New York motor fuel & diesel distributor bonds.
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New York's Department of Taxation and Finance can require a bond on Form AU-432 under Tax Law § 283(3) before it registers a distributor of motor fuel or diesel motor fuel. DTF sets the amount from your financial statement, generally a $50,000 minimum bond for gasoline distributors. We underwrite it and return a quote.
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How much does a New York motor fuel & diesel distributor bond cost?
It is underwritten: the premium is quoted from the bond amount and your financial picture, so there is no flat price to show.
From DTF’s bond notice to registration.
An applicant is not registered as a motor fuel distributor until the bond or other security is on file. Here is the whole process:
Send us DTF’s bond amount
Once the Tax Department tells you the bond it requires, apply online with that amount, your business details and the effective date. The bond issues the moment you pay — no credit review of any kind, not even a soft pull.
A surety specialist quotes it
A specialist reviews the file and returns your premium. Large bonds may call for financial statements or collateral, and you are under no obligation until you accept the quote.
File the AU-432 with DTF
Once you accept and pay, the bond is issued on Form AU-432 with the surety’s power of attorney and financial statement attached. Both parties’ acknowledgments are notarized, and it goes to the Tax Department’s Registration and Bond Unit so your registration can be granted.
What it is and who needs it.
What the motor fuel distributor bond actually guarantees
New York taxes motor fuel and diesel motor fuel at the distributor level, so anyone who imports motor fuel into the state for use, storage or sale here, or who produces, refines, manufactures or compounds it in the state, must register with the Department of Taxation and Finance as a distributor. Tax Law § 283(3) then requires a distributor to file a bond from a surety authorized in New York, or other security the Department accepts, to secure every sum it owes under the motor fuel tax and under the sales and use tax articles as they apply to motor fuel. The bond must be on file before you are registered.
The Department’s form is AU-432, Bond of Distributor of Motor Fuel and/or Diesel Motor Fuel. It binds you and the surety to the People of the State of New York, conditioned on faithfully discharging your duties as a distributor, and as a purchaser or seller of fuel, under Articles 12-A, 13-A, 28 and 29 of the Tax Law — and on paying over every sum due on motor fuel or diesel motor fuel. The surety’s aggregate liability for all defaults is capped at the bond amount.
The amount comes from your numbers. Under 20 NYCRR § 411.2, a distributor with a current ratio of at least one-to-one whose 80 percent of net worth covers its six-month maximum potential tax liability generally files a $50,000 bond; if net worth falls short, the bond covers the gap. Below $50,000 is allowed only in extraordinary circumstances. Diesel-only distributors are different: under Tax Law § 282-a(5), no bond is required on a finding of fiscal responsibility, and the Department may not set a minimum bond for every applicant.
The bond has no fixed expiration. It stays in force until the Department consents to cancel it or the surety gives 30 days’ written notice, and the Department can demand an increase at any time, due within 30 days. Failing to file or keep the bond is grounds to cancel or suspend the registration. It is not insurance for you. If the surety pays the state, 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 bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
Term and renewal are set in the underwriter's quote.
Keep the bond in force for as long as the obligation behind it runs.
How to file it
File the AU-432 with DTF. Once you accept and pay, the bond is issued on Form AU-432 with the surety’s power of attorney and financial statement attached. Both parties’ acknowledgments are notarized, and it goes to the Tax Department’s Registration and Bond Unit so your registration can be granted.
What sets the price
This bond is underwritten: the premium is quoted from the bond amount and your financial picture, so there is no flat price to show.
One application, one specialist review.
These are the actual fields: the bond amount the Tax Department requires, the effective date, and your business details — no credit section. A surety specialist reviews it and returns a quote, typically within one business day. Free until your bond is issued.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other New York bonds.
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Get registered as a fuel distributor.
Send us the bond amount the Tax Department requires, and a surety specialist underwrites the AU-432 bond and quotes it — typically within one business day. Free until issued.