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Last updated: General Indiana loan broker bond information — confirm current requirements with the licensing authority.
IN Secretary of State · IC 23-2.5

Indiana Mortgage Broker Bond

$50,000, $60,000, or $75,000 — set by last year's loan volume.

If you broker residential mortgages in Indiana, the state calls you a loan broker, and you post a surety bond with the Indiana Secretary of State, Securities Division under IC 23-2.5-4-1. The amount is tiered by the residential mortgage volume you originated the prior calendar year: $50,000 up to $5M, $60,000 from $5M to $20M, and $75,000 above $20M. Premium typically runs 1–3% of that face amount. One Indiana wrinkle to settle first: if you actually fund first-lien loans, a different regulator entirely — the DFI — licenses and bonds you.

$50K–$75K
Three tiers, by prior-year volume
2 regulators
Securities Division vs. DFI
Settle this before you buy a bond

Indiana is a two-regulator state — and the bond follows the regulator

Most states run mortgage licensing through a single financial regulator. Indiana splits it in two, and which side you land on decides your bond entirely. The line is drawn by whether you arrange the loan or fund it.

Loan broker (you arrange the loan)

Secretary of State, Securities Division · IC 23-2.5

  • Register as a loan broker under IC 23-2.5 via NMLS
  • Post the $50,000 / $60,000 / $75,000 tiered bond (IC 23-2.5-4-1)
  • Bond amount set by prior-year residential mortgage volume
  • Covers your licensed loan originators and principal managers

This page's bond. Quote it above.

First-lien lender (you fund the loan)

Dept. of Financial Institutions (DFI) · IC 24-4.4

  • Licensed by the DFI under the First Lien Mortgage Lending Act
  • License required per IC 24-4.4-2-401 (registered through NMLS)
  • Separate DFI-set surety bond under IC 24-4.4-2-402.3
  • Not the Securities Division loan broker bond shown above

Fund and broker both? You may need both licenses — and both bonds.

We place bonds on both sides of that line. If you are not sure which one is yours, start the quote above and tell us what you do with the loan — we will point you at the right regulator before anything is issued.

The Three Loan Broker Bond Tiers

Unlike states that run a continuous percentage-of-volume formula, Indiana sets the loan broker bond at three fixed dollar amounts, and your prior calendar year production decides which one you file.

Because the tier is a lookback, the bond is a trailing indicator of last year's success: a broker who grows from a $4M year into a $12M year moves from the $50,000 tier to the $60,000 tier at renewal even though the license itself never changed. Watch the $5M and $20M breakpoints against your own trailing-12-month volume so a tier change never catches you off guard when your NMLS renewal comes due.

Official Indiana Requirements

"A loan broker license applicant must file with the commissioner a surety bond, in favor of the state, that secures payment of damages to any person aggrieved by a violation of this article by the licensee or by a licensed mortgage loan originator or licensed principal manager employed by the licensee. The bond amount is $50,000 if the total residential mortgage loans originated in the previous calendar year was not greater than $5,000,000; $60,000 if greater than $5,000,000 but not greater than $20,000,000; and $75,000 if greater than $20,000,000."
Indiana Code, administered by the Indiana Secretary of State, Securities Division • IC 23-2.5-4-1 (loan broker license application; surety bond)

Plain-language summary of the loan broker bond requirement under IC 23-2.5-4-1, not a verbatim statutory quotation. First-lien mortgage lenders are governed separately under IC 24-4.4 by the Indiana DFI. Confirm the current text of the statute and your exact bond tier with the Securities Division before filing.

One Company Bond, But It Reaches Your Whole Originating Team

A detail worth understanding before you sign the indemnity: the Indiana loan broker bond does not just stand behind the company's own conduct. IC 23-2.5-4-1 writes the bond to secure damages caused by a violation “by the licensee or by a licensed mortgage loan originator or licensed principal manager employed by the licensee.” So a single company-level bond backs the licensed activity of every MLO and principal manager under your roof — you do not file a separate bond per loan officer.

Practically, that widens who can trigger a claim. If an originator you employ violates the Loan Brokers article and a consumer is harmed, the claimant can recover against your company bond up to the penal sum, and the surety then seeks reimbursement from you under your indemnity agreement. It is a strong argument for tight compliance supervision of your originators — their licensed mistakes attach to your bond, not theirs.

Filing Your Loan Broker Bond Through NMLS

How the bond fits into the Securities Division license process

1

Confirm you are a loan broker, not a first-lien lender

Settle the regulator question first. If you arrange loans without funding them, you belong to the Securities Division under IC 23-2.5 and this bond applies. If you fund first-lien loans, you file with the DFI under IC 24-4.4 instead.

2

Determine your tier from last year’s volume

Total your residential mortgage originations from the immediately preceding calendar year to find whether you file at $50,000, $60,000, or $75,000. New applicants with no prior-year volume file at the $50,000 entry tier.

3

Purchase the surety bond at the correct penal sum

We place the bond in favor of the State of Indiana in the exact tier amount, executed on the form the Securities Division accepts for electronic NMLS upload.

4

Upload the electronic bond in NMLS

Indiana tracks the loan broker bond electronically as part of your NMLS company record. Your surety files it in the Electronic Surety Bond (ESB) format so it attaches to your license record.

5

Recheck your tier at each annual renewal

When you renew your NMLS license, the Securities Division confirms your bond is on file at the tier that matches your latest prior-year volume. A move above $5M or $20M means a bond increase before renewal is accepted.

New to bonding in general? Our step-by-step surety bond guide covers the mechanics, and how to become a mortgage broker walks the wider NMLS licensing path.

