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

Minnesota Surety BondsRequirements, Costs & Instant Quotes

In Minnesota the surety bond you need is defined by the agency that licenses you. The most commonly required are the $50,000 auto dealer bond filed with Driver and Vehicle Services (Minn. Stat. 168.27), the $125,000-and-up residential mortgage bond filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce (Minn. Stat. 58.08), the $25,000 mechanical contractor bond filed with the Department of Labor and Industry, and bonded vehicle titles set at 1.5x a vehicle's value. Premiums for qualified applicants generally run 1-3% of the bond amount, and most license bonds are submitted same-day. What makes Minnesota unusual is that its largest licensed group -- residential building contractors -- posts no bond at all, because a state-run Recovery Fund does the job a bond would elsewhere.

Every fixed-dollar figure below is tied to a Minnesota statute or the issuing agency (Commerce, DPS-DVS, DLI, or the Secretary of State). New to bonding? Start with our what is a surety bond primer, then price any obligation with the surety bond cost guide.

4
Bonding Agencies
$50K
Dealer Bond
1-3%
Typical Premium
Same Day
Submission
Commerce / DVS / DLI accepted forms
All credit reviewed
Statewide filing

Get Your Minnesota Bond

Dealer, mortgage, mechanical, bonded title, freight and court bonds

Quick answer
The common Minnesota bonds are the $50,000 auto dealer bond, the $125,000-and-up residential mortgage bond and the $25,000 mechanical contractor bond. Residential building contractors post no bond because a state Recovery Fund covers that role. The surety sets approval and price.
  • Who requires it: Driver and Vehicle Services (Minn. Stat. 168.27), the Department of Commerce (Minn. Stat. 58.08) and the Department of Labor and Industry.
  • Amount: $50,000 dealer, $125,000 and up mortgage, $25,000 mechanical contractor. Bonded titles are 1.5x vehicle value.
  • Typical cost (estimate): about 1-3% of the bond amount for qualified applicants. The surety sets the final price.
  • Timing: Same-day submission; most quotes within one business day.
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What trips up out-of-state contractors

Minnesota replaced the contractor bond with a Recovery Fund

In most states, a residential builder cannot pull a license without posting a surety bond. Minnesota took a different route. The Department of Labor and Industry licenses residential building contractors and remodelers, but consumer protection runs through the Contractor Recovery Fund rather than an individual bond. Every licensee pays into the fund based on gross annual receipts, and homeowners harmed by fraudulent, deceptive, or dishonest work file against the fund -- not against a bond you had to buy.

There is exactly one moment a surety bond appears in this system: if the fund pays a claim tied to your license, DLI will not reinstate you until you file a surety bond of at least $40,000. In other words, the bond is a consequence of a paid claim, not a cost of entry. If you are researching the licensed-contractor path, our Minnesota contractor license bond guide walks through where a bond does and does not apply.

Bond vs. Recovery Fund at a glance

  • Routine licensure: residential building contractors and remodelers pay into the Recovery Fund. No surety bond is filed to hold the license.
  • After a paid claim: a $40,000 surety bond is required before DLI reinstates the license.
  • Licensed trades are different: mechanical and plumbing contractors still file real DLI bonds regardless of the Recovery Fund.

Source: Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, residential contractor licensing and Contractor Recovery Fund program.

Who actually posts a bond in Minnesota -- and how much

Minnesota's bond amounts do not line up on a single scale. They range from nothing (Recovery Fund) to six figures (mortgage), depending entirely on which license you hold. Here is the real spread.

Official Minnesota Requirements

"Motor vehicle dealers must maintain a surety bond of $50,000 filed with the Department of Public Safety, conditioned upon faithful performance of the dealer's statutory duties."
Minnesota Department of Public Safety -- Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS) • Minn. Stat. § 168.27

Minnesota bonds grouped by the agency that holds them

Filing the right form with the right agency matters more in Minnesota than in states with a single licensing board. These are the four agencies you will deal with, and the in-state bond pages for each.

DPS — Driver & Vehicle Services

Dealers & titles
  • Auto Dealer Bond — $50,000 (Minn. Stat. 168.27). New, used, and wholesale dealers.
  • DSB Dealer — $5,000. Motorized bicycle, boat trailer, and snowmobile trailer sellers only.
  • Bonded Title — 1.5x vehicle value (Minn. Stat. 168A.07), held 3 years.
Minnesota Dealer Bonds

Department of Commerce

Mortgage & financial
  • Mortgage Originator — $125,000+ (Minn. Stat. 58.08). Scales with prior-year closed-loan volume.
  • Covers borrower losses plus fines and fees levied by the commissioner. Renewed with proof of continued coverage.
  • Commerce also administers debt-management, currency-exchange, and other financial services bonds.
Minnesota Mortgage Bonds

Labor & Industry (DLI)

Contractors & trades
  • Residential Building Contractor — no bond. Covered by the Contractor Recovery Fund ($40,000 bond only after a paid claim).
  • Mechanical Contractor — $25,000. Gas, heating, ventilation, cooling, and refrigeration. $100 fee, 2-year filing.
  • Plumbing Contractor — surety bond required on the DLI-approved form.
Minnesota Contractor Bonds

