Surety bond cost: the premium for your amount and credit score
Enter the bond amount and your credit score: the yearly premium range published rate grids give appears at once, for all five credit tiers.
Premium for a $25,000 bond, credit 650 to 699
$250 to $625
estimated, per year
| Rate range | 1 % to 2.5 % |
| Best tier (700 or higher) | $188 to $375 |
| Lowest tier (under 550) | $1,250 to $3,750 |
Envelope of published agency grids; $100 minimum premium applied.
| Credit score | Rate | Premium a year |
|---|---|---|
| 700 or higher | 0.75 % to 1.5 % | $188 to $375 |
| 650 to 699 | 1 % to 2.5 % | $250 to $625 |
| 600 to 649 | 2.5 % to 5 % | $625 to $1,250 |
| 550 to 599 | 5 % to 10 % | $1,250 to $2,500 |
| Under 550 | 5 % to 15 % | $1,250 to $3,750 |
Compiled by Radif Partners · Method and sources · rules read October 22, 2026
The cost of a surety bond is its premium, a percentage of the bond amount paid each year, and the rate depends first on the kind of bond and second on your personal credit score. On the grids bond agencies publish, license and permit bonds run from 0.75 to 1.5 percent a year for a score of 700 or more, 2.5 to 5 percent between 600 and 649, and 5 to 15 percent under 550. A $10,000 bond therefore costs about $100 to $150 a year with good credit, because most markets charge a minimum premium of $100, and a $50,000 bond $375 to $750. Freight broker bonds are rated higher, court bonds lower, notary bonds at a flat price. Contract bonds follow a scale on the contract price instead, about $13,500 for a $1,000,000 job.
The formula, and the two numbers in it
Premium equals bond amount times rate. The bond amount comes from the law or the contract, and you cannot change it: the notary bond, dealer bond and contractor bond pages give it for each state read. The rate is what a surety charges, as a percentage of that amount, for one year. It is set by the surety's filed rates and by its underwriting of your file. Nobody publishes one official rate, so the honest answer to "how much does a bond cost" is a range for your profile.
Rates by credit score
For license and permit bonds, the main factor is the personal credit score of the owner. The table below is the envelope of the grids published by several bond agencies, read in October 2026: for each tier, the lowest low and the highest high. It is wide on purpose; a single surety's rate for you will usually sit inside it.
| Credit score | License and permit | Auto dealer | Freight broker | Court and probate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 700 or higher | 0.75 to 1.5 % | 0.75 to 1.5 % | 1.25 to 3 % | 0.4 to 0.6 % |
| 650 to 699 | 1 to 2.5 % | 1 to 3 % | 3.5 to 5 % | 0.6 to 0.9 % |
| 600 to 649 | 2.5 to 5 % | 2.5 to 5 % | 7.5 to 10 % | 1 to 1.5 % |
| 550 to 599 | 5 to 10 % | 5 to 7.5 % | 10 to 12 % | 1.5 to 2.5 % |
| Under 550 | 5 to 15 % | 7.5 to 10 % | 12 to 13 % | 2.5 to 4 % |
The jump between tiers is steep. A $50,000 license bond estimated at $375 to $750 a year with a 700 score climbs to $2,500 to $5,000 between 550 and 599. Improving a score by one tier before buying, or after the first year at renewal, can cut the premium by half or more.
Why the kind of bond changes the rate
Sureties price the chance of a claim they cannot recover. Freight broker bonds attract frequent claims from carriers who were not paid, so their rates start higher: 1.25 to 3 percent even with good credit. Court bonds for executors and guardians are supervised by a judge and rarely paid, so they start below one percent. Dealer bonds sit close to general license bonds but rise faster with poor credit, because a failing dealer can leave many unpaid title transfers at once.
Premium for a real bond in a real state
Auto dealer bond premium in Georgia
$350 to $1,050
| Bond the state requires | $35,000 |
| Which amount | O.C.G.A. § 43-47-8(h); Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 681-3-.01 |
| Rate for credit 650 to 699 | 1 % to 3 % a year |
| Term | 1 year, renewed yearly |
The minimum premium
For small bonds, the rate stops mattering. Most markets charge at least $100 a year, whatever the amount. A $5,000 license bond at one percent would be $50, but the premium you pay is the minimum. That is also why notary bonds, which run for the whole commission, are sold at a flat price rather than at a rate.
Paying for two or three years at once
Some sureties sell license bonds for two or three years with one payment. On the grid we read, two years cost 1.5 times one year and three years 2 times, so a $25,000 bond with good credit would cost $375 to $750 for three years. The saving is real, but the money is spent up front and refunds on cancellation are often limited. Check that your license term matches the bond term before choosing.
Contract bonds follow a different scale
Performance and payment bonds are not priced at a percentage of a fixed amount but on a sliding scale per $1,000 of contract price, with lower rates on the larger layers. On one published standard scale, a $1,000,000 contract costs $13,500, and the performance bond page shows each layer. Underwriters look at the company's financial statements, work in progress and experience as much as at credit.
Other factors a surety weighs
Beyond credit: years in business and in the trade, past bond claims, liens and judgments, bankruptcies, the business's finances for larger bonds, and the state, since some states see more claims for a given bond. A clean history can earn a rate below the published range; a recent claim can put you in a high-risk program. The bad credit page explains what those programs charge.
Reading a quote against the range
A quote has three parts worth checking: the bond amount, which must match the agency's figure exactly; the premium, for one year or for the whole term; and any fee added by the agency, such as a filing or delivery charge, which is not part of the premium. Compare the premium alone with the range for your tier. A quote at the bottom of the range for a weaker tier is a good sign that the surety weighed more than the score; one well above the top of your tier calls for a second quote. Remember that the range describes a year of coverage on most bonds, but the whole commission on notary bonds and the whole project on contract bonds.