P&S market agency bonds.
Selling on commission. From $100.
A market agency that sells livestock on commission must file a Packers & Stockyards bond with USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service under 7 U.S.C. §204. The amount comes from your sales volume; the premium is 0.5% of the bond amount plus a $50 fee, with a $100 minimum — enter your figure and your exact price appears at the application.
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Three steps. One sitting.
Your registration with USDA AMS is waiting on this bond. Here is the whole process — no broker phone tag:
Apply once, online
Business details, the bond amount your volume requires, and an effective date. The only extra step is a one-time consent to a soft credit pull.
Approved
Most are approved as soon as you apply. The credit check is a soft pull that never affects your score. If it needs a second look, one to two business days at most.
File with USDA AMS
Receive the executed bond on the standard P&S bond form, ready to file with the Packers & Stockyards Division to register or stay registered. Wet-ink originals mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the P&S bond actually guarantees
The Packers and Stockyards Act (7 U.S.C. §181 et seq.) requires market agencies, dealers, and certain packers to register with USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and to maintain a surety bond. For a market agency selling on commission, the bond stands behind the proceeds owed to the livestock sellers you represent.
The required amount is fixed by 9 CFR §201.30. For a selling-on-commission agency, you divide the value of livestock sold in the preceding year by the number of days livestock was sold (the divisor capped at 130), then round up to the next $5,000 — with a $10,000 minimum and a graduated cap above $50,000.
It is a three-party guarantee: you (the principal), the surety, and the United States as obligee, protecting the sellers, consignors, and others the Act covers. It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a valid claim, you repay the surety.
You need this bond if you are
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual underwriting fields, including a one-time consent to a soft credit pull. Submit once and your bond is issued when you pay.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Federal bonds.
USDA AMS is waiting on one document.
From $100, short application, bond issued when you pay. Free until issued.