DC money transmitter bonds.
1% of the bond amount.
Every application for a District money transmitter license must carry a surety bond under D.C. Code § 26-1007 — $50,000 at the base, plus $10,000 for each additional location or authorized delegate, capped at $250,000. The Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking administers the license through NMLS. Ours is 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum, issued the moment you pay. Any credit screen is a soft pull only — it never affects your score.
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Three steps. One sitting.
The bond is the easy part of a money transmitter application. Here is the entire process:
Apply online
Business details, your bond amount, an effective date, and a term. That is the entire application — any credit screen is a soft pull that never shows as a hard inquiry.
Pay & e-sign
This bond is checkout-priced at 1% of the bond amount ($100 minimum), so it issues the moment you pay — your executed bond and power of attorney generate on the spot.
File through NMLS
DC money transmitter licensing runs through NMLS. Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to associate with your license record for DISB.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
The District's Money Transmitters Act, D.C. Code § 26-1001 et seq., requires a license from the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking before you transmit money for DC customers — wires, remittances, payment processing, stored value, and virtual-currency transmission under DISB's interpretation. Section 26-1007 requires each application to be accompanied by a surety bond or similar security device.
The statute sets the math: $50,000, increased by $10,000 per additional location or authorized delegate through which business is conducted, to a maximum of $250,000. It's a three-party arrangement — you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the District as obligee — securing your faithful performance of the money transmission obligations the Act imposes.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. The bond has to stay continuously on file with your NMLS record; we track the term and send renewal notices 60 and 30 days out.
You need this bond if you're
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual issuing fields — business details, your bond amount, an effective date, and a term. That is the entire application.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other District of Columbia bonds.
Get licensed to move money in DC.
1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum, issued the moment you pay. Free until issued.