TN CDL third-party tester bonds.
$750. Five minutes.
A Tennessee company that administers CDL skills tests must file a bond with the Department of Safety & Homeland Security to run its third-party testing program. The department currently sets it at $25,000, and ours is $750 flat — 3% of the bond amount, no credit check.
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Three steps. One sitting.
License bonds are the simplest thing in surety. Here's the entire process:
Apply online
Business details and an effective date. That's the application — no financials, no credit check section, no follow-up scavenger hunt.
Pay & e-sign
License bonds like this are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase. At most, 1–2 business days.
File with the Department of Safety
Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to file to activate your third-party tester license. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
The whole pricing page.
$25,000 bond × 3% = $750, one-time per term. Fixed amount, fixed price, multi-year if you want it.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Tennessee lets approved companies administer the CDL skills test on the state’s behalf as a third-party testing program. Because a bad test puts an unqualified driver behind the wheel of a commercial vehicle, the Department of Safety & Homeland Security conditions the program on a bond.
The bond backs the cost of retesting drivers if the third-party company or one of its examiners is involved in fraudulent testing activity. It is a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the State of Tennessee (the obligee).
By statute the department sets the amount it deems sufficient for retesting — currently $25,000. Government-entity testers are exempt from the bond. If the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety; programs that test honestly treat the bond as a license formality.
You need this bond if you're
Five minutes. The whole thing.
These are the actual issuing fields — no credit check section, because this bond doesn't have one.
Start the application →Common questions.
If yours isn't here, the bond team can usually answer within the hour.
How much is the Tennessee CDL third-party tester bond? +
Do I pay the $25,000? +
What does the bond cover? +
Is there a credit check? +
Are government testers exempt? +
Other New York bonds.
The Department of Safety is waiting on one document.
$750 flat, five-minute application, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.