Traffic Violator School Bond

Traffic Violator School Bond


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Traffic Violator School Bond 101

A traffic violator school bond is a type of surety bond that guarantees that the school operator won’t be involved in the activity of fraud or misrepresentation. Traffic violator bonds are designed to protect the person taking the driving lessons and this type of surety bond gives authority to the department of motor vehicle to overview the traffic violator school industry. This specific type of surety bond helps ensure quality control pertaining to the instruction given by requiring classroom inspections. It also ensures the principal (aka the party that holds the bond) won’t practice any fraud or make any fraudulent representations that will cause monetary loss to a person taking instructions from the principal.


To better understand what a traffic violator school bond is and how this type of surety bond works, keep reading. 

What is a Traffic Violator School Bond

As briefly noted earlier, a traffic violator school bond is a type of surety bond. This unique type of bond helps protect the customers of traffic violation schools. A traffic violator school bond can help protect them from monetary loss, deceit and misrepresentation caused by the school or individuals associated with the schools such as employees.


A traffic violator school bond functions similarly to any type of surety bond and involves three specific parties:


  • Obligee. The party that requires the surety bond is usually a state government or agency. In the case of a traffic violator school bond, the obligee is the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

  • Principal. The principal is the party who needs the bond and in this specific situation is the traffic violator school. 

  • Surety. The company that issues the surety bond and handles the claims process is known as the surety. 


It’s worth noting that after an investigation if a surety finds a claim to be accurate, they pay out the claim, but only initially. The principal does have to pay the surety back the full claim amount and will likely also owe fees and interest. This is one reason it’s important to take steps to avoid having a claim filed against your traffic violator school bond. If the principal fails to pay back the surety (which is against the law), the surety can sue them to recoup the debt. 


This type of surety bond also gives the DMV the ability to review and pass judgment on the quality of the content and methods of instruction used in a bonded traffic violator school in order to make sure they meet certain standards. 

Who Needs a Traffic Violator School Bond

People attend traffic violator school after committing a traffic violation in order to remove points from their license, to eliminate the need to pay an expensive ticket, or to help keep their auto insurance prices low. In order to bounce back from certain motor vehicle offenses, drivers have to attend a DMV-approved traffic violator school. You’ll often hear people refer to these schools as traffic schools. 


If a business wants to become licensed to operate as an institution of improved driving instruction, they usually need to secure a traffic violator school surety bond as a part of their licensing requirements. This is because a surety bond guarantees that the traffic violator school will adhere to all laws and regulations set by the DMV by providing monetary compensation to victims if the school does commit fraud or acts unethically in any way. 

How Much a Traffic Violator School Bond Costs

A few different factors impact how much a traffic violator school bond costs, but before we address those, it can be helpful to know what the following terms mean. 


  • Bond premium. This is how much you will spend to hold a traffic violator school bond. 

  • Bonding capacity. When someone files a claim against a traffic violator school bond, the highest claim amount they can pursue is known as the bonding capacity. 

  • Bond term. How long the traffic violator school bond is active for is known as the bond term. 


When it comes to pricing, typically the bond premium is a set percentage of the bonding capacity. The percentage someone is offered is based on factors like their personal and business credit scores, how many years they’ve been in business, and what their industry experience is like. The biggest factor taken into consideration is usually the applicant’s personal credit score and the higher their credit score is, the lower their bond premium is likely to be. It can be helpful to work on improving your personal credit score before applying for a traffic violator school bond and to continue to work on improving it. That way, when the bond term ends and it’s time to renew your surety bond, you can qualify for a more favorable rate.


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