Minnesota motor vehicle dealer bonds.
$250 flat.
Also known as the Minnesota auto dealer bond or car dealer bond.
Minnesota requires every licensed motor vehicle dealer to file a $50,000 bond with Driver and Vehicle Services. Ours is $250 flat — set by our carrier's rate book, 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 a Minnesota motor vehicle dealer bond cost?
$250 at the $50,000 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 check.
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 Driver and Vehicle Services
Pay online and receive the executed bond (form PS2446-10) 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
Minnesota licenses motor vehicle dealers through the Department of Public Safety's Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS), and conditions the license on a $50,000 surety bond under Minn. Stat. 168.27. The bond is a consumer-and-public-protection guarantee: it stands behind your faithful performance of the obligations of a dealer, including clear title and payment of taxes, license fees, and penalties.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier standing behind you, and the State of Minnesota together with any seller, purchaser, or transferor harmed (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.
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, not a risk.
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 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 Driver and Vehicle Services. Pay online and receive the executed bond (form PS2446-10) 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 $250 at the $50,000 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 check. Submit once and your bond is issued when you pay.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Minnesota 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 Minnesota. Each has its own statute and bond amount.
Other Minnesota 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 .
Driver and Vehicle Services is waiting on one document.
$250 flat, short application, bond issued when you pay. Free until issued.