Managing User Roles for Surety Bond Producers

Account Administrators maintain Organization Users’ roles to ensure access aligns with job responsibilities. This task explains how to review, update, and revoke role assignments in NMLS for surety bond producers.

About this task

Surety bond producer Organization Users can hold multiple roles, such as Manage Associations and Representatives, Manage Bonds, Manage Surety Bond Producer Profile, View Confidential Information, and Manage Reports. Periodic review of these roles ensures least-privilege access and compliance with company policy and NMLS requirements.

Tip: Authority to sign bonds derives from both role assignment (Manage Bonds) and representative designation within a surety company association. Representative status is managed from the association screens.

Procedure

  1. Sign in to NMLS as an Account Administrator.
  2. Open the Organization Users area to view your company’s list of users.
    Note: Use filters or search options to quickly locate the user whose roles you need to modify.
  3. Select the user and choose Edit to view current role assignments.
  4. Adjust the role check boxes to reflect the user’s current responsibilities.
    • Assign Manage Bonds only to users who create or sign bonds or riders.
    • Assign Manage Associations and Representatives to users responsible for maintaining associations and managing representative status.
    • Limit View Confidential Information (EIN visibility) to personnel with a legitimate business need.
    • Use Manage Surety Bond Producer Profile for staff responsible for maintaining company contact details and state authorizations.
    • Provide Manage Reports only to users who require access to bond or activity reports.
  5. Select Save to apply updates.
    Note: Role changes take effect immediately after saving. Users may need to log out and back in for updates to display in their session.
  6. Revoke or suspend access when necessary.
    1. To remove a specific permission, clear the corresponding role check box and select Save.
    2. To temporarily disable a user’s login, select Disable in the User Account Profile area.
      Note: To restore access, select Enable for the same user record.
    3. To permanently remove access, select Delete. A new account must be created if future access is needed.
  7. Update representative status as needed within association records.
    Note: Representative designation is maintained on the Surety Company Associations page within the Tasks tab. Users must hold the Manage Bonds role and be designated as representatives to sign bonds and riders.

What to do next

  • Review all users with Manage Bonds privileges at least monthly or when staffing changes occur.
  • Confirm that users responsible for association maintenance retain Manage Associations and Representatives only as long as necessary.
  • Run periodic activity and role reports to confirm access remains appropriate to each user’