AZ third party administrator bonds.
From $100. Enter your amount.

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.

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Required by A.R.S. § 28-5104 — the State of Arizona is the obligee and the ADOT director holds the filing
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At least $100,000 for each location — $300,000 to start if you add driver license services, capped at $1,000,000
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1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum — your exact price appears at the application, before you pay
1% rate$100 minimumExact pricebefore you payInstantissued the moment you pay
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How it works

Apply to filed in one sitting.

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:

TODAY · ONLINE

Apply online

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.

INSTANTLY

Issued the moment you pay

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.

SAME DAY

File with ADOT

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.

About this bond

What it is and who needs it.

What the ADOT third party bond actually guarantees

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.

A.R.S. § 28-5104 · § 28-5101.01 (ADOT form 96-0101)A.R.S. § 28-5104(A) requires a person applying for third party authorization to submit a bond, in a form approved by the director, of at least $100,000 for each location. Subsection (B) makes the state the obligee, conditions the bond on faithful compliance with all provisions of law, and makes it noncancellable without at least sixty days’ prior notice to the director. Subsection (C) extends it to any person who suffers loss from nonpayment of a fee or tax, insolvency or discontinuance of business, or failure to comply with the third party’s duties; subsection (D) caps aggregate surety liability at the bond amount. Driver license providers are sized by § 28-5101.01(C)(1) — at least $300,000 for an initial authorization plus $100,000 for each additional driver license location, capped at $1,000,000 — and must already have been an authorized third party for three years with an average of at least 1,000 retention transactions a month. A towing company employee conducting a level one inspection under § 28-2011 files not more than $25,000 covering every company location (§ 28-5104(F)); driver license training providers file no bond at all (§ 28-5101.02(B)). Twelve categories are exempt under § 28-5104(E) — Arizona agencies and political subdivisions, courts, law enforcement agencies, financial institutions, the federal government, MVD-licensed and bonded motor vehicle dealers, licensed manufacturers and distributors, insurers, owners of fleets of 100 or more vehicles, public utilities, tribal governments, and employers or associations with at least 500 employees or members — and they file ADOT form 96-0517 in place of a bond, annually unless the department grants a standing exemption (A.A.C. R17-7-201). The bond itself is ADOT form 96-0101, filed with MVD Third Party Administration, Mail Drop 532M, PO Box 2100, Phoenix AZ 85001-2100. Confirm your required amount on your ADOT authorization before you buy.

You need this bond if you are

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A tag agency or title and registration service provider applying for, or renewing, ADOT authorized third party status
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Adding driver license services after three years as an authorized third party, at the higher statutory tier
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A dealer licensing or motor carrier third party authorized under Title 28, Chapter 13 to do MVD work at your own counter
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A towing company employee running level one inspections who files the smaller bond that covers every company location

One application, issued instantly.

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 →
FAQ

Common questions.

How much is the Arizona third party administrator bond?The premium is 1% of the bond amount, with a $100 minimum. The amount itself is statutory — at least $100,000 for each location under A.R.S. § 28-5104, or $300,000 for an initial driver license authorization — so enter the figure your ADOT authorization names and your exact price appears at the application, before you pay. Terms of one, two, or three years are available.
What bond amount should I enter?Whatever your ADOT authorization requires. The statutory baseline is at least $100,000 for each location. If you provide driver license services, § 28-5101.01 sets at least $300,000 for the initial authorization plus $100,000 for each additional driver license location, with a $1,000,000 ceiling — and one $100,000 bond covers a location that also handles title and registration. A towing company employee running level one inspections files not more than $25,000, covering every company location. And if you fall in one of the twelve exempt categories in § 28-5104(E) — a licensed and bonded MVD dealer, an insurer, a public utility, a tribal government, an employer with 500 or more members — you file ADOT form 96-0517 instead of buying a bond at all.
Do I pay the full bond amount?No. The bond amount your authorization names is the ceiling of the surety’s liability, not a deposit — A.R.S. § 28-5104(D) caps any payout at that figure. You pay a premium of 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum, and nothing is escrowed. If the surety ever pays a claim on your bond, you reimburse the surety, which is why the state accepts a bond instead of cash.
What does the bond guarantee, and where do I file it?It guarantees you will faithfully comply with the law governing your authorization, and it answers to anyone who loses money because you failed to pay over a fee or tax, went insolvent or out of business, or did not perform your authorized duties. The executed bond — ADOT form 96-0101 — goes to MVD Third Party Administration, Mail Drop 532M, PO Box 2100, Phoenix AZ 85001-2100, with your authorization application or renewal. It runs continuously until the surety gives the director at least sixty days’ written notice, so the bond itself is not refiled every year.
Is there a credit check?The application collects no credit information, and most applications approve instantly. Because these bonds run six figures, a larger amount may get a brief underwriter look; if a check ever runs, it is a soft pull that will not affect your score.
Related bonds

Other Arizona bonds.

ADOT authorization waiting on one filing.

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.

Your premiumfrom $100
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