New York Mortgage Broker BondThree license types, three bond rules — $10K to $500K

For the mortgage broker registration, the bond scales with the number of New York loan applications you take — not the dollar volume. Under 3 NYCRR 410.14 the schedule is $10,000 (0–24 applications), $25,000 (25–99), $50,000 (100–299), $75,000 (300–599), and $100,000 (600 or more). This is different from the mortgage banker license (3 NYCRR 410.8), which scales with the aggregate principal amount of loans closed, and from the individual MLO bond (3 NYCRR 420.15), which scales with loans originated. Knowing which metric applies to you is the first thing to get right — picking the wrong one means buying the wrong bond amount.

They are two separate licenses with two separate bond regimes. A mortgage broker is registered under Banking Law §591-a and arranges loans without funding them — bond range $10,000 to $100,000 by application count. A mortgage banker is licensed under Banking Law §591 and makes (funds) loans — bond range $50,000 to $500,000 by aggregate principal of NY loans closed. If you both broker and fund loans, DFS expects the banker license, and the banker bond minimum of $50,000 applies even at low volume.

DFS sets your required bond from your annual Volume of Operations Report (VOOR). After you file the VOOR, the Superintendent recalculates the tier and any adjustment to your bond amount is made within 30 days. So your bond is not a fixed number you choose — it follows your prior-year New York production. A broker who jumps from 90 applications to 150 in a year moves from the $25,000 tier to the $50,000 tier at the next reassessment, and the surety will issue a rider for the increase.

Yes. The regulations let the Superintendent of Financial Services require a bond of twice the otherwise-scheduled amount if a registrant or licensee has engaged in a pattern of conduct producing bona fide consumer complaints of misconduct. So a broker who would normally sit at $25,000 could be directed to post $50,000. This is discretionary and tied to complaint history — clean operators never see it — but it is written into the rule and worth knowing before it surprises you at renewal.

You pay a premium, not the full bond face. For most New York mortgage bonds the premium runs about 1% to 3% of the bond amount per year for applicants with solid credit. A $10,000 broker bond commonly costs $100–$300/year; a $50,000 banker bond $500–$1,500/year. Lower credit pushes the rate higher (5%+), but it rarely blocks approval — strong financials, industry experience, and a clean DFS history offset a weaker score. See our /surety-bond-cost/ guide for the full rate-by-credit breakdown.

New York mortgage bonds are filed electronically through NMLS using the DFS-accepted bond form for your license type (the broker, banker, and MLO forms are distinct). After we issue the bond, you upload the electronic original to your NMLS account under the surety bond section, and DFS reviews it as part of your application or renewal. Individual MLOs whose employer maintains a sufficient company bond covering their origination may not need a separate personal bond — confirm coverage with your sponsoring entity before buying one.