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Research

State of Surety Bond Requirements

How do the states actually structure surety bond requirements? This quarterly report measures requirement prevalence, fixed versus tiered amount structures, medians, and the extreme states across every state-backed bond type we track, using regulator-published figures only: no estimates, no filled gaps.

Data as of 2026-06-17. Current edition: Q4 2026. Every figure recomputes from the underlying dataset, so the report never goes stale.

By Cornerstone Staff, Financial Services State Licensing Specialists

Headline findings

13

state-backed bond types tracked

Cornerstone state-law dataset

87%

of tracked state requirements mandate a bond

State regulator requirements, state-law dataset

15%

of requiring states use tiered or variable amounts

State regulator requirements, state-law dataset

77

state and bond-type pairs with no bond required

State regulator requirements, state-law dataset

How many states require each bond

Share of tracked states that require a bond at licensing, by bond type. Each row links to the bond's guide and its per-state requirement grid.

States requiring a bond, by bond type

  1. Mortgage Bankerrequired in 52 of 52 tracked states (100%)
  2. Mortgage Brokerrequired in 52 of 52 tracked states (100%)
  3. Mortgage Lenderrequired in 52 of 52 tracked states (100%)
  4. Mortgage Loan Originatorrequired in 52 of 52 tracked states (100%)
  5. Mortgage Servicerrequired in 52 of 52 tracked states (100%)
  6. Money Transmitter Bond (Bond, not License)required in 51 of 52 tracked states (98%)
  7. Motor Vehicle Dealerrequired in 51 of 51 tracked states (100%)
  8. Subdivisionrequired in 48 of 48 tracked states (100%)
  9. Debt Collector (Collection Agency)required in 38 of 52 tracked states (73%)
  10. Notaryrequired in 29 of 51 tracked states (57%)
  11. Credit Service Organizationrequired in 26 of 26 tracked states (100%)
  12. Contractor Licenserequired in 19 of 51 tracked states (37%)
  13. Auctioneerrequired in 9 of 17 tracked states (53%)

Fixed statutory amounts versus tiered requirements

Among states that require a bond, some publish one fixed statutory dollar amount and others set the amount by tier, license class, volume bracket, or per project. Tiered requirements mean two licensees in the same state can owe very different bonds, which is where checking the exact requirement matters most.

  • 85% of requiring state requirements publish a single fixed statutory amount (454 of 531).
  • 15% are tiered or variable, set by license class, volume, or project (77 of 531).

Requirement structure by bond type

  1. Subdivision0 fixed statutory amounts, 48 tiered or variable (100% of requiring states)
  2. Contractor License4 fixed statutory amounts, 15 tiered or variable (79% of requiring states)
  3. Motor Vehicle Dealer42 fixed statutory amounts, 9 tiered or variable (18% of requiring states)
  4. Credit Service Organization22 fixed statutory amounts, 4 tiered or variable (15% of requiring states)
  5. Money Transmitter Bond (Bond, not License)50 fixed statutory amounts, 1 tiered or variable (2% of requiring states)
  6. Mortgage Banker52 fixed statutory amounts, 0 tiered or variable (0% of requiring states)
  7. Mortgage Broker52 fixed statutory amounts, 0 tiered or variable (0% of requiring states)
  8. Mortgage Lender52 fixed statutory amounts, 0 tiered or variable (0% of requiring states)
  9. Mortgage Loan Originator52 fixed statutory amounts, 0 tiered or variable (0% of requiring states)
  10. Mortgage Servicer52 fixed statutory amounts, 0 tiered or variable (0% of requiring states)
  11. Debt Collector (Collection Agency)38 fixed statutory amounts, 0 tiered or variable (0% of requiring states)
  12. Notary29 fixed statutory amounts, 0 tiered or variable (0% of requiring states)
  13. Auctioneer9 fixed statutory amounts, 0 tiered or variable (0% of requiring states)

Median amounts and extreme states

For bond types where at least 10 states publish a fixed dollar amount: the median requirement plus the highest- and lowest-requirement states. States without a published figure are excluded from these statistics rather than estimated. Each row links to the full state table in the Bond Cost Index.

Median, highest, and lowest statutory amounts

  1. Money Transmitter Bond (Bond, not License)median $100,000 across 50 states; highest $1,000,000 (Pennsylvania), lowest $10,000 (Idaho)
  2. Motor Vehicle Dealermedian $50,000 across 42 states; highest $100,000 (Nevada), lowest $10,000 (New Jersey)
  3. Credit Service Organizationmedian $15,000 across 22 states; highest $100,000 (Utah), lowest $10,000 (Florida)
  4. Mortgage Bankermedian $10,000 across 52 states; highest $50,000 (Texas), lowest $10,000 (Alabama)
  5. Mortgage Brokermedian $10,000 across 52 states; highest $50,000 (Texas), lowest $10,000 (Alabama)
  6. Mortgage Lendermedian $10,000 across 52 states; highest $50,000 (Texas), lowest $10,000 (Alabama)
  7. Mortgage Loan Originatormedian $10,000 across 52 states; highest $50,000 (Texas), lowest $10,000 (Alabama)
  8. Mortgage Servicermedian $10,000 across 52 states; highest $50,000 (Texas), lowest $10,000 (Alabama)
  9. Debt Collector (Collection Agency)median $10,000 across 38 states; highest $50,000 (Florida), lowest $5,000 (Alabama)
  10. Notarymedian $10,000 across 29 states; highest $50,000 (Louisiana), lowest $500 (Wisconsin)

Where no bond is required

Tracked states whose regulator publishes no bond requirement for the license type. Operating there still requires the license itself, and a bond can still apply through a different obligation.

No-bond states by bond type

  1. Contractor License32 of 51 tracked states require no bond (63%)
  2. Notary22 of 51 tracked states require no bond (43%)
  3. Debt Collector (Collection Agency)14 of 52 tracked states require no bond (27%)
  4. Auctioneer8 of 17 tracked states require no bond (47%)
  5. Money Transmitter Bond (Bond, not License)1 of 52 tracked states require no bond (2%)

Methodology and sourcing

All figures are computed live from our maintained state-law dataset, sourced from state regulator publications, the same data behind the Bond Cost Index and every per-state bond requirement page. When a state's requirement is re-verified, this report recomputes automatically; no figure is hand-typed.

A bond type is included only when the dataset covers at least 10 states for it, and median or extreme figures publish only when at least 10 states state a fixed dollar amount. A requirement counts as tiered or variable when the regulator sets the amount by license class, volume bracket, or per project instead of one statewide figure. States without a published figure are excluded from statistics rather than estimated.

Edition history

  • Q3 2026, published 2026-07-29. Inaugural edition.
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