Roles and Responsibilities with NMLS Electronic Surety Bonds
Surety companies and surety bond producers each have specific responsibilities and user roles in NMLS that define how they manage Electronic Surety Bond (ESB) activities. This topic explains those responsibilities and summarizes the system roles available to each entity type.
Overview of responsibilities
NMLS defines specific responsibilities for each participant involved in Electronic Surety Bond (ESB) processing:
- Surety Company (SC): Underwrites and executes bonds, manages associations with bond producers, and maintains the company’s profile and underwriting company data in NMLS. Surety companies may also sign bonds or riders when designated to do so.
- Surety Bond Producer (SBP): Acts as an intermediary between licensees and surety companies. SBPs prepare and manage bond records on behalf of licensees and may execute bonds if designated as representatives within an active association.
- Licensee (Principal): Grants authority to surety entities through NMLS, initiating bond creation or conversion and maintaining compliance with regulator instructions.
- Regulator: Reviews delivered bonds, accepts or returns them for correction, and enforces license-specific bonding requirements.
User types within surety entities
Each surety company or surety bond producer account in NMLS includes two user types that determine access and administrative scope:
- Account Administrator: Holds full access to the entity’s NMLS account. Can create organization users, assign roles, manage associations, sign bonds if applicable, and update entity profile information.
- Organization User: Created by an Account Administrator. Can view the entity’s profile and perform tasks associated with any roles assigned during account creation or later updates. Multiple roles may be assigned to the same organization user.
Available system roles
The following table summarizes the roles available to organization users for both surety companies and surety bond producers:
| Role | Surety Company | Surety Bond Producer |
|---|---|---|
| Manage Associations | Create and manage associations and representatives (Attorney-in-Fact) within associations. | Manage representatives and view/manage associations. Can accept, reject, or request corrections for association requests. |
| Manage Bonds | Create, view, and manage bonds and riders; initiate broker of record changes. | Create and view bonds and bond riders when associated with a surety company. |
| Manage and Sign Bonds | Includes all Manage Bonds functions plus ability to sign bonds and riders. | Not a separate role; signature authority is granted through representative designation. |
| Manage Profile | Maintain entity profile, contact information, state authorizations, and underwriting companies. | Maintain producer profile, contact information, and state authorizations. |
| View Confidential Information | View the entity’s EIN. | View the entity’s EIN. |
| Manage Reports | Request and view reports on bonds and associations. | Request and view reports on bonds and associations. |
Representative designation
To sign bonds or bond riders in NMLS, an organization user must be designated as a representative:
- Surety companies assign representative authority within the association record connecting them to a surety bond producer.
- Surety bond producers can sign bonds only when both the Manage Bonds role is assigned and they are identified as a representative on an active association.
- Representative assignments are maintained on the Surety Company Associations page under the Tasks tab in NMLS.
Note: Representative authority enables legally binding execution of bonds on behalf of the associated surety entity.