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Last updated: General Kansas surety bond information — confirm current requirements with the licensing authority.
Kansas Surety Bonds

Kansas Surety BondsRequirements, Costs & Fast Quotes

The surety bond you need in Kansas depends on the license, permit, or court order behind it. The bonds requested most often are the $50,000 vehicle dealer bond (K.S.A. 8-2404, filed with the Kansas Department of Revenue), the $12,000 notary bond (K.S.A. 53-5a22, Secretary of State), the $75,000 federal freight broker bond, district-court probate and guardianship bonds, and city-issued contractor license bonds. Surety carriers and producers writing these bonds must be authorized by the Kansas Insurance Department; the individual bond forms are filed with whichever agency, city, or court requires them. For qualified applicants, the annual premium runs roughly 1–3% of the bond amount, and most license and notary bonds are approved the same day.

Two things make Kansas distinct: it raised two of its most-requested bond amounts in 2022 (dealer and notary), and it has no statewide contractor license — construction bonding is a home-rule, city-by-city patchwork. Both are covered below. To price a specific obligation, use the surety bond cost guide, and if you are new to how a bond works, start with what is a surety bond.

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Dealer, notary, contractor, freight, probate, and every other Kansas bond type

$50,000
Auto Dealer (K.S.A. 8-2404)
$12,000
Notary (K.S.A. 53-5a22)
$75,000
Freight Broker (BMC-84)
125%
Probate floor (K.S.A. 59-1101)
$1K–$5K
Municipal contractor bonds

Official Kansas Requirements

"Every applicant for a vehicle dealer license shall furnish a surety bond in the sum of $50,000 executed by the applicant and a corporate surety authorized to do business in this state."
Kansas Department of Revenue, Division of Vehicles • K.S.A. 8-2404
What changed recently

Kansas Reset Two of Its Biggest Bonds in 2022

If you priced a Kansas bond before 2022 or are reading an older directory, two of the amounts you remember are wrong. The Legislature raised the vehicle dealer bond and, through RULONA, the notary bond in the same window. Both changes are baked into the numbers on this page — here is what moved.

The higher penalty applies to every dealer classification under the statute — new, used, wholesale, salvage, and auction. The premium you pay is a small percentage of the $50,000, so the practical annual cost increase over the old bond is modest. Full walkthrough on our Kansas auto dealer bond page, including the Form D-30 filing steps.

Notary Bond: $7,500 → $12,000

RULONA via SB 106 (2022)

Kansas adopted the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, and the bond rose to $12,000 under K.S.A. 53-5a22, filed with the Secretary of State. The same law made three other changes notaries miss:

  • Mandatory journal — a bound, tamper-evident record of every notarial act.
  • Remote online notarization (RON) formally authorized with an approved technology vendor.
  • Four-year term unchanged; no credit check, instant issue.
Kansas Notary Bond details

Kansas Bonds by the Agency That Requires Them

Kansas does not run its bonds through one central office. The obligee — the party you file with — tells you which rules apply. Grouped by regulator, here are the bonds Kansans request most, each linking to its full requirements page.

Department of Revenue

Division of Vehicles & Tax
  • Vehicle Dealer — $50,000 (K.S.A. 8-2404, Form D-30). New, used, wholesale, salvage, auction.
  • Nonresident Contractor — 8% of contract (K.S.A. 79-1008). Secures Kansas sales/use tax on out-of-state jobs.
Kansas Auto Dealer Bonds

Secretary of State

Notarial acts
  • Notary Public — $12,000 (K.S.A. 53-5a22). Four-year term, mandatory journal, no credit check.
  • RON authorization — remote online notarization under the 2022 RULONA framework with an approved vendor.
Kansas Notary Bonds

District Courts

Probate & fiduciary
  • Executor / Administrator — court-set at 125% of personal property (K.S.A. 59-1101).
  • Conservator / Guardian — same 125% formula on managed assets; can be waived by will or heir consent.
Kansas Probate Bonds

Transportation

FMCSA & Kansas Corp. Commission
  • Freight Broker — $75,000 (BMC-84, 49 U.S.C. §13906). Federal, not Kansas-specific.
  • Intrastate carrier authority — Kansas-only operations answer to the KCC under K.S.A. 66-1,108.
Kansas Freight Broker Bonds

Cities & Counties

Home-rule construction bonds
  • Contractor License — $1K–$5K set by each city (Wichita, Overland Park, Topeka, KCK).
  • Public-works payment bond — 100% of contract on jobs over $100,000 (K.S.A. 60-1111).
Kansas Contractor Bonds

Vehicle Titling

The Kansas exception
Kansas Title Route

Kansas Contractor Bonding Is a Home-Rule Patchwork

Kansas has no statewide general contractor license and no single statewide contractor bond. Under home rule, each city sets its own licensing and bonding, so the same builder can face different amounts in Wichita, Overland Park, Topeka, and Kansas City, KS. Two statewide obligations sit alongside those local bonds — they do not replace your city license bond.

