Arizona lets private businesses do the Motor Vehicle Division’s counter work as an authorized third party — titles and registrations, dealer licensing, motor carrier licensing and tax reporting, and driver licensing. A.R.S. § 28-5104 conditions that authorization on a surety bond running to the State of Arizona, filed on ADOT form 96-0101 with MVD’s Third Party Administration office. The bond runs at least $100,000 for each location; premiums cost 1% of the amount you post, $100 minimum, calculated at the application.
















There is no underwriting queue for the standard authorized third party bond — enter the amount ADOT requires, pay, and file the executed bond with Third Party Administration. Here is the whole thing:
Your entity type, business location and county, the bond amount your ADOT authorization requires, the effective date, and a one, two, or three year term — that is the entire application.
The application collects no credit information, and most applications approve instantly — your executed bond and power of attorney generate as soon as you pay. If a check ever runs, it is a soft pull that will not affect your score.
Send the executed bond to MVD Third Party Administration, Mail Drop 532M, PO Box 2100, Phoenix AZ 85001-2100, with your authorization application or renewal. It stays in force until the surety gives the director sixty days’ notice, so coverage never gaps mid-authorization. Wet-ink originals mailed on request.
Arizona’s third party program — A.R.S. Title 28, Chapter 13, Article 1, with rules at A.A.C. Title 17, Chapter 7 — lets private businesses perform work the Motor Vehicle Division would otherwise do itself: issuing titles, registrations, plates and permits, licensing dealers, handling motor carrier licensing and tax reporting, and, for providers that qualify, driver license testing and processing. Every one of those transactions moves state money. An authorized third party takes fees and taxes across its own counter and remits them to MVD, and the bond is what stands behind that arrangement.
It is a three-party guarantee: you are the principal, a surety authorized in Arizona issues the bond, and the State of Arizona is the obligee. Under A.R.S. § 28-5104(C) the bond inures to the benefit of any person who suffers loss from three specific failures — nonpayment of a fee or tax paid to you, your insolvency or discontinuance of business, or failure to comply with your authorized duties. Subsection (D) caps the surety’s aggregate liability at the face amount, the bond is noncancellable without sixty days’ prior notice to the director, and future liability ends when the director terminates your authorization. If the surety pays, you reimburse the surety: this protects the public and the state, not you.
The amount is set by statute, not by the carrier. The baseline is at least $100,000 for each location. A third party that adds driver license services is sized instead by § 28-5101.01 — at least $300,000 on the initial application plus $100,000 for each additional driver license location, with a single $100,000 bond covering a location that also does title and registration work, and a hard ceiling of $1,000,000. A towing company employee authorized only to run level one inspections posts not more than $25,000, and that one bond covers every location the towing company operates. Enter the figure your ADOT authorization names; the premium is 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum.
These are the actual underwriting fields — entity type, business location and county, the amount your authorization requires, and a one, two, or three year term. The application collects no credit information, and your price is 1% of the bond amount you enter, from a $100 minimum.
Start the application →From $100, at 1% of the bond amount, with your exact price shown before you pay. Enter the amount your authorization names and file with Third Party Administration the same day. Free until issued.