California Surplus Lines Broker Bond
California's surplus lines broker bond is $50,000, filed with the California Department of Insurance under Insurance Code §1765(c) before CDI issues your Surplus Line Broker license. It's a continuing bond conditioned on your full compliance with the surplus lines chapter — not the same instrument as the $10,000 broker bond most CA producers think of.
Below is the table CDI's own form names don't make obvious: three separate California insurance-license bonds, three separate penal sums, and it's common to need more than one.
- Who requires it: The California Department of Insurance, under Ins. Code §1765(c), for a surplus lines broker.
- Amount: $50,000, separate from the $10,000 broker bond.
- Timing: Same-day submission; most quotes within one business day.
Three CA insurance-license bonds people mix up
CDI issues three separate producer-license bonds that all get called an “insurance broker bond” in casual conversation. They have different penal sums, cover different activity, and stack on top of each other rather than substitute for one another.
California Insurance-License Bonds — Verified Amounts
Every figure verified directly against Cal. Ins. Code and CDI
| License / Bond | Amount | Statute | What It Covers | Individual Bond Required? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surplus Line Broker (individual or business entity) | $50,000 | Cal. Ins. Code §1765(c) | Any coverage placed with a nonadmitted insurer, after a diligent search among admitted carriers | Waived only if you transact solely on behalf of a licensed SL broker business entity |
| Special Lines' Surplus Line Broker | $10,000 | Cal. Ins. Code §1760.5 | Narrow class only: ocean marine, aircraft, and interstate railroad coverage placed nonadmitted | Same business-entity exemption applies |
| Bond of Insurance Broker (property / casualty / personal lines broker-agent) | $10,000 | Cal. Ins. Code §1662, §1665 | Standard admitted-market brokerage — secures accounting for money and premiums collected | Required of property, casualty, and personal lines broker-agents; one $10,000 bond covers both property and casualty |
All three bonds are filed with the CDI Producer Licensing Bureau and must be written by a California-admitted surety. Holding one license doesn't satisfy another — a surplus line broker who also solicits admitted-market property or casualty business under a separate broker-agent license needs the $10,000 Bond of Insurance Broker in addition to the $50,000 surplus line bond.
Sources: leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (Cal. Ins. Code §§1662, 1665, 1760.5, 1765); insurance.ca.gov Producer Licensing Bureau
If your search brought you here because another agency or a form vendor quoted you a bond amount that didn't match what you expected, this table is why — most sites cover only one of these three bonds and label it generically. Confirm which CDI license you're filing for before you buy anything.
What the $50,000 actually secures
The bond runs to the people of the State of California, not to CDI or to any individual client. Its condition is broad by design — it isn't limited to premium accounting the way the $10,000 broker bond is. It backs your compliance with the entire surplus lines chapter: the diligent-search rule, surplus lines tax remittance, and every other obligation Chapter 6 imposes on a licensed surplus line broker.
Filing mechanics matter here. The bond has to be executed on CDI form LIC 447-31 by a California-admitted surety, with a jurat and a power of attorney for the attorney-in-fact who signs it, completed in the applicant's own name. A bond that's missing the jurat or POA, or written by a non-admitted surety, gets bounced at filing — CDI does not waive the form requirements for an otherwise-qualified applicant.
One detail almost nobody outside CDI licensing staff mentions: a business entity licensed under this chapter must provide two hours of appropriate training, renewed every five years, to any employee who solicits, negotiates, or effects insurance coverage placed by a nonadmitted insurer. That training obligation rides alongside the bond as a separate condition of the business-entity license — budget for it if you're standing up a surplus lines desk.
Official California Requirements
"[The applicant] shall file a bond to the people of the State of California in the sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), conditioned that the licensee will fully and faithfully comply with the requirements of this chapter, and all applicable provisions of this code."California Department of Insurance • Cal. Ins. Code §1765(c)
The diligent-search rule that triggers a surplus lines placement
The bond doesn't stand alone — it backs a specific behavioral rule most sites skip entirely. Under §1763, a surplus line broker “shall be responsible to ensure that a diligent search is made among insurers that are admitted to transact and are actually writing the particular type of insurance in this state before procuring the insurance” nonadmitted.
