As per the New York Department of Motor Vehicles, all auto dealers selling new or used vehicles are required to be licensed and bonded. The most common bond we sell is the $20,000 used dealer bond, for dealers who sell less than 50 cars in a year. If you sell 50 or more cars in a given year, then you will need a $100,000 bond. We've helped hundreds of dealers get licensed and bonded in New York. Get started below to get a quote in minutes.
Please note this page is for car dealer licensing. If you're trying to register a vehicle with a missing title, a separate Lost Title Bond is required.
Bond Amount: $20,000 for 50 or fewer cars sold, $50,000 if 51 or more cars sold
Required by: New York Department of Motor Vehicles
There are two other less common auto dealer bonds in the state of New York. You only need them if you meet specific circumstances.
If you sell more than 50 vehicles per year, then you will need a $100,000 bond (vs. $20,000 for those who sell less than 50 a year). If you are a franchise dealer, then you will need a $50,000 franchise dealer bond. We offer coverage for both. Give us a call or click the ‘Get Quote’ buttons if you need these bonds.
Dealers who sell motorcycles, trailers, boats, ATVs, snowmobiles, and vehicles that are over 10,000 pounds are not required to be bonded in the state of New York.
Yes, insurance companies will perform a "soft credit check" on you when issuing a New York dealer bond to determine pricing and eligibility. It should be emphasized that this form of credit check will not affect your credit score.
In general, a credit score that falls below 650 is considered to be a "bad" credit score. However, we work with a range of insurance partners that specialize in serving this market. If you have a less than perfect credit score, please reach out to us and we’ll help you by shopping around to find the most affordable insurance quote available.
We’ll email you a PDF copy of the bond once you’ve been approved as proof of bonding.
There are several factors that goes into the cost of a dealer bond in New York, such as the applicant’s credit score, level of experience, and the insurance company providing the bond. We find that the biggest factor is the applicant’s credit score, followed by the insurance company issuing the bond. Some insurance companies specialize in providing cheap quotes for individuals with high credit scores while others specialize in serving those with lower credit scores. We have partnerships with over 10 insurance companies, which enables us to offer our clients highly competitive rates, regardless of your credit score.
