Montana motor vehicle dealer bonds.
$500 flat.
Also known as the Montana auto dealer bond or car dealer bond.
Montana requires a $50,000 bond from anyone licensed as a motor vehicle dealer, broker, wholesaler, or auto auction. Ours is $500 flat — the price you see is the checkout price, identical for every dealer. A quick soft credit check may apply — never a hard inquiry; the bond is issued when you pay.
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How much does a Montana motor vehicle dealer bond cost?
$500 at the $50,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps to licensed.
Your dealer license is waiting on this bond. Here is 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. Any credit check on this bond is a soft pull that never affects your score. If it needs a second look, one to two business days at most.
E-sign & file with the Motor Vehicle Division
Pay online and receive the executed bond 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
Montana licenses motor vehicle dealers through the Department of Justice Motor Vehicle Division, and conditions the license on a $50,000 surety bond under MCA 61-4-101. The bond is a consumer-and-public-protection guarantee: it stands behind your compliance with Montana motor vehicle sales law, including clear title and honest handling of customers’ money.
It is a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety, and the State of Montana together with harmed buyers (the protected parties). If a dealer fails to deliver clear title, misapplies a buyer’s funds, or otherwise violates dealer law, the harmed party can recover against the bond.
The same statute sets reduced amounts for narrower license types — $15,000 for motorcycle/quadricycle dealers and $5,000 for motorboat, watercraft, snowmobile, and off-highway-vehicle dealers. The full $50,000 applies to general dealers, brokers, wholesalers, and auto auctions. If the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety.
You need this bond if you are
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 the Motor Vehicle Division. Pay online and receive the executed bond 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 $500 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 pull. Submit once and your bond is issued when you pay.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Montana 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 Montana. Each has its own statute and bond amount.
Other Montana 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 Motor Vehicle Division is waiting on one document.
$500 flat, short application, bond issued when you pay. Free until issued.