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Last updated: General Texas credit access business bonds information — confirm current requirements with the licensing authority.
Payday & Title-Loan Storefronts · OCCC

Texas Credit Access Business BondIt's $10,000 Per Location — Not a Flat $25,000

Search this topic and half the results quote a flat $25,000 OCCC bond. That figure is real, but it isn't a bond — it's the minimum net assets a Texas credit access business must keep on hand per office under Fin. Code §393.611. The bond every CAB location actually files is $10,000 per location with the Secretary of State (§§393.302, 393.401, 393.403). A separate OCCC bond under §393.605 only applies if the commissioner specifically requires it.

We quote both bonds correctly on a single application and scale the math for however many storefronts you're bonding. Start a Texas CAB bond quote below, or see every Texas filing on the Texas surety bonds hub.

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Where the “$25,000 Bond” Figure Actually Comes From

$25,000 is a real number in Fin. Code Chapter 393 — it just isn't attached to a bond. Section 393.611 requires every CAB license holder to maintain net assets, used or readily available for the business, of not less than the lesser of $25,000 for each office or $2,500,000 in the aggregate. That's a balance-sheet test the OCCC checks — cash, receivables, or other assets you can show are available — not an instrument a surety company issues. Plenty of guides read “$25,000” next to “OCCC” and “credit access business” in the same statute and collapse it into a bond figure. It isn't one.

The bond obligation is a separate line in the code, sized differently, filed with a different office. Getting the two confused matters in practice: if you budget $25,000 for a bond premium, you'll be shocked that the real bond premium is a small fraction of that — and if you ignore the net-asset test because you think you already “covered it” with a bond, you can end up out of compliance on a requirement no surety company was ever going to solve for you.

Two Bonds, Two Regulators, and a Test That Isn't a Bond

A Texas CAB is legally a credit services organization, so it inherits the general CSO bond rule — and then Subchapter G, added specifically for CABs effective January 1, 2012, layers a second, OCCC-specific bond authority on top. Here's how the three pieces actually sort out:

In practice, almost every Texas CAB satisfies its bond obligation through the Subchapter E filing with the Secretary of State — the one condition on charging a fee at all. The Subchapter G bond is the exception, not the default: it surfaces when OCCC's underwriting on a specific application calls for extra security. Both are separate from, and don't substitute for, the §393.611 net-asset test.

The Real Numbers at 1, 3, and 10 Locations

Every figure below uses the $10,000-per-location building block from the statute, applied to the two bonds and to the separate net-asset test. Almost every operator only deals with the first row — the mandatory SOS bond — unless OCCC specifically invokes §393.605.

Where the caps actually bite

The $2,500,000 aggregate cap on the discretionary §393.605 bond isn't reached until 250 licensed locations ($10,000 × 250). The net-asset cap arrives much sooner — at 100 offices ($25,000 × 100). The Subchapter E bond that every CAB actually carries has no stated cap in the statute at all; it keeps scaling linearly as a chain adds stores.

One bond per location, not one blanket bond

The Secretary of State issues location-specific certificates (a $15 fee per additional location) and requires a separate Form 2802 bond or account for each address. Adding a fourth store means filing a fourth $10,000 instrument, not increasing one existing bond's penal sum.

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The Bond Every CAB Actually Needs

Section 393.302 makes the bond a precondition, not an option: a credit services organization “may charge or receive from a consumer valuable consideration before completely performing all the services” only if it has obtained a surety bond, or established a surety account, for each of its locations, in accordance with Subchapter E. Since a CAB collects its fee before the third-party lender's loan is even funded, this bond is effectively mandatory before day one of operation.

Who can collect on it

The bond runs in favor of the State of Texas for the benefit of any person damaged by the CAB's violation of Chapter 393. A consumer with a valid claim can recover actual damages, reasonable attorney's fees, and court costs against the bond under §393.503(a) — the same liability structure that applies to every credit services organization bonded under Subchapter E, CAB or not.

