Hawaii installment lender bonds.
$300 flat.
Hawaii's installment lender law, HRS chapter 480J, requires a licensed small dollar installment lender to post a surety bond with a penal sum starting at $30,000, running to the State for the benefit of borrowers. This bond covers the $30,000 statutory minimum. Ours is $300 flat.
Trusted by industry leaders
How much does a Hawaii installment lender bond cost?
$300 at the $30,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps. One sitting.
The installment lender bond is one of the simplest pieces of an NMLS license file. Here's the entire process:
Apply online
Business details, your NMLS unique identifier, an effective date, and a term. That is the application. No credit check.
Pay & e-sign
This bond is checkout-priced at $300 flat, so it issues the moment you pay — your executed bond and power of attorney generate on the spot.
File through NMLS
Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to attach to your license record for the Hawaii Division of Financial Institutions. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Act 56, Session Laws of Hawaii 2021, replaced Hawaii's old payday-lending regime with a licensed small dollar installment lender framework under HRS chapter 480J, effective January 1, 2022. Licensing runs through NMLS and is administered by the Division of Financial Institutions. Under HRS 480J-35, a licensee posts a surety bond with a penal sum of at least $30,000 (and up to $250,000, scaled to the annual dollar amount of loans originated).
The bond runs to the State of Hawaii as obligee, for the use and benefit of the State and of any person with a cause of action against the licensee under chapter 480J. It is conditioned on the lender faithfully conforming to the chapter and its rules, and paying the State and injured borrowers all moneys that become due under the chapter.
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 license, which renews annually through NMLS; we track the term and send renewal notices 60 and 30 days out.
You need this bond if you're
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 $30,000 bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The premium covers a one-year term from the effective date you choose; a longer term is the same price per year, chosen at checkout.
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 through NMLS. Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to attach to your license record for the Hawaii Division of Financial Institutions. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $300 at the $30,000 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 NMLS ID, an effective date, and a term. That is the entire application.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Hawaii bonds.
Been told you need a different amount?
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Finish your lender license file today.
$300 flat, issued the moment you pay, no credit check. Free until issued.