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; we issue it at a flat 3% with one soft credit pull.
















Your registration with USDA AMS is waiting on this bond. Here is the whole process — no broker phone tag:
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.
Most clear quickly; if underwriting needs anything, you hear from an underwriter within 48 hours. The credit check is a soft pull that never affects your score.
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.
Bond amount × 3% = your premium, one-time, $275 minimum. Enter the figure 9 CFR §201.30 produces for your volume and the premium updates.
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.
These are the actual underwriting fields, including 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 →If yours isn't here, the bond team can usually answer within the hour.
Flat 3%, $275 minimum, five-minute application, e-signed bond in 1–2 business days. Free until issued.