The Second Bond: When OCCC Requires More

Section 393.605 opens with a conditional clause most summaries drop: “If the commissioner requires, an applicant for a license under this subchapter shall file with the application a bond” in an amount satisfactory to the commissioner, capped at the lesser of $10,000 for the first license and $10,000 for each additional license, or $2,500,000. It is not automatic. OCCC invokes this authority when it “finds that this would serve the public interest,” per its own rule at 7 TAC §83.3002 — and when it does, the process has a hard deadline.

Official Texas Requirements

"If a bond is required, the commissioner will give written notice to the applicant. Should a bond not be submitted within 40 calendar days of the date of the commissioner's notice, any pending application may be denied."
Texas Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner (OCCC), 7 TAC §83.3002 • 7 TAC §83.3002 (implementing Tex. Fin. Code §393.605)

If the §393.605 bond ends up applying to your license, one thing works in your favor: §393.605(e) exempts you from also carrying the Subchapter E bond. You end up with one bond, filed with OCCC instead of the Secretary of State, sized on the same $10,000-per-license formula but capped in aggregate — a cap the Subchapter E bond doesn't have. The trade-off is that the trigger is entirely at OCCC's discretion, so you can't plan around it the way you can plan around the mandatory bond.

The Net-Asset Test Isn't a Bond — Treat It Like Working Capital

Section 393.611 requires a CAB license holder to maintain net assets used or readily available for use in conducting the business of each office, in an amount not less than the lesser of $25,000 for each office or $2,500,000 in the aggregate. No surety company issues this — it is verified against your own balance sheet, not a third-party instrument. A CAB with a fully paid bond and thin working capital can still be out of compliance on this section.

Why this trips up multi-location operators specifically

The net-asset requirement is per office, capped in aggregate at $2,500,000 — reached at 100 offices ($25,000 × 100). A CAB group opening its fourth or fifth location is often more likely to fall short here than on either bond, because growth capital tends to go into new leases and staffing rather than sitting available on the balance sheet the way the statute expects.

ALECS Is Gone: CAB Licensing Now Runs Through NMLS

For years, Texas CAB applications and renewals ran through OCCC's own ALECS licensing portal. That changed in 2026: the OCCC transitioned Credit Access Business licensing to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) over a window that ran March 16 through May 18, 2026. Since that window closed, every CAB licensing transaction — new applications, renewals, amendments, and additional-location filings — has to go through NMLS. If a guide or a checklist you find still tells you to log into ALECS to apply for a new CAB license, it's describing a system the OCCC has already retired.

First Location

Company License

Your first Texas CAB location is issued as an NMLS Company License. A company license has to exist before any branch license can be issued — the reverse order of the old ALECS model, where every location applied independently.

Additional Locations

Branch Licenses

Every additional storefront is licensed as a Branch License under the parent Company License. Functionally, each branch still needs its own bond coverage and net-asset support — the per-location math on this page doesn't change, only the paperwork that gets you there.

Practically, this matters for timing: if you're still budgeting for an ALECS filing fee schedule or workflow, expect it to look different in NMLS. New applicants create an NMLS account first; existing CABs that transitioned during the window should already have theirs. Either way, the bond and net-asset math on this page is unaffected by which portal you file through — the statute doesn't change because the software did.

What Actually Counts as a Credit Access Business

Section 393.601 defines a credit access business as a credit services organization that obtains for a consumer, or assists a consumer in obtaining, an extension of consumer credit in the form of a deferred presentment transaction (a payday loan) or a motor vehicle title loan. The CAB itself isn't the lender — an unaffiliated third party actually funds the loan — which is why Texas regulates these storefronts as credit services organizations rather than direct lenders, and why the bond backstops the CAB's fees and conduct rather than loan-loss exposure.

“Motor vehicle title loan” specifically means a loan secured by an unencumbered vehicle; it excludes retail installment contracts under Chapter 348 and any loan made to finance the vehicle's original purchase. A storefront doing only one of the two — payday advances only, or title loans only — is still a CAB under this definition; it doesn't need to do both to trigger the license.

