DC employment agency bonds.
$3,000 flat. Soft pull.
The District of Columbia requires an employment agency to file a surety bond before it is licensed. For higher-fee, higher-volume agencies, that bond is $100,000 under D.C. Code § 32-403. Ours is $3,000 flat — 3% of the bond amount. One soft credit pull, e-signed in 1–2 business days.
Trusted by industry leaders
Three steps to licensed.
Your agency license is waiting on this bond. Here's the entire process — no broker phone tag:
Apply once, online
Business details, owner information, effective date, and a few commercial questions. The only extra step is a one-time consent to a soft credit pull.
Reviewed & approved
Larger bonds like this get a quick underwriting look; if anything else is needed, you hear from an underwriter within 48 hours. The credit check is a soft pull that never affects your score.
E-sign & file with DLCP
Pay online and receive the executed bond, ready to file with your DC employment agency license application. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the District insists.
The whole pricing page.
$100,000 bond × 3% = $3,000, one-time per term. Smaller agencies bond at $50,000 ($1,500) — tell us which tier applies.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
The District of Columbia licenses employment agencies, employment counseling services, and job listing services, and conditions the license on a surety bond under D.C. Code § 32-403. The bond is a job-seeker-protection guarantee: it stands behind the fees you collect and your compliance with the District's employment agency law.
The amount turns on your fee structure and volume. A $100,000 bond applies if the agency's average fee for job-seekers is $2,000 or more and it contracts with 100 or more job-seekers a year; a $50,000 bond applies to agencies below that threshold. The agency may instead post a cash bond with the District.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety, and the District together with job-seekers as the protected parties. It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. Licensing and consumer-protection enforcement moved to the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection when DCRA split in 2022.
You need this bond if you're
Five minutes. The whole thing.
These are the actual underwriting fields, including a few commercial questions and a one-time consent to a soft credit pull. Submit once and your bond is typically issued within 1–2 business days.
Start the application →Common questions.
If yours isn't here, the bond team can usually answer within the hour.
Do I pay the $100,000? +
When is the bond $100,000 versus $50,000? +
Who requires this bond? +
Is there a credit check? +
When does it renew? +
Other New York bonds.
DLCP is waiting on one document.
$3,000 flat, five-minute application, e-signed bond in 1–2 business days. Free until issued.