New Hampshire Motor Vehicle Dealer Bonds

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Who Is Required To Purchase an Auto Dealer Bond In New Hampshire?

New Hampshire classifies "motor vehicle businesses" as consisting of:

• Buying and selling vehicles (includes new, used, motorcycle, and wholesaler dealers)
• Exchanging vehicles that require registration
• Vehicle mechanical services
• Vehicle collision repair services
• Vehicle restoration and reconditioning services
• Vehicle parts sales

And according to the New Hampshire Department of Motor Vehicles any motor vehicle business must purchase an auto dealer surety bond if:

• 51% of annual gross income comes from these activities
• Or 51% of the business assets are directly related to these activities

Most of these licenses are independent.

For example you can be a franchised vehicle dealer and a vehicle repair dealer. These are two separate licenses and each license will require its own dealer surety bond.

The New Hampshire Auto Dealer Bond Amounts

New Hampshire makes this very easy.

Each dealer classification with its own licensing process is required to purchase a $25,000 surety bond before an application can be processed.

Some licenses like transporters don't have to purchase a bond, unless they sell vehicles.

As you'll see in more detail below, this bond amount is the maximum amount of financial coverage available to the state of New Hampshire and/or customers if they are purposefully and financially harmed by a licensee.

Why is a New Hampshire Motor Vehicle Dealer Bond Required?

The New Hampshire Department of Motor Vehicles considers vehicle dealers and other vehicle based business "DMV partners." And as partners, they want to ensure the public only does business with reputable and trustworthy businesses.

This is why they develop the list of licensing requirements like:

• Purchasing a surety bond as described above
• Purchasing the minimum levels of liability insurance
• Meeting dealership property and location requirements
• Paying all the applicable application fees
• Ensuring ownership pass a criminal background check

Despite these licensing requirements, every year the DMV deals with complaints against licensed businesses that purposefully and financially harm their customers to make more money.

Examples of vehicle business fraud include:

• Improperly transferring a title
• Selling vehicles with no title
• Misrepresenting vehicle information like mileage, manufacture year, or condition
• Stealing customer deposits
• Selling vehicles and not reporting them to avoid licensing requirements
• Failing to pay the correct sales taxes to the Department of Revenue

If a dealer or repair shop is found guilty of these actions or similar actions, the customer and/or the state of New Hampshire can make a claim against the vehicle dealer surety bond for financial compensation.

This compensation is limited to the $25,000 bond amount and this includes the sum total of all claims against a dealer.

How Much Does a New Hampshire Auto Dealer Bond Cost?

Across the country, nearly every motor vehicle dealer surety bond is credit based.

This means the price you pay will be custom based mainly on these three factors:

• Personal credit or owner and owners
• Dealer industry and experience
• Prior surety bond history if any owner has been bonded in the past

A surety, or the insurance company that underwrites auto dealer surety bonds, will evaluate these factors to determine a rate.

Every surety weighs these factors different, meaning the rate they quote will be different.

How You Can Save Hundreds Of Dollars Purchasing Your Bond

We are Surety Bonds Direct, a surety agency. We work with the highest A-rated sureties to help our customers find the lowest possible price and make buying a surety bond easy.

There is no explanation, but we routinely have sureties quote vastly different rates for motor vehicle dealer bonds.

And with the $25,000 bond amount, this means the lowest rate could save you anywhere between $250 to $500.

Example New Hampshire Dealer Surety Bond Pricing

Here are typical rates we see ranging from the lowest to average. Pay attention to the difference between 1% and 2% and how that affects the price.

Getting the lowest price can save you enough money to pay the application fee of $250.

The best part is, it costs you nothing to have us price shop for you and you don't have to purchase once you get pricing.

Get your pricing today and use it so you know the exact total dollar amount to obtain your license.

Click here and complete the quote form to get pricing today. You can call a bond specialist to speak with a real person at 1-800-608-9950.

How Long Does The New Hampshire Auto Dealer Bond Last?

When you're ready to get your auto dealer bond, you just need to pay using an online order form.

Once your payment is processed our bond issuance team will prepare your bond with the:

• Correct bond form
• Required signatures and seals
• Power of attorney

This process typically takes about one business day to complete.

Once your bond is ready we have to mail you the bond so you can submit it to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The New Hampshire Department of Motor Vehicles requires the original bond with raised seals on the document.

During the purchase process, besides all the necessary business information, you will choose an effective or active date.

This date will also set your bond's expiration date.

Renewing Your Auto Dealer Bond

As your expiration date approaches you'll need to renew your bond for the following 12 month period. An active bond must remain on file with the DMV to avoid having your license suspended.

The renewal process is another great reason to work with Surety Bonds Direct. You get assigned your own bond specialist and it's their job to manage your bond.

Your bond specialist will contact you about your bond 30 to 40 days before it's expiration. They will also have renewal pricing ready to go so you can just pay and keep your bond active.

Once you pay your renewal premium, the bond you filed when you got licensed will automatically remain active. This is called a continuous bond.

Motor Vehicle Dealer Bonds And Getting Your New Hampshire Business License/Registration

New Hampshire's licensing process is easy to follow for each of the different license classifications.

Here's where to find all of the different license classifications and applications, the high level process looks like this:

• Decide on your license classifications or dealer type
• Outline your corporate structure and filed paperwork
• List the full ownership information for the business
• Purchase the minimum amount of liability insurance
• Purchase your surety bond or surety bonds if you're going for multiple licenses
• Make sure you have the approval of the individual township or city where your dealership will be located
• Meet any local requirements in the township or city where your dealership is located
• Complete your application and pay all required fees

When you're ready to get the surety bond process completed click here and complete our quote form. It's fast to fill out and if you prefer to speak with a person, call a bond specialist at 1-800-608-9950.