What the CAB Bond Actually Costs

Because the penal sum on a single CAB location bond is small — $10,000 — the premium is small too. Surety pricing on a bond this size runs as a percentage of the penal sum, and credit history is the main lever underwriters use to set that percentage.

A 3-location CAB with good credit is typically looking at something in the range of $900–$1,500 a year across all three location bonds — not the thousands a reader might assume after seeing “$25,000” attached to this topic. Net assets aren't a premium at all; they're capital you already need to be running the business, which is part of why conflating the two figures leads new operators to over-budget on the wrong line item. For the general mechanics of how credit and bond amount translate into premium, see the surety bond cost guide.

Staying Compliant After the Bond Is Filed

License display

Section 393.610 requires the license to be displayed at the location it covers — one more reason each address needs its own license and its own bond, not a shared blanket covering the chain.

Quarterly reporting

Section 393.627 requires CABs to file quarterly reports of summary business information relating to their extensions of consumer credit, per rules OCCC adopts under §393.622.

Moving or adding a location

A new address means a new NMLS branch license, a new $10,000 Subchapter E bond (or coverage under the §393.605 bond if that's what applies to your license), and the net-asset math recalculated across every office.

Operating without a license

Section 393.623 prohibits providing or advertising CAB services without the license in place — which, given §393.302, functionally means without the underlying bond in place too.

From NMLS Application to a Bonded Location

1

Confirm your location count

The Subchapter E bond is priced and filed per location — know how many Texas storefronts you're licensing before you apply, since it sets both your bond total and your net-asset target.

2

Apply through NMLS

File your first location as a Company License; add every additional storefront as a Branch License under it. ALECS no longer accepts new CAB filings.

3

Bond each location

We place a $10,000 surety bond per address on Secretary of State Form 2802, matched to your NMLS filing. If OCCC separately notifies you that a §393.605 bond is required, that filing goes to OCCC instead, with a 40-day window to submit it.

4

File the bond with the Secretary of State

A copy of each executed bond is filed with the SOS per §393.401, and a location-specific certificate is issued for each address.

5

Document your net assets

Show the lesser of $25,000 per office or $2,500,000 in the aggregate is available — this isn't satisfied by the bond and has to be tracked separately as your location count grows.

Start the application

Related Texas & National Financial-Services Bond Resources

Texas Money Transmitter Bond

Another OCCC/Finance-Code-adjacent Texas financial bond — $100K flat or volume-based up to $2M, a different agency track from the CAB regime.

Texas Sales Tax Bond (Form 01-752)

The Comptroller's security bond program — same trust-tax logic, entirely different agency and statute from the OCCC/SOS bonds on this page.

Payday Lender Bonds (National)

How other states regulate payday and title lending, for CAB operators expanding beyond Texas.

Texas Surety Bonds (Hub)

Every Texas bond requirement with statutes — dealer, tax, alcohol, financial, and license bonds.

Surety Bond Cost Guide

How credit, bond amount, and industry combine to set your premium — the mechanics behind the cost table above.

Quote My CAB Bond

Tell us your location count and get the right per-location total — no flat $25,000 guesswork.

Texas Credit Access Business Bond FAQs

Do I really need a $25,000 bond to open a Texas CAB?

No — and this is the single most common mistake we see quoted online. $25,000 is not a bond figure at all; it is the minimum net assets a CAB must keep available for each office under Tex. Fin. Code §393.611, and it is a solvency test, not a surety instrument. The bond every Texas CAB location actually needs is $10,000 per location, filed with the Secretary of State under §§393.302, 393.401, and 393.403. A one-location storefront is looking at a $10,000 bond and $25,000 in net assets — two different requirements, two different numbers, and only one of them is a bond.

Why does the Finance Code have two different CAB bond sections?