Know your prior-year volume? Get your Indiana loan broker bond quote in about two minutes.

Get Your Quote

What the Bond Costs Per Year

You never pay the full $50,000–$75,000 — you pay an annual premium, a percentage of the face amount driven mostly by the owners' personal credit. Here is how a $50,000 entry-tier bond typically prices.

Compare pricing mechanics on our surety bond cost guide or run numbers on the mortgage broker bond calculator.

Indiana Loan Broker Bond Questions

Do I file my Indiana mortgage bond with the Secretary of State or the DFI?
It depends on what you actually do with the loan, and this is the question that trips up most applicants. If you arrange, negotiate, or broker a residential mortgage without funding it, you are a "loan broker" and you register with the Indiana Secretary of State, Securities Division under IC 23-2.5 — that is the license carrying the $50,000/$60,000/$75,000 tiered surety bond. If your company is the creditor that actually funds the first-lien loan, you are licensed instead by the Indiana Department of Financial Institutions (DFI) under the First Lien Mortgage Lending Act, IC 24-4.4, which sets its own separate bond (IC 24-4.4-2-402.3). Some companies do both and hold both licenses. Get the regulator wrong and you buy the wrong bond, so confirm your role before you file.
How does Indiana decide whether my loan broker bond is $50,000, $60,000, or $75,000?
By your production, not a flat schedule. IC 23-2.5-4-1 sets the penal sum from the total residential mortgage loans you originated in the previous calendar year: $50,000 if that total was $5,000,000 or less, $60,000 if it was more than $5,000,000 but not more than $20,000,000, and $75,000 if it topped $20,000,000. Because it looks back at last year, a broker who has a breakout year can owe a bigger bond the following year even though nothing about the license changed. Track your trailing volume against the $5M and $20M breakpoints so a jump to the next tier does not surprise you at renewal.
I am a brand-new Indiana loan broker with no prior-year volume. What bond do I post?
A new applicant has no previous-calendar-year Indiana origination volume to measure, so you fall into the statute's lowest bracket — the $50,000 entry tier under IC 23-2.5-4-1. That is the amount most first-time loan broker licensees file. Your bond amount is then re-measured against your actual prior-year volume going forward, so plan for the possibility of moving to the $60,000 tier once you cross $5,000,000 in originations. If you are unsure which tier the Securities Division will assign you, we confirm it before your surety issues the bond.
Who does the Indiana loan broker bond actually protect, and does it cover my loan originators?
The bond runs in favor of the State of Indiana and secures payment of damages to any person harmed by a violation of IC 23-2.5 — and critically, that coverage reaches beyond the company itself. The statute extends the bond to violations by the licensee AND by any licensed mortgage loan originator or licensed principal manager employed by the licensee. In other words, one company bond stands behind the licensed conduct of your whole originating team, not just the entity's own acts. A consumer who wins a claim can recover against the bond up to the penal sum; the surety then looks to you, the principal, for reimbursement under your indemnity agreement.
Is the Indiana loan broker bond the same thing as an NMLS bond?
It is filed through NMLS, but it is an Indiana Securities Division requirement, not an NMLS requirement. Indiana, like nearly every state, administers mortgage licensing through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, and your surety bond is uploaded and tracked electronically in NMLS as part of your company record. NMLS is the plumbing; the bond amount, the tiers, and the obligee (the State of Indiana) all come from IC 23-2.5. When you renew your NMLS license each year, the Securities Division rechecks that your bond is on file at the correct tier for your latest volume.
What does an Indiana loan broker bond cost per year?
You pay a premium — a small percentage of the bond's face amount — not the full $50,000 to $75,000. For a well-qualified broker, premiums on a license bond of this type generally run about 1% to 3% of the bond amount per year, so a $50,000 bond commonly lands somewhere around $500 to $1,500 annually depending on the owners' personal credit and the company's financials. A $75,000 bond at the same rate bands scales up proportionally. Credit is the single biggest lever: strong personal credit earns the low end of the range, while weaker credit or a thin file pushes the rate higher. Rates are set by the underwriting carrier, so the only way to get your real number is a quote.

Indiana Regulators & Legal Citations

Loan Brokers — Securities Division

Agency: Indiana Secretary of State, Securities Division

Governs: Loan brokers who arrange residential mortgages

Bond Statute: IC 23-2.5-4-1 ($50K / $60K / $75K tiered)

Website: in.gov/sos/securities

First-Lien Lenders — DFI

Agency: Indiana Department of Financial Institutions (DFI)

Governs: Creditors funding first-lien mortgages

Authority: First Lien Mortgage Lending Act, IC 24-4.4

Bond Statute: IC 24-4.4-2-402.3 (separate DFI bond)

Visit Indiana DFI

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Eric Drummond, Licensed Surety Producer
Reviewed by
Eric Drummond, Licensed Surety Producer
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All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov). BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-listed surety carriers.

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General information, not legal or licensing advice. Indiana loan broker licensing and the surety bond are governed by IC 23-2.5, administered by the Secretary of State, Securities Division through NMLS; first-lien mortgage lending is governed separately by IC 24-4.4 through the Indiana DFI. Requirements change over time — confirm your license type, bond tier, and current rules with the appropriate regulator before filing.

Find Your Tier, Lock In Your Indiana Bond

From a first-time $50,000 entry filing to the $75,000 ceiling — and the DFI side too — we place the whole Indiana mortgage bond scale, NMLS-ready.

Securities Division & DFI filings · NMLS-formatted · All credit profiles considered

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