New York budget planner bonds.
$1,250 flat.
New York licenses budget planners through the Department of Financial Services, and Banking Law § 580 conditions the license on a $250,000 surety bond filed with the superintendent. Ours is $1,250 flat — the price you see is the checkout price — issued the moment you pay. Any credit check is a soft pull only — it never affects your score.
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How much does a New York budget planner bond cost?
$1,250 at the $250,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps. One sitting.
The bond is the easy part of a DFS budget planner filing. Here's the entire process:
Apply online
Business details, ownership, and an effective date — that is the application. The only credit item is a consent for a soft pull, which never affects your score.
Pay & e-sign
This bond is checkout-priced at $1,250 flat — it issues the moment you pay, executed and e-signed.
File with DFS
Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to file with the superintendent alongside your NMLS budget planner license application or renewal. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
New York regulates budget planning — contracting with a debtor to receive their money and distribute it among their creditors — tightly: state law bars unlicensed budget planning, and the license comes from the Department of Financial Services under Banking Law Article 12-C. Many licensees are not-for-profit credit-counseling agencies handling debt-management plans for New York consumers.
As a condition of getting and keeping the license, Banking Law § 580 requires a surety bond in the principal amount of $250,000, filed with the superintendent. The bond's proceeds constitute a trust fund used to reimburse debtor payments that were not properly distributed to creditors, to refund improperly charged fees, and to cover DFS examination costs if the licensee becomes insolvent.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the superintendent of DFS (the obligee), with your New York clients as the protected parties. It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. The bond must stay on file for the life of the license, so we track it and send renewal notices 60 and 30 days out.
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 $250,000 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
File with DFS. Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to file with the superintendent alongside your NMLS budget planner license application or renewal. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $1,250 at the $250,000 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 issuing fields. The only credit item is a consent for a soft pull — it never affects your score.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other New York bonds.
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Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Finish your DFS filing today.
$1,250 flat, soft pull only, issued the moment you pay. Free until issued.