Idaho vehicle & vessel dealer bonds.
$200 flat.
Idaho requires a licensed retail vehicle or vessel dealer to file a $20,000 bond with the Transportation Department. Ours is $200 flat, identical for every dealer. A quick soft credit check may apply; the bond is issued when you pay.
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How much does an Idaho vehicle & vessel dealer bond cost?
$200 at the $20,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps to licensed.
Your dealer license is waiting on this bond. Here's the entire process — no broker phone tag:
Apply once, online
Business details, owner information, effective date. That is the application — the only extra step is a one-time consent to a soft credit pull.
Approved
Most are approved as soon as you apply. One soft credit pull, never a hard inquiry, and it never affects your score. If it needs a second look, one to two business days at most.
E-sign & file with the Transportation Department
Pay online and receive the executed bond (form ITD 3170) ready to file with your dealer license application. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the state insists.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Idaho licenses vehicle and vessel dealers through the Transportation Department under Idaho Code Title 49, Chapter 16, and conditions a retail dealer license on a $20,000 surety bond. The bond is a consumer-and-public-protection guarantee: it stands behind your compliance with Idaho's motor vehicle dealer laws.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the State of Idaho together with harmed buyers (the protected parties). If a dealer fails to deliver clear title, misapplies a customer's money, or otherwise violates dealer law, the harmed party can recover against the bond.
The amount depends on what you sell. A retail dealer files $20,000. Wholesale-only dealers file a higher amount, and dealers selling only motorcycles, ATVs, UTVs, or snowmobiles file $10,000 — we write that powersports bond too. If the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety.
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 $20,000 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
E-sign & file with the Transportation Department. Pay online and receive the executed bond (form ITD 3170) ready to file with your dealer license application. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the state insists.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $200 at the $20,000 amount for every applicant: the carrier’s rate book prices this bond by the form, not by your credit or your business profile.
One soft credit pull, never a hard inquiry, and it never affects your score.
Where a check runs, it decides approval; the rate is the same for everyone approved.
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 Idaho bonds.
Been told you need a different amount?
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
The Transportation Department is waiting on one document.
$200 flat, short application, bond issued when you pay. Free until issued.