Secretary of State

Notaries
  • Notary Bond — not required. Minnesota does not mandate a notary surety bond to hold a commission.
  • Bonding and E&O coverage are optional — often requested by an employer or title company, not the state.
Minnesota Notary Details

Federal (FMCSA)

Interstate freight
  • Freight Broker Bond — $75,000 (BMC-84). Federal, not set by Minnesota, but filed by MN-based brokers.
  • Required for property brokers and freight forwarders under FMCSA before authority is granted.
Minnesota Freight Broker Bonds

Minnesota District Courts

Fiduciary & probate
  • Probate / Fiduciary Bond — amount set by the judge based on estate value; no fixed multiplier.
  • Personal representatives and guardians file when the court orders a bond in an estate or conservatorship.
Minnesota Probate Bonds

Not sure which Minnesota bond your license needs?

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The mortgage bond that grows with your loan volume

The single largest surety obligation most Minnesota businesses will encounter is the residential mortgage originator bond. Under Minn. Stat. 58.08, an applicant files a bond of at least $125,000 with the Department of Commerce, and the bond covers not just borrower losses but the fines and fees the commissioner can levy under the mortgage chapter.

The number does not stay put. After filing the annual mortgage call report, a licensee must maintain or increase the bond to reflect the total dollar amount of closed residential mortgage loans originated in Minnesota the prior year, following the statutory table. A licensee whose volume drops may reduce the bond accordingly at renewal. The bond travels with the license -- evidence of continued coverage is submitted every renewal cycle.

Because the amount is large but the applicant is a regulated financial business, underwriting looks closely at company financials and personal credit. See the Minnesota mortgage broker bond page for how the volume tiers and renewals work in practice.

How the mortgage bond behaves

Floor: $125,000
The statutory minimum every residential mortgage originator files, regardless of size.
Scales up by volume
Prior-year closed-loan dollars set the required amount per the Minn. Stat. 58.08 table, adjusted after each mortgage call report.
Covers more than defaults
Recovery of borrower losses plus commissioner-levied fines and fees under the mortgage chapter.
Renewed continuously
Proof of continued coverage accompanies every license renewal.

Bonded titles: the small bond most Minnesotans actually buy

Far more Minnesota drivers need a bonded title than ever need a dealer or mortgage bond. If you own a vehicle but cannot produce a properly assigned title, DVS lets you title it with a surety bond instead.

1.5×
Bond = 1.5x value

DVS determines the vehicle's value; your bond is one and a half times that figure under Minn. Stat. 168A.07.

3 yrs
Held & branded

DVS holds the bond for three years and brands the certificate of title “BONDED” during that window.

Clean
Brand removed

If no ownership claim is filed in three years, the brand is dropped and a clean title issues.

Because the bond is a multiple of value, a modest vehicle can be bonded for very little. Start on the Minnesota bonded title page.

What a Minnesota bond actually costs

You do not pay the face amount of a bond -- you pay an annual premium, a percentage of it, set mostly by personal credit. Using the $50,000 auto dealer bond as the example, here is how the premium moves with your credit profile. The same 1-3% strong-credit logic applies to the mechanical contractor and other fixed-dollar license bonds.

Smaller fixed-dollar bonds cost proportionally less: a $25,000 mechanical contractor bond or a low-value bonded title often runs well under a few hundred dollars for strong-credit applicants. Compare obligations on the surety bond cost guide, or price your specific file on the quote page.

A word on Minnesota notaries: no bond is required

Plenty of national bond sites will try to sell you a “Minnesota notary bond.” The state does not require one. Notaries are commissioned by the Secretary of State, and a surety bond or errors-and-omissions policy is entirely optional. The most common reason a Minnesota notary carries a bond is that an employer, signing service, or title company asks for it as a condition of work -- not because the commission depends on it.

If you do need to satisfy an employer's request, we can place a notary bond quickly. If you are simply getting commissioned, you can skip it. Either way, the honest answer is on the Minnesota notary bond page.

