RI motor vehicle dealer bonds.
Flat 3%. Soft pull.
Rhode Island requires every licensed motor vehicle dealer to file a $50,000 surety bond with the DMV Dealers’ License & Regulation Office. Ours is a flat 3% — $1,500 at the statutory amount, the same rate for every dealer. One soft credit pull, e-signed in 1–2 business days.
Trusted by industry leaders
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, the $50,000 amount, and an effective date. That is the application — the only extra step is a one-time consent to a soft credit pull.
Reviewed & approved
Most of these clear quickly; if underwriting needs anything, you hear from an underwriter within 48 hours. The credit check is a soft pull that never affects your score.
E-sign & file with the DMV
Pay online and receive the executed bond ready to file with your dealer license application or renewal. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the DMV insists.
The whole pricing page.
Bond amount × 3% = your premium, one-time, $275 minimum. The DMV sets the amount at $50,000, so the premium is $1,500.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Rhode Island licenses motor vehicle dealers through the Division of Motor Vehicles, and conditions the license on a $50,000 surety bond filed with the DMV Dealers’ License & Regulation Office. The bond is a consumer-and-public-protection guarantee: it stands behind your compliance with the dealer-licensing law and indemnifies a good-faith purchaser who suffers a loss from a violation of it.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier standing behind you, and the State of Rhode Island together with harmed buyers (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.
The bond runs on the DMV’s statutory calendar — it is filed yearly with your renewal and stays in effect through December 31. Let it lapse and your license is at risk, so we track it and notify you ahead of the December renewal. It is not insurance for you: if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety.
You need this bond if you're
Five minutes. The whole thing.
These are the actual underwriting fields, including a one-time consent to a soft credit pull. Submit once and your bond is typically issued within 1–2 business days.
Start the application →Common questions.
If yours isn't here, the bond team can usually answer within the hour.
How much is the Rhode Island motor vehicle dealer bond? +
Who requires this bond? +
What does the bond guarantee? +
Is there a credit check? +
When does it renew? +
Other New York bonds.
The DMV is waiting on one document.
Flat 3% — $1,500 at the statutory $50,000 — five-minute application, e-signed bond in 1–2 business days. Free until issued.