Indiana non-participating tobacco manufacturer bonds.
From $500.
A cigarette maker that has not joined the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement cannot have its brands listed on Indiana’s tobacco directory until it posts a corporate surety bond with the Attorney General under IC 24-3-5.4-13.6. This page covers the $50,000 statutory minimum. The one-year premium starts at $500.
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How much does an Indiana non-participating tobacco manufacturer bond cost?
From $500; the exact price shows at the application once you enter your bond amount.
Built around your directory listing.
The Attorney General will not list a newly qualified manufacturer’s brands until the bond is posted and accepted. Here is the whole process, from quote to filing:
Send us the file
Apply online with the manufacturer’s legal and DBA names, federal EIN, address, owner and contact details, years in business, and a short set of underwriting questions about bankruptcies, judgments, liens and prior surety history. The application includes a credit review; it sets your exact premium above the $500 starting price.
See your exact price
The one-year premium starts at $500 for the $50,000 bond. The application shows your exact price before you pay — most applicants land at or near that starting price. If your escrow obligation for the year runs above $50,000, the statute requires the larger figure — we move you to the over-the-minimum version and underwrite to that amount.
Bind, sign & file
Once you bind, the executed bond arrives with the surety’s power of attorney, completed on the Attorney General’s NPM Bond Form. Submit it to the Attorney General’s Tobacco Enforcement Section with your certification; the bond takes effect when the office accepts it.
What it is and who needs it.
What the NPM bond actually guarantees
Under Indiana’s escrow statute, IC 24-3-3-12, every tobacco product manufacturer selling cigarettes to Indiana consumers must either join the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement as a participating manufacturer or pay into a qualified escrow fund by April 15 of the following year for every cigarette sold in the state. A manufacturer that takes the second route is a non-participating manufacturer (NPM).
The Attorney General publishes a directory of the brand families that may be stamped and sold in Indiana (IC 24-3-5.4-14). IC 24-3-5.4-13.6 then requires two kinds of NPM to post a bond. A newly qualified NPM — one that has filed its certification but whose brands are not yet listed — always must, and IC 24-3-5.4-14(d) bars the directory from listing it until it does. An NPM the Attorney General finds to pose an elevated risk of noncompliance must as well: missed escrow payments in any state in the last three calendar years, removal from another state’s directory, or pending state litigation or an unpaid judgment over escrow.
The bond must be written by a corporate surety located within the United States, in favor of the State of Indiana, and it covers the manufacturer’s obligations for the calendar year it is posted and the following one. If the manufacturer fails to make its deposits, the Attorney General’s form forfeits the bond for the escrow owed plus penalties, costs, fees and interest. The statute offers no cash or letter-of-credit substitute.
The amount can outgrow this page. The penal sum is the greater of $50,000 or that year’s escrow obligation, which IC 24-3-3-12(2) sets at $0.0188482 per cigarette sold in Indiana, adjusted for inflation. At the base rate the escrow figure passes $50,000 at roughly 2.65 million cigarettes — about 132,000 packs of 20 — and sooner once inflation is applied. Above that, you need the over-the-minimum version of this bond.
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 $50,000 bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The term is set on the carrier’s application; the premium covers the period shown there.
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
Bind, sign & file. Once you bind, the executed bond arrives with the surety’s power of attorney, completed on the Attorney General’s NPM Bond Form. Submit it to the Attorney General’s Tobacco Enforcement Section with your certification; the bond takes effect when the office accepts it.
What sets the price
From $500; your exact price appears at the application once you enter the amount.
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, one underwriting review.
These are the actual underwriting fields — the manufacturer’s legal name and federal EIN, entity type, address, ownership, years in business, and the surety questions an underwriter prices from. The form includes a credit consent for a credit review. Submit once and a specialist returns your quote, typically within one business day. Free until issued.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Indiana bonds.
The same bond in nearby states.
Been told you need a different amount?
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Get your brands onto the Indiana directory.
One application, a specialist quote in about a business day, and a bond on the Attorney General’s own form, ready to submit with your certification. Free until issued.