Minnesota Surety Bond Questions

Recovery Fund, dealer bonds, mortgage scaling, bonded titles, and notary reality

Do residential building contractors in Minnesota need a surety bond?
No -- and this surprises most contractors moving here from other states. Minnesota licenses residential building contractors and remodelers through the Department of Labor and Industry (DLI), but instead of requiring each licensee to post a surety bond, the state runs a Contractor Recovery Fund. Every licensee pays into the fund based on gross annual receipts, and the fund reimburses homeowners who lose money to fraudulent, deceptive, or dishonest work. A surety bond only re-enters the picture in one situation: if the Recovery Fund pays a claim on your behalf, DLI requires you to file a surety bond of at least $40,000 before your license can be reinstated. So the bond is a penalty-recovery mechanism here, not a routine cost of licensure.
How much is the Minnesota auto dealer bond and who holds it?
Licensed Minnesota motor vehicle dealers file a $50,000 surety bond with the Department of Public Safety Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS) under Minn. Stat. 168.27. The bond protects buyers and the state against title fraud, odometer violations, and unpaid taxes or fees. There is one lower tier: DSB dealers -- those selling only motorized bicycles, boat trailers, or snowmobile trailers -- file a $5,000 bond instead. Premiums for well-qualified applicants typically run 1-3% of the bond amount, so a $50,000 dealer bond commonly costs a few hundred dollars a year.
Why is the Minnesota mortgage bond so much larger than most license bonds?
Because it scales with how much you lend. Under Minn. Stat. 58.08, a residential mortgage originator files a surety bond of at least $125,000 with the Minnesota Department of Commerce, and that figure increases with the total dollar amount of closed residential mortgage loans originated in Minnesota the prior year. The bond covers borrower losses, plus fines and fees the commissioner may levy. Evidence of continued coverage must be submitted with each renewal, and after filing the annual mortgage call report a licensee adjusts the bond up or down to match the statutory table for their volume.
Does Minnesota require notaries to buy a surety bond?
No. Minnesota is one of the states that does not mandate a notary surety bond. Notaries are commissioned through the Secretary of State, and bonding or errors-and-omissions (E&O) coverage is optional -- often a choice left to an employer, title company, or the notary's own risk tolerance. If a Minnesota employer or signing service asks you to carry a notary bond as a condition of the job, we can place one, but the state itself does not require it to hold a commission.
What is a Minnesota bonded title and how big does the bond need to be?
If you own a vehicle in Minnesota but cannot prove ownership with a properly assigned title, DVS lets you apply for a bonded certificate of title. DVS determines the vehicle's value, and you purchase a surety bond equal to one and a half times that value under Minn. Stat. 168A.07. DVS holds the bond for three years and brands the title "BONDED." If no ownership claims are filed during those three years, the brand is removed and a clean title is issued. Because the bond is a multiple of value, a low-value vehicle can be bonded for very little.
Which Minnesota trades still require a contractor bond even though residential builders don't?
The licensed mechanical and plumbing trades. A mechanical contractor -- gas, heating, ventilation, cooling, air conditioning, fuel-burning, or refrigeration work -- must file a $25,000 bond with DLI on the approved form, with a $100 filing fee, valid for two years. Licensed plumbing contractors also carry a surety bond with DLI. These trade bonds sit alongside, not inside, the residential building contractor Recovery Fund system, so a company holding both a building contractor license and a mechanical license deals with both structures at once.
Can I get a Minnesota surety bond with weak credit?
Usually yes. License and permit bonds like the auto dealer and mechanical contractor bonds are written by carriers that price by risk, so applicants with lower credit scores can still be approved -- typically at a higher rate, in the 3-10% range of the bond amount rather than the 1-3% strong-credit applicants pay. Bonded titles and smaller fixed-dollar bonds are among the easiest to place. We work with multiple sureties specifically so higher-risk files still get a real quote instead of a decline.

Official Minnesota Resources

Government sources for Minnesota bond requirements

DPS Driver & Vehicle Services — Dealer Licensing & $50,000 Bond

Official dealer bond amount, forms, and DSB trailer-dealer tier

DLI — Residential Contractor & Recovery Fund

How the Contractor Recovery Fund replaces routine bonding and the $40,000 reinstatement bond

DLI — Mechanical Contractor Bond ($25,000)

Trade bond amount, $100 filing fee, and two-year validity

Minn. Stat. § 58.08 — Mortgage Originator Surety Bond

$125,000 minimum and the volume-based adjustment table (Department of Commerce)

Minn. Stat. § 168A.07 — Bonded Certificate of Title

The 1.5x-value bond, three-year hold, and title brand rules

Minnesota Secretary of State — Notary Laws

Commission requirements confirming no mandatory notary surety bond

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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Verification Methodology

Bond amounts and statute citations on this page were verified against Minnesota statutes at revisor.mn.gov (168.27, 168A.07, 58.08) and the issuing agency websites -- the Department of Public Safety Driver and Vehicle Services, the Department of Labor and Industry, the Department of Commerce, and the Secretary of State. The mechanical contractor bond amount, filing fee, and two-year validity reflect current DLI guidance. Mortgage bond amounts scale by loan volume under the Minn. Stat. 58.08 table; the $125,000 figure is the statutory floor. Where Minnesota does not require a bond -- residential building contractors (Recovery Fund) and notaries -- this page says so plainly rather than marketing an unnecessary product. Last verified August 5, 2026. Found a discrepancy with current statute? Contact us and we will correct it.

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Other Minnesota Bonds

Additional surety bonds available in Minnesota

Minnesota Contractor License Bond

Contractor licensing

Minnesota Auto Dealer Bond

DMV dealer licensing

Minnesota Mortgage Broker Bond

NMLS mortgage licensing

Minnesota Probate Bond

Executors, administrators & guardians

Minnesota Freight Broker Bond

FMCSA broker authority

More Minnesota bond requirements

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Dealer, mortgage, mechanical, bonded title, freight, and court bonds -- filed with the right agency, priced honestly, most submitted same day.

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