Texas Title Agent Bond
A Texas title insurance agent or direct operation bond is the greater of $10,000 or 10% of the agency's gross title premium written, capped at $100,000 — filed with the Texas Department of Insurance on form FINT122 under Tex. Ins. Code §2651.101. A brand-new shop bonds at the $10,000 floor; an agency writing real premium volume owes more, and the cap only kicks in once gross premium clears $1 million.
That formula is where most write-ups stop — and where the confusion starts, because Texas title agencies also carry a second, differently-sized bond for escrow officers. Below: the three TDI instruments untangled in one table, the exact worked math on your bond number, and the FINT143 license checklist most guides skip.
- Who requires it: Texas title insurance agents and direct operations licensed by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI). Escrow officers carry a separate FINT123 bond.
- Amount: The greater of $10,000 or 10% of gross title premium written, capped at $100,000 (for example $60,000 on $600,000 of premium). The escrow officer bond is $5,000-$10,000 per officer, up to a $50,000 aggregate.
- Typical cost (estimate): roughly 0.5%-3% of the bond amount per year, for example roughly $75-$300 a year on a $10,000 bond and $450-$1,800 on a $60,000 bond. The surety sets the final price.
- Timing: Same-day submission; most quotes within one business day.
Three TDI instruments, three different jobs — decoded in one table
A Texas title operation can end up juggling the agency bond, the escrow officer bond, and an E&O policy — and treating them as interchangeable is the single most common mistake we see on Texas filings. They are not substitutes; each one answers for a different actor and a different kind of loss:
FINT122 vs. FINT123 vs. E&O — who posts what, and why
The three financial-security instruments a Texas title-and-escrow operation may need
| TDI Form | What It Secures | Who Posts It | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| FINT122 | The agency's or direct operation's own licensing obligations — fraud, dishonesty, theft, embezzlement, willful misapplication, or receivership expense | The title insurance agent or direct operation (the business) | Greater of $10,000 or 10% of gross premium, capped at $100,000 |
| FINT123 | The conduct of individual escrow officers handling closings and disbursements | The sponsoring agency, on behalf of every officer on its schedule | $5,000-$10,000 per officer, capped at $50,000 aggregate |
| E&O policy | Professional-negligence claims against the agency — not a TDI bonding requirement | The agency, as a business decision or underwriter condition | No statutory Texas minimum (Florida requires $250,000; Texas does not) |
Tex. Ins. Code §2651.101 (FINT122); Tex. Ins. Code §2652.103 (FINT123); Fla. Stat. §626.8419 cited for contrast only — Texas has no equivalent E&O statute
The practical rule: if your agency only handles title search and issues policies with no escrow function, FINT122 alone may cover you. The moment you employ a licensed escrow officer to close and disburse funds, you also need FINT123 — sized entirely differently, on a per-officer basis. Full mechanics of that second bond, including how it moves when an officer changes agencies mid-term, are on our Texas escrow agent bond page.
The formula behind your bond number
Unlike a flat license bond, the FINT122 amount is a function of your own revenue. TDI takes the higher of a fixed floor and a percentage of what you actually wrote, then stops the climb at a fixed ceiling:
Texas FINT122 Bond Amount
Tex. Ins. Code §2651.101; Title Insurance Basic Manual, Section VI, Rule L-3
Official Texas Requirements
"The bond amount must be an amount that is the greater of $10,000 or an amount equal to 10 percent of the gross premium written by the title insurance agent or direct operation according to the agent's or operation's latest statistical report filed with the department, except that the amount of the bond may not exceed $100,000."Texas Department of Insurance — Title Insurance Basic Manual, Section VI • Tex. Ins. Code §2651.101
The premium figure comes from the statistical report already on file with TDI — not a forward-looking estimate. That is why a fast-growing agency can find itself under-bonded between reports: the number only moves when a new report lands, not the moment revenue climbs. For how the surety premium itself (not the bond amount) is priced, see how surety bond cost works.
Know your gross premium band?
Tell us where it falls and we'll size the FINT122 bond and file it with TDI.
The FINT143 license file — five pieces, not just the bond
The bond is one line item in a larger application. Most agencies stall on the unencumbered-assets certification or the ownership chart, not the bond itself — plan the file in this order:
File FINT143 with TDI
The Application for Title Insurance Agent or Direct Operation License, submitted with a $50 nonrefundable, nontransferable fee. This is the parent application everything else attaches to.
Submit biographical forms for every controlling person
Form FINT08 covers sole proprietors, partners in control, and every officer, director, or manager — plus a full ownership chart up to the ultimate controlling party.
Prove unencumbered assets
Form T-S1 certifies the agency's unencumbered assets exceed its liabilities, referencing Section VI of the Title Insurance Basic Manual, backed by a CPA financial statement dated within 60 days.
Post the FINT122 bond
File the surety bond (or the §2651.102 cash/LOC/securities alternative) sized to the greater of $10,000 or 10% of gross premium, capped at $100,000, payable to TDI.
Register underwriter and county appointments
Form FINT10 registers your title insurance company appointment and the counties you operate in — the first appointment is included with the application; each additional one is $16.
Checklist verified against TDI's title license application documents page and the official FINT122 bond form. Fees and forms change — confirm current versions before filing.
Agent vs. direct operation — and why counties don't change your bond
Title insurance agent
Appointed by an underwriter to sell that company's policies. Most Texas title shops operate this way. The FINT122 bond and the §2651.101 formula apply identically whether you are an agent or a direct operation — the label changes the appointment structure, not the bond math.
