Vermont service contract provider bonds.
From $250.
Every service contract provider in Vermont must register with the Commissioner of Financial Regulation and keep proving financial stability under 8 V.S.A. § 4249, usually with a surety bond. The amount is 5% of gross annual consideration from contracts in force, never less than $25,000. Premiums cost 1% of the bond amount.
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How much does a Vermont service contract provider bond cost?
1% of the bond amount, from $250 at the $25,000 minimum. Enter your amount in the calculator for the exact price.
Three steps. One sitting.
Your registration packet needs a bond plus a calculation justifying the amount, so get the bond out of the way first and spend your time on the math:
Apply online
Entity details, the county, the bond amount your calculation supports, and an effective date. That is the application. No credit check up to $50,000.
Pay & e-sign
Your price is final at checkout — 1% of the bond amount. No credit check up to $50,000, and most applications approve instantly.
File with DFR
Send the executed bond with your registration or three-year renewal form, the $600 fee, the calculation justifying the deposit, and evidence of your funded reserve account.
What it is and who needs it.
What the service contract provider bond covers
A service contract is a promise to repair, replace, or maintain a consumer product after the manufacturer's warranty runs out. Vermont deliberately says these agreements are not insurance — 8 V.S.A. § 4248(c) — and their sellers are not insurance agents. What replaces insurance regulation is a registration regime with teeth: register with the Commissioner, use contracts that carry mandatory disclosures, and keep proving you can pay the claims you have sold.
The bond is the first branch of that proof. Under 8 V.S.A. § 4249(a)(1) a provider posts a surety bond, eligible securities, cash, or a letter of credit with a value at all times of not less than 5% of the gross annual consideration from all service contracts issued and in force, never below $25,000 — and maintains a funded reserve account for its Vermont liabilities of at least 40% of all consideration received less claims paid. The bond stays unimpaired for as long as you do business in Vermont; the Commissioner releases it only after you stop writing contracts here and prove every obligation to Vermont contract holders is discharged.
Two other branches exist. A provider whose contracts are all insured by a service contract reimbursement policy can file that instead, if the insurer files with the NAIC and shows capital and surplus of $5,000,000 or more, written premiums not exceeding three times capital and surplus over five years, and profitable operations over five years. So can a provider — or its parent or affiliate — with a net worth of at least $50 million, which must also file the guaranty agreement § 4249(b) requires. Most independent providers land on the bond because it is the only branch that does not require an insurer partner or a nine-figure balance sheet.
You need this bond if you are
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 premium covers a one-year term from the effective date you choose.
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 DFR. Send the executed bond with your registration or three-year renewal form, the $600 fee, the calculation justifying the deposit, and evidence of your funded reserve account.
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.
No credit check up to $50,000. Above that, the carrier may run a soft pull, which 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 — entity details, county, the bond amount your calculation supports, and an effective date. No credit check up to $50,000.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Vermont bonds.
The same bond in nearby states.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Register once the deposit is posted.
Enter the amount your 5% calculation supports, see the exact price, and file the executed bond with DFR. Free until issued.