Tennessee motor vehicle auction bonds.
$250 flat.
Tennessee requires every licensed automobile auction to file a $50,000 bond with the Motor Vehicle Commission. Ours is $250 flat — set by our carrier's rate book for this bond, identical for every auction. A quick soft credit check may apply; the bond is issued when you pay.
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How much does a Tennessee motor vehicle auction bond cost?
$250 at the $50,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps to licensed.
Your auction license is waiting on this bond. Here's the whole process — no broker phone tag:
Apply once, online
Business details, owner information, effective date. That is the application — a quick soft credit check may run as part of review.
Approved
Most are approved as soon as you apply. Any credit check is a soft pull that never affects your score. If it needs a second look, one to two business days at most.
E-sign & file with the Motor Vehicle Commission
Pay online and receive the executed bond on the form the Commission provides, ready to file with your auction license application. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the state insists.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Tennessee licenses automobile auctions through the Motor Vehicle Commission, part of the Department of Commerce & Insurance, and conditions the license on a $50,000 surety bond filed on the Commission's form. The bond is a consumer-and-trade-protection guarantee backing the auction's compliance with the motor vehicle sales laws in Title 55, Chapter 17.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the State of Tennessee together with anyone — including the state — who has a cause of action under the chapter. If the auction violates dealer law and someone is harmed, they can recover against the bond.
No suit may be brought on the bond more than two years after the event that gave rise to it, and a separate bond is required for each branch. The bond 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 $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
E-sign & file with the Motor Vehicle Commission. Pay online and receive the executed bond on the form the Commission provides, ready to file with your auction license application. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the state insists.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $250 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 underwriting fields; a soft credit check may run as part of review. Submit once and your bond is issued when you pay.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Tennessee motor vehicle dealer bonds.
Not sure this is the one your license calls for? These are the other motor vehicle dealer bonds we write in Tennessee. Each has its own statute and bond amount.
Other Tennessee bonds.
Been told you need a different amount?
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
The Motor Vehicle Commission is waiting on one document.
$250 flat, short application, bond issued when you pay. Free until issued.