South Carolina motor club bonds.
$500 flat.
A motor club may not render or agree to render motor club service in South Carolina until it has put up $50,000 in cash or approved securities or, far more commonly, a $50,000 surety bond filed with the Department of Consumer Affairs. Ours is $500 flat.
Trusted by industry leaders
How much does a South Carolina motor club bond cost?
$500 at the $50,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps. One sitting.
Consumer Affairs will not issue or renew a certificate of authority without a current bond on file, so this is usually the first thing a club sorts out. The whole process:
Apply online
Club details, years in business, a short set of commercial questions, and an effective date. No financial statements and no underwriting call.
Pay & e-sign
Deposit-in-lieu bonds like this are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase. If a check ever runs it is a soft pull that will not touch your score. Issued when you pay. One soft credit pull, never a hard inquiry, and it never affects your score.
File with Consumer Affairs
Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to go in with a certificate of authority application or a renewal packet. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the motor club deposit actually secures
A motor club sells memberships that promise motoring services — towing, emergency road service, bail bond and legal fee reimbursement, theft reward, map and touring service, and the rest of the familiar list. South Carolina regulates them under the Motor Club Services Act, and the Administrator of the Department of Consumer Affairs — not the Department of Insurance — is the agency that licenses and polices them.
Section 39-61-30 is the gate. A club may not render or agree to render motor club service until it has deposited and thereafter continuously maintained $50,000 in cash or securities approved by the Administrator, or, in lieu of that, a $50,000 bond. Almost every club files the bond: the cash alternative locks up $50,000 indefinitely, while the bond costs a fraction of that and leaves the money in the business.
The bond runs to the State of South Carolina for the benefit of persons whose membership applications have been accepted by the club or its agents. If the club takes dues and then fails to deliver the promised service — or folds owing its members — an aggrieved member can sue on the deposit. Section 39-61-50 governs those suits and caps the club’s aggregate exposure on this security at the amount posted.
The filing is continuous, and it is checked. A certificate of authority is issued under §39-61-70 and renewed annually under §39-61-80, with the renewal fee due by 31 October, and the Department expects the current bond or a continuation certificate in the packet. Club representatives register separately and renew on their own spring cycle. We track your expiry and notify you at 60 and 30 days so the certificate never stalls on a lapsed bond.
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 $50,000 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 Consumer Affairs. Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to go in with a certificate of authority application or a renewal packet. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $500 at the $50,000 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 — club details, a short set of commercial questions, and a one-time consent that authorizes a soft credit pull only.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other South Carolina bonds.
Been told you need a different amount?
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Certificate of authority waiting on one filing.
$500 flat, soft pull only, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.