IN converter manufacturer bonds.
$750 flat. Soft pull.
A converter manufacturer — a business that modifies or up-fits completed vehicles before retail sale — must be licensed by the Indiana Secretary of State, Auto Dealer Services Division and post a $25,000 vehicle merchandising bond. Ours is $750 flat, 3% of the bond amount, with one soft credit pull.
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Three steps to licensed.
Your converter manufacturer 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.
Reviewed & approved
Most of these 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.
E-sign & file on State Form 53966
Pay online and receive the executed bond (State Form 53966) ready to file through the Auto Dealer Services Division Dealer Portal. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the state insists.
The whole pricing page.
$25,000 bond × 3% = $750, one-time per term. Fixed amount, fixed price, multi-year if you want it.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Indiana licenses converter manufacturers — businesses that take a completed or incomplete vehicle and convert, modify, or add equipment to it before it reaches the retail buyer — through the Secretary of State's Auto Dealer Services Division under IC 9-32. The license is conditioned on a $25,000 surety bond.
The bond is a consumer-and-public-protection guarantee: it stands behind your compliance with vehicle merchandising law and protects buyers, sellers, financing agencies, and government agencies from loss caused by fraud, misrepresentation, noncompliance, or unpaid taxes and fees.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. Manufacturers who keep clean records and follow the rules treat the bond as a license formality, not a risk.
You need this bond if you're
Five minutes. The whole thing.
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 →Common questions.
If yours isn't here, the bond team can usually answer within the hour.
Do I pay the $25,000? +
Who requires this bond? +
What is a converter manufacturer? +
Is there a credit check? +
How do I file it? +
Other New York bonds.
The Auto Dealer Services Division is waiting on one document.
$750 flat, five-minute application, e-signed bond in 1–2 business days. Free until issued.