Counties are licensed, not bonded, separately
A direct operation needs its own TDI license for every county where it owns or leases an abstract plant, and each additional underwriter/county appointment on form FINT10 costs $16. None of that multiplies your bond — one FINT122 bond covers the whole license regardless of county count.
What the FINT122 bond actually pays for
The bond language is specific to the agency's own conduct and licensing status — it is narrower than a general business-liability guarantee:
Fraud, dishonesty, theft, embezzlement, or willful misapplication
Pecuniary loss sustained by a participant in an insured real property transaction because of the agent's or direct operation's own covered conduct — the core trigger under §2651.101.
Receivership administrative expense
If TDI has to place the agent or direct operation into receivership, the bond can also answer for the department's administrative expense from that proceeding — a scenario general license bonds in other industries rarely name explicitly.
A paid claim is not free money — your indemnity agreement obligates you to repay the surety in full. Learn what a surety bond claim actually involves and how to avoid one.
What the premium costs, separate from the bond amount
The bond amount (what TDI requires you to secure) and the premium (what you actually pay a surety each year) are different numbers. Premiums for this class typically run roughly 0.5%-3% of the bond amount annually, driven mostly by the owners' personal credit and the agency's financials from the T-S1 certification:
$10,000 bond
Roughly $75-$300/yr premium — new or low-volume agencies at the floor
$60,000 bond
Roughly $450-$1,800/yr — mid-volume agency at 10% of $600K premium
$100,000 bond
Roughly $750-$3,000/yr — the statutory cap, reached at $1M+ gross premium
These are illustrative ranges based on typical rate-card pricing for this bond class, not a quote — actual premium depends on underwriting. Get the exact number with your gross premium band on the quote form above.
Bonds a Texas title-and-escrow operation stacks
Common companions to the FINT122 bond:
FINT122 title agent bond questions
Is the Texas title agent bond $10,000, or does it scale with my premium?
Both figures are true at different points in your agency's life. Tex. Ins. Code §2651.101 sets the bond at the greater of $10,000 or 10% of the gross premium written by the agent or direct operation according to its latest statistical report filed with TDI — capped at $100,000. A brand-new agency with no statistical report yet bonds at the $10,000 floor. An established agency writing $600,000 in annual title premium owes a $60,000 bond, not $10,000. Growth is the reason to re-check your figure every renewal, not just accept last year's amount.
Do I need the FINT122 bond, the FINT123 bond, or both?
Most Texas title operations that employ escrow officers need both, because the two bonds secure different obligations. FINT122 is your agency's own license bond under §2651.101 — it answers for the agency's fraud, dishonesty, or receivership-related losses. FINT123 is the Escrow Officers Schedule Bond under §2652.103 — it answers for the conduct of the individual officers who handle closings, sized at $5,000-$10,000 per officer up to a $50,000 aggregate. A title agency with no escrow function (rare, but it happens with some direct operations) might only need FINT122. See our full breakdown on the Texas escrow agent bond page.
Does Texas require E&O insurance for title agents the way Florida does?
No — and this is a real difference from Florida, which mandates $250,000 of E&O coverage under §626.8419 as an appointment condition. Texas Insurance Code §2651.101 and the Title Insurance Basic Manual condition licensure on the surety bond (or approved cash/securities/LOC alternative under §2651.102) and an unencumbered-assets showing on form T-S1 — not a standalone E&O policy. Many Texas agencies carry E&O anyway because their underwriter appointment requires it or because it protects them from professional-negligence claims the bond does not reach, but it is a business decision layered on top of the statute, not a TDI licensing bond requirement.
What happens if my gross premium jumps between statistical reports?
The bond amount is pegged to your latest statistical report on file with TDI, so it does not auto-adjust the moment your revenue changes — but TDI can require you to update your bond when a new report shows the old amount is too low, and carrying an under-sized bond after you know your premium has grown is a licensing exposure, not a paperwork technicality. Agencies with volatile or fast-growing premium should ask their surety to model the next tier before the renewal date arrives rather than after TDI flags it.
Can I use a cash deposit or letter of credit instead of a surety bond?
Yes. Section 2651.102 lets a title insurance agent or direct operation satisfy the same requirement with a cash deposit, an irrevocable letter of credit from a federally insured Texas financial institution, or securities approved by TDI, subject to the same conditions that apply to the bond under §2651.101. In practice almost every agency chooses the surety bond because it does not tie up $10,000-$100,000 in working capital or a bank credit line for as long as the license is active.
Do I need a separate bond for every county I operate in?
No. The FINT122 bond is filed once at the agency or direct-operation level and covers the license regardless of how many counties you are appointed in. Counties are tracked separately on form FINT10 (the underwriter appointment/county form, $16 per additional appointment), and adding counties does not by itself change your bond amount — only your gross premium band does. Direct operations do need a license for each county where they own or operate an abstract plant, which is a licensing distinction, not a bonding one.
All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov). BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-listed surety carriers.
General information, not legal or underwriting advice. Texas title insurance agent licensing and bond amounts are set by the Texas Department of Insurance under Insurance Code §§2651.101-2651.102 and the Title Insurance Basic Manual, and change over time. Confirm current requirements with TDI, and request a quote for your specific gross-premium band.
Bond your Texas title agency
Give us your gross premium band and whether you employ escrow officers — we'll size the FINT122 (and FINT123, if you need it) to the exact TDI requirement and file it.
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