Iowa motor vehicle dealer bonds.
$375 flat.
Also known as the Iowa auto dealer bond or car dealer bond.
Iowa requires every licensed motor vehicle dealer to file a $75,000 bond with the Iowa DOT under Iowa Code 322.4. Ours is $375 flat — the price you see is the checkout price, 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 Iowa motor vehicle dealer bond cost?
$375 at the $75,000 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 Iowa DOT
Pay online and receive the executed bond ready to file with your dealer license application through the Iowa DOT’s Office of Vehicle & Motor Carrier Services. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the state insists.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Iowa licenses motor vehicle dealers through the Iowa Department of Transportation, and conditions the license on a $75,000 surety bond under Iowa Code 322.4. The bond runs to the State of Iowa and is a consumer-and-public-protection guarantee standing behind clear title and the dealer’s compliance with Iowa’s motor vehicle sales laws.
It protects purchasers, sellers, financing agencies, and government agencies from monetary loss caused by a dealer’s fraud or fraudulent representation, failure to comply with the licensing law, or failure to pay required taxes and fees. The obligee is the Iowa DOT.
Iowa dealer licenses run on a biennial cycle (expiring December 31 of even-numbered years), and the bond must stay continuous across it. It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. Dealers who deliver clean title and keep good records treat the bond as a license formality.
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 $75,000 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 Iowa DOT. Pay online and receive the executed bond ready to file with your dealer license application through the Iowa DOT’s Office of Vehicle & Motor Carrier Services. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the state insists.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $375 at the $75,000 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 Iowa motor vehicle dealer bonds.
Not sure this is the one your license calls for? These are the other motor vehicle dealer bonds we write in Iowa. Each has its own statute and bond amount.
Other Iowa 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 .
The Iowa DOT is waiting on one document.
$375 flat, short application, bond issued when you pay. Free until issued.