Rhode Island motor vehicle dealer bonds.
From $500.
Also known as the Rhode Island auto dealer bond or car dealer bond.
Rhode Island requires every licensed motor vehicle dealer to file a $50,000 surety bond with the DMV Dealers’ License & Regulation Office. Premiums are 1% of the bond amount — shown at the end of the application. One soft credit pull; the bond is issued when you pay.
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How much does a Rhode Island motor vehicle dealer bond cost?
1% of the bond amount, from $500 at the $50,000 minimum. Enter your amount in the calculator for the exact price.
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.
Approved
Most are approved as soon as you apply. One soft credit pull, never a hard inquiry, and it never affects your score. If it needs a second look, one to two business days at most.
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.
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
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 bond runs to December 31 whatever day you buy; the premium covers the period to that date.
Renewal falls on the statutory date, December 31, in the year your term ends.
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 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.
What sets the price
The premium is 1% 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, 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 Rhode Island bonds.
The same bond in nearby states.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
The DMV is waiting on one document.
Premiums from $500 on the statutory $50,000 amount — short application, bond issued when you pay. Free until issued.