Municipal license bond

Commonly $1,000–$5,000 depending on the city and trade. Filed with the local building or licensing office as a condition of your contractor registration. This is the bond most Kansas contractors actually post.

Set by city ordinance (home rule)

Nonresident tax bond

Out-of-state contractors register with the Department of Revenue and post a bond scaled to 8% of the Kansas contract. It secures sales and use tax on materials, not workmanship, and must be in place before work starts.

K.S.A. 79-1008

Public-works payment bond

On government contracts over $100,000, the contractor posts a payment bond equal to 100% of the contract to protect subcontractors and material suppliers. Recorded with the clerk of the district court.

K.S.A. 60-1111

Before you bid a Kansas job: confirm the city license bond with the local building office, and if you are out of state, register the K.S.A. 79-1008 bond first — the project owner can withhold payment until it is on file. Need both plus a public-works payment bond on the same job? Request a single Kansas contractor quote and we place them together.

What a Kansas Bond Actually Costs

You do not pay the face amount of the bond — you pay an annual premium that is a percentage of it, set mostly by your credit and the bond type. Notary bonds are a flat, credit-free fee. Credit-reviewed bonds like the $50,000 dealer bond price on the tiers below. For a full breakdown across bond types, see the surety bond cost guide.

Flat-fee bonds

The $12,000 notary bond and small municipal contractor bonds are priced as a flat fee, not credit-tiered — often under $100 for the full term.

Court & probate bonds

Fiduciary bonds price on the estate size and the fiduciary’s credit; larger estates or weak credit may require collateral.

Percentage-of-contract bonds

The nonresident 8% bond and 100% public-works payment bond scale with contract size, so premium moves with the job.

Know which Kansas bond you need?

Tell us the bond and the obligee — city, court, Revenue, or Secretary of State — and we match a Kansas-authorized surety, usually the same day.

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Three Kansas Rules That Surprise Out-of-State Filers

Most bond mistakes in Kansas come from assuming it works like a neighboring state. It does not. These three quirks account for the majority of the questions our Kansas desk fields.

No bonded title

States on every Kansas border let you title a vehicle with a surety-bonded title. Kansas does not. The Division of Vehicles routes you through an MVE-1 inspection and, when ownership is disputed or paperwork is missing, a quiet title action under K.S.A. 60-1002. The thing you need is usually a court filing, not a bond.

The Kansas title route

The 125% probate floor

Kansas does not use a flat probate bond amount. K.S.A. 59-1101 sets the bond at a floor of 125% of the estate’s personal property plus a year of income, applied estate by estate. A will can waive it, and courts often reduce it when heirs consent or assets sit in a restricted account.

Probate bond formula

Home rule, not a state board

There is no Kansas contractor licensing board issuing one statewide bond. Cities do it. A contractor who wants to work statewide may register — and bond — in a dozen jurisdictions with a dozen different amounts. Plan the bonds around the cities you actually pull permits in.

City-by-city bonding

Kansas Surety Bond Questions

The 2022 increases, home-rule contractor bonding, the nonresident tax bond, and the Kansas title exception

