Montana public official bonds.
From $100.
Many Montana officers who handle public money must file a faithful-performance (official) bond before taking office. The amount is set by statute or the appointing authority — counties, cities, and special districts each set their own. Premiums run 0.35% of the bond amount, with a $100 minimum, and your exact price appears at the application.
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How much does a Montana public official bond cost?
0.35% of the bond amount, from $100. Enter your amount in the calculator for the exact price.
Three steps. One sitting.
No long underwriting queue for the standard official bond — enter your amount, consent to a soft pull, and you have the executed bond. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your details, the office, the bond amount required, and an effective date — plus a one-time consent to a soft credit pull. That is the application.
Reviewed & approved
Most clear quickly; larger amounts may get a quick underwriter look within 48 hours. Any credit check that runs is a soft pull that never affects your score.
File with the clerk of record
File the executed bond where official bonds are recorded — typically the county clerk and recorder or the official’s record. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the office insists.
What it is and who needs it.
What the official bond actually guarantees
A public official bond guarantees the faithful performance of an officer’s duties — and, for officers who handle public money, the honest accounting and payment of those funds. It is the citizens’ backstop: if an official misuses or fails to account for public funds, the public can recover against the bond.
In Montana, official bonds run through several parts of the code. County officers and employees must be bonded for faithful performance (Title 2, Chapter 9, Part 7, and Title 7, Chapter 4), city and town officers are bonded under Part 8, and the general official-bond rules — approval, filing, custody, and amount — sit in Title 2, Chapter 9, Part 5. The amount is fixed by statute or by the appointing authority, so there is no single statewide figure.
It is a three-party guarantee: you (the principal officer), the surety, and the public body or state (the obligee). If the surety pays a claim for your misconduct, you repay the surety. Tell us the amount your appointment paperwork names; premiums start from $100 and your exact price is set at application.
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 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.
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
File with the clerk of record. File the executed bond where official bonds are recorded — typically the county clerk and recorder or the official’s record. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the office insists.
What sets the price
The premium is 0.35% of the bond amount, $100 minimum: the amount the obligee sets moves the price, not 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: approved instantly, or after a quick credit check.
These are the actual underwriting fields, including a one-time consent to a soft credit pull. Submit once and most clear the same day.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Montana bonds.
The same bond in nearby states.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Official bond, issued today.
Premiums from $100. Enter the amount your office requires and file the same day.