Virginia settlement agent bonds (attorney).
$2,000, one time.
A Virginia attorney acting individually as a real estate settlement agent must maintain a $200,000 surety bond under Code of Virginia § 55.1-1004, on a form approved by the Virginia State Bar. Ours is $2,000, one time, identical for every attorney.
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How much does a Virginia settlement agent bond cost?
$2,000 at the $200,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps to registered.
Your settlement-agent registration is waiting on this bond. Here is the entire process:
Apply once, online
Your details, the effective date, and a one-time consent to a quick soft credit check that never affects your score. That is the application.
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 & register with the State Bar
Pay online and receive the executed $200,000 bond on the State Bar–approved form, ready to file with your settlement-agent registration. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the Bar insists.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Virginia’s real estate settlement agents law (originally CRESPA) lets attorneys handle real estate closings, provided they register with the Virginia State Bar and post security. For an individual attorney settlement agent, Code of Virginia § 55.1-1004 requires a surety bond of not less than $200,000, on a Bar-approved form.
The bond is a consumer-protection guarantee: it stands behind your handling of escrow, closing, and settlement funds. If you mishandle a buyer’s or lender’s money in a transaction you settle, the harmed party can recover against the bond.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. Attorneys who keep clean escrow records treat the $200,000 bond as a registration formality. (You also maintain separate fidelity / employee-dishonesty coverage for staff under the same law.)
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 $200,000 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 & register with the State Bar. Pay online and receive the executed $200,000 bond on the State Bar–approved form, ready to file with your settlement-agent registration. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the Bar insists.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $2,000 at the $200,000 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, including a one-time consent to a quick soft credit check that never affects your score. Submit once and your $200,000 bond is issued when you pay.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Virginia bonds.
Been told you need a different amount?
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
The State Bar is waiting on one document.
$2,000, one time, short application, $200,000 bond issued when you pay. Free until issued.