District of Columbia repair dealer bonds.
$200 flat.
A District repair dealer files a corporate surety bond with the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) for the whole two-year license period, and the amount turns on headcount: five or fewer employees file $2,000, more than five employees file $5,000. This is the $5,000 page. Ours is $200 flat.
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How much does a District of Columbia repair dealer bond cost?
$200 at the $5,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps. One sitting.
License bonds are the simplest thing in surety. Here is the entire process:
Apply online
Business details, the type of repair dealer license you hold, and an effective date. That is the application. No credit check.
Pay & e-sign
Small license bonds like this are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase.
File with DLCP
Your executed $5,000 bond and power of attorney arrive by email on the DLCP corporate surety bond form, ready to file with your license application or renewal. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
The District licenses businesses that take in a customer’s property and repair it for pay — appliances, electronics, watches, vehicles — and conditions the license on a corporate surety bond posted for the duration of the two-year license period. DLCP publishes the requirement in two places, because the endorsement sits on two different license categories: Consumer Goods (Auto Repair) rides on a Vehicular Services license, and Consumer Goods (Electronics Repair) rides on a General Sales and Services license. Both use the same two-tier bond table.
It is a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the District together with your customers (the protected parties). The bond backs your pledge to conduct repair business honestly and in line with the District’s consumer goods repair rules. If a dealer misrepresents a repair, keeps a deposit for work never done, or mishandles the goods left in its care, the harmed customer can recover against the $5,000 bond.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. Headcount is what moves you between tiers: DLCP puts establishments with five or fewer employees at $2,000 and establishments with more than five at $5,000. If you hire past five mid-term, plan on filing the larger bond at renewal. DLCP will also accept a cash bond posted directly with the department instead of a corporate surety bond, but that ties up the full $5,000.
You need this bond if you are
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A claim comes from the party the bond protects, the obligee named on the form, when the duty the bond guarantees is not met.
The surety investigates and pays a valid claim, up to the $5,000 bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The carrier issues this bond for a single two-year term; the term cannot be changed at checkout.
Renewal falls on the statutory date, October 7, in the year your term ends.
Renew before the expiry date to keep the bond in force: the license, permit or contract it backs expects continuous coverage.
How to file it
File with DLCP. Your executed $5,000 bond and power of attorney arrive by email on the DLCP corporate surety bond form, ready to file with your license application or renewal. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $200 at the $5,000 amount for every applicant: the carrier’s rate book prices this bond by the form, not by your credit or your business profile.
No credit check.
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual issuing fields — business details, your repair dealer license type, and an effective date. No credit check.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other District of Columbia bonds.
Been told you need a different amount?
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Finish your DLCP license checklist today.
$200 flat, no credit check, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.