Why did the Kansas auto dealer bond jump to $50,000?
The Kansas vehicle dealer bond rose from $30,000 to $50,000 under K.S.A. 8-2404, filed with the Kansas Department of Revenue (Division of Vehicles) on Form D-30. The increase applies to every dealer classification the statute covers — new, used, wholesale, salvage, and auction. The higher amount does not mean a higher premium in the same proportion: because dealer bonds are priced as a small percentage of the bond penalty, a well-qualified dealer typically pays 1–3% of the $50,000, and the annual premium change from the old $30,000 bond is modest. See our full Kansas auto dealer bond page for the Form D-30 filing walkthrough.
Does Kansas have a statewide contractor license or bond?
No. Kansas is a strong home-rule state, and there is no statewide general contractor license or single statewide contractor bond. Construction licensing and bonding are handled at the city and county level, so a general contractor working in Wichita, Overland Park, Topeka, and Kansas City, KS may face four different bond amounts — commonly $1,000 to $5,000 depending on the trade and jurisdiction. Two statewide bond obligations do exist alongside the local ones: the nonresident contractor tax bond under K.S.A. 79-1008 and the public-works payment bond under K.S.A. 60-1111. Neither replaces the municipal license bond your city requires.
What is the Kansas nonresident contractor bond and who needs it?
Out-of-state contractors taking Kansas jobs must register with the Kansas Department of Revenue and post a bond tied to the contract’s tax exposure — commonly calculated at 8% of the total Kansas contract price under K.S.A. 79-1008. It secures the sales and use tax the contractor will owe on materials and equipment used in Kansas, not the quality of the work. A resident Kansas contractor does not post this bond. Because the amount scales with contract size, a large project can produce a sizable bond, and the registration must be in place before work begins to avoid withholding by the project owner.
How much did the Kansas notary bond change under RULONA?
Kansas adopted the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (RULONA) through SB 106 in 2022, raising the notary bond from $7,500 to $12,000 under K.S.A. 53-5a22 and filed with the Kansas Secretary of State. The same modernization made a bound, tamper-evident journal mandatory for every notarial act and formally authorized remote online notarization (RON) with an approved technology vendor. The commission term remains four years. A notary bond requires no credit check and is issued instantly — the bond protects the public, not the notary, so a claim paid out must be reimbursed by the notary.
How are Kansas probate bond amounts set?
Kansas district courts set fiduciary (probate) bonds under K.S.A. 59-1101, which directs the bond to be at least 125% of the value of the estate’s personal property plus one year’s anticipated income. A will can waive the bond, and a court can reduce or waive it when all heirs consent or when estate assets are restricted to a court-supervised account. Because the 125% floor is applied to the specific estate, there is no flat Kansas probate bond amount — a $180,000 personal-property estate points toward a bond in the $225,000 range. Executors, administrators, conservators, and guardians all draw from the same statutory formula.
Does Kansas issue a traditional bonded vehicle title?
No — and this trips up owners moving from states that do. Kansas does not offer the surety-bonded title that many states use to title a vehicle with missing paperwork. Instead the Division of Vehicles routes owners through an MVE-1 inspection and, where ownership must be established, a quiet title action in district court under K.S.A. 60-1002. That means the instrument you actually need in Kansas is usually a court process rather than a title bond, which is why our Kansas vehicle-title page walks through the MVE-1 and quiet-title route rather than selling a bond that Kansas will not accept.
What is the Kansas freight broker bond and is it a state requirement?
The $75,000 freight broker bond (Form BMC-84) is a federal FMCSA requirement under 49 U.S.C. §13906, not a Kansas-specific one — every property broker and freight forwarder in the country posts it regardless of state. Kansas layers its own intrastate authority on top: motor carriers and brokers operating solely within Kansas answer to the Kansas Corporation Commission under K.S.A. 66-1,108. If you broker interstate loads out of a Kansas office, the federal $75,000 bond is the one that lets you operate, and it can be issued in about a day for well-qualified applicants.
Can I get a Kansas surety bond with poor credit?
Yes. Notary bonds require no credit check at all and are approved instantly. For credit-reviewed bonds — auto dealer, larger license bonds, and court bonds — applicants with scores below 600 can still be placed through specialty carriers, generally at 5–10% of the bond amount annually rather than the 1–3% strong-credit applicants pay. Court and fiduciary bonds may require collateral when credit is weak. Because Kansas surety carriers must be authorized by the Kansas Insurance Department, we place every bond with a licensed, admitted surety.

Official Kansas Resources

Primary sources for Kansas bond statutes, filings, and carrier authorization

Kansas Department of Revenue — Dealer Licensing

$50,000 vehicle dealer bond (K.S.A. 8-2404), Form D-30, and dealer classifications

Kansas Secretary of State — Notary Commissions

$12,000 notary bond (K.S.A. 53-5a22), RULONA journal rules, and RON authorization

Kansas Insurance Department

Authorization and licensing of the surety carriers and producers that write Kansas bonds

Kansas Corporation Commission — Transportation

Intrastate motor carrier and broker authority under K.S.A. 66-1,108

FMCSA — Broker Authority (BMC-84)

Federal $75,000 freight broker bond required nationwide under 49 U.S.C. §13906

Methodology: Kansas bond amounts and statute citations on this page reflect current Kansas Statutes Annotated (K.S.A.) text and the issuing Kansas agency’s guidance, including the 2022 dealer-bond increase (K.S.A. 8-2404) and the RULONA notary changes (K.S.A. 53-5a22). Items shown as court-set, agency-set, or percentage-of-contract are correctly variable under the governing statute. Producer Eric Drummond, Mainline Holdings LLC d/b/a BuySuretyBonds.com. Where a specific figure could not be confirmed against a primary source, we describe the requirement generally rather than state a number.

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) and verified before publication. BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-certified, A-minimum rated surety carriers serving all 50 states.

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Other Kansas Bonds

Additional surety bonds available in Kansas

Kansas Notary Bond

Notary public bond

Kansas Contractor License Bond

Contractor licensing

Kansas Auto Dealer Bond

DMV dealer licensing

Kansas Performance Bond

Construction & service contracts

Nearby States

Surety bonds in neighboring states

Colorado Surety Bond

Colorado requirements, statute, and bond amount

Get Your Kansas Surety Bond

Dealer, notary, freight, probate, and municipal contractor bonds — placed with Kansas Insurance Department–authorized sureties, most approved the same day.

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