The safe harbor
It is prima facie evidence of a diligent search if a standardized declination form shows that three admitted insurers that actually write the coverage in California have declined the risk — or that fewer than three admitted insurers write that particular type of insurance at all.
The commercial-insured exception
Diligent search is not required when a commercial insured specifically requests nonadmitted coverage in writing, after receiving a written disclosure of potential admitted-market alternatives. This is the exception most surplus lines brokers rely on for sophisticated commercial clients.
Failing the diligent-search requirement doesn't just create an E&O exposure — it's the kind of Chapter 6 noncompliance the §1765(c) bond is written to secure, which is why the two provisions are worth reading together rather than in isolation.
Individual vs. business entity: the exemption that saves solo brokers a second bond
CDI does not require a personal $50,000 bond from an individual licensed as a surplus line broker who transacts only on behalf of a licensed surplus line broker business entity. The entity's own bond covers placements made under its license — the individual doesn't file a duplicate.
The exemption is narrow, though. The moment you place surplus lines business outside that entity's authority — under your own individual license, or through a second brokerage — the exemption stops applying to that business, and CDI expects a bond in force covering it. The same structure repeats for the $10,000 Special Lines' bond: individuals working exclusively through a licensed Special Lines business entity are exempt from filing their own.
If you hold an individual surplus line license as a safety net while primarily working under a brokerage's entity license, confirm with CDI whether your bond is currently required before assuming the exemption covers you — licensing staff, not this page, makes that determination for your specific fact pattern.
Know which of the three bonds you actually need?
Tell us your CDI license type and we confirm the exact bond, amount, and form before quoting — no guessing between the $50,000 surplus line bond and the $10,000 broker bond.
Get My California Bond QuoteFiling with the CDI Producer Licensing Bureau
Standard Surplus Line Broker
Form LIC 447-31 · $50,000 · Cal. Ins. Code §1765(c)
Special Lines' Surplus Line Broker
Form LIC 447-32 · $10,000 · Cal. Ins. Code §1760.5
Bond of Insurance Broker
Form LIC 4175 · $10,000 · Cal. Ins. Code §1662, §1665
Mail the bond with your license application to: California Department of Insurance, Producer Licensing Bureau, Attention: SL Licensing, P.O. Box 1139, Sacramento, CA 95812-1139. All three bond forms require a jurat and power of attorney for the surety's attorney-in-fact, and none of them are accepted from a non-admitted surety — confirm your carrier is admitted in California before you buy.
More on CDI Bonds and California Financial Licensing
Why the Wrong Bond Is the Most Common CDI Filing Mistake
The single most common misstep we see on California surplus lines filings isn't underwriting — it's the applicant buying the wrong bond before they even talk to CDI. A broker who searches “California insurance broker bond” and buys the first $10,000 option that comes up gets a bond that CDI will reject for a surplus line application, because the Bond of Insurance Broker and the Bond of Surplus Line Broker are not interchangeable — different form, different amount, different statute.
The second most common issue is the business-entity exemption cutting both ways. Brokers sometimes assume the exemption is permanent once granted, and let a personal bond lapse after joining a brokerage — then pick up an independent placement six months later without realizing the exemption no longer covers it. CDI treats the bond as a condition of the license's continued validity, not a one-time filing you can forget about.
All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov). BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-listed surety carriers.
General information, not legal or underwriting advice. California surplus lines broker bond requirements are set by Cal. Ins. Code §§1662, 1665, 1760.5, 1763, and 1765, administered by the California Department of Insurance, and can change with statute or regulation. Verify current requirements and your specific license status directly with CDI's Producer Licensing Bureau before filing.
California Surplus Lines Broker Bond FAQs
The $50,000 vs. $10,000 confusion, exemptions, diligent search, and filing mechanics
Is the California surplus lines broker bond the same as the insurance broker bond?
Do I need my own $50,000 bond if I work for a licensed surplus line brokerage?
What is the "diligent search" requirement, and can I skip it?
Does the $50,000 bond cover Special Lines placements like ocean marine or aircraft?
Where do I file the bond, and what form does CDI require?
Does the bond amount change if I have bad credit or am a new broker?
File the Right Bond With CDI the First Time
Tell us your CDI license type — surplus line, Special Lines', or broker-agent — and we'll confirm the correct bond and amount before quoting, then get form LIC 447-31 filed with a California-admitted surety.
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