Because there are two different bond regimes layered on top of each other. Every credit services organization — which a CAB legally is — must post the $10,000-per-location bond under Subchapter E (§393.401, §393.403) before it can charge or receive a fee, per §393.302. Subchapter G, added specifically for CABs effective January 1, 2012, gives the OCCC commissioner separate authority under §393.605 to require an additional bond as a condition of the CAB license, capped at the lesser of $10,000 per license or $2,500,000 in the aggregate. Critically, §393.605(e) says a CAB that files a bond under Subchapter G is not required to also carry the Subchapter E bond — so the two bonds are alternatives for a CAB, not a stacked total, but which one applies depends on whether OCCC has actually invoked its §393.605 authority.

Is ALECS still how I apply for a Texas CAB license?

No — this is stale as of 2026. The OCCC ran its transition of Credit Access Business licensing from ALECS to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) from March 16 through May 18, 2026. After that window closed, all CAB licensing transactions — new applications, renewals, amendments, and additional-location filings — moved to NMLS. Any guide that still walks you through an ALECS login screen for a new CAB application is describing a system the OCCC has already retired. Under NMLS, your first Texas CAB location is issued as a Company License, and every additional location is added as a Branch License under that company license, replacing the old model where ALECS treated each location as its own free-standing license.

Does the bond amount actually change if I open more locations?

Yes, and it scales differently depending on which bond you're looking at. The mandatory Subchapter E bond is $10,000 per location with no stated cap in the statute — 3 locations means $30,000 in aggregate penal sum (as three separate $10,000 instruments, per the Secretary of State's own filing practice), and 10 locations means $100,000, with no ceiling as you keep adding stores. The discretionary Subchapter G bond, if OCCC requires it, uses the same $10,000-per-license building block but is capped at $2,500,000 in aggregate — a cap the Subchapter E bond does not share. The net-asset requirement scales at $25,000 per office, capped separately at $2,500,000 once you hit 100 offices.

What happens if OCCC decides I need the extra §393.605 bond?

OCCC's own rule, 7 TAC §83.3002, spells out the mechanics: the commissioner may require the §393.605 bond if doing so serves the public interest, and if so, OCCC sends written notice to the applicant. You then have 40 calendar days from the date of that notice to file the bond — miss the window and any pending license application can be denied. This is not something every CAB encounters; it is a discretionary tool OCCC can use case by case, most often tied to something specific in an applicant's file rather than a blanket rule applied to every new license.

Can I use a certificate of deposit instead of a surety bond?

Yes, on both sides of the requirement. For the Subchapter E filing, §393.302 lets a CSO satisfy the requirement by establishing and maintaining a surety account in place of a bond for each location. For the Subchapter G filing, if OCCC requires the §393.605 bond, the statute likewise allows the amount to be deposited in a surety account held in trust at a federally insured bank or savings association located in Texas, instead of buying a bond from a surety company. The trade-off is the same one you'll find on any Texas security-bond program: a deposit ties up your own capital dollar-for-dollar, while a bond costs an annual premium and leaves the cash in your business.

Eric Drummond, Licensed Surety Producer
Reviewed by
Eric Drummond, Licensed Surety Producer
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Verification Methodology

The Subchapter E bond mechanics ($10,000 per location, filed with the Secretary of State on Form 2802) were verified against Tex. Fin. Code §§393.302, 393.401, and 393.403, and the Texas Secretary of State's Form 2800 series FAQ. The discretionary OCCC bond, its $10,000-per-license/$2.5M cap, and the Subchapter E exemption were verified against Tex. Fin. Code §393.605 and 7 TAC §83.3002. The $25,000-per-office net-asset requirement was verified against Tex. Fin. Code §393.611. The CAB definition (deferred presentment and motor vehicle title loan transactions) was verified against §393.601. The ALECS-to-NMLS transition dates (March 16–May 18, 2026) and the Company License / Branch License structure were verified against the OCCC Credit Access Businesses page and OCCC's published CAB NMLS transition notice. License display (§393.610) and quarterly reporting (§393.627, rulemaking under §393.622) round out the ongoing-compliance picture. Premium figures are indicative market ranges, non-binding until a carrier issues a quote. General information, not legal advice. Bonds are placed only with sureties authorized in Texas.

The Right Bond Total, No Flat-Rate Guessing

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