier rate book sets for this bond, with one soft credit check — never a hard inquiry — and issuance when you pay.
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Three steps to licensed.
Your operating authority 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 DMV Motor Carrier Services
Pay online and receive the executed bond (form OA 436) ready to file with your household goods carrier application. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the DMV insists.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Virginia licenses intrastate movers as household goods carriers through the DMV under Title 46.2, Chapter 21. As a condition of operating authority, a carrier must keep a $50,000 bond or letter of credit on file with Motor Carrier Services — and it must stay on file for five years from the date the operating authority certificate is issued.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the Commonwealth of Virginia (the obligee), with your customers as the protected parties. If a mover fails to conduct business in accordance with Chapter 21 and a customer suffers a loss, the customer can recover against the bond up to $50,000.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. The bond is filed on form OA 436 (or an irrevocable letter of credit on form OA 456). Movers who handle shipments carefully treat the bond as a license formality, not a risk.
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 Virginia bonds.
DMV operating authority is waiting on one document.
$500 flat, short application, bond issued when you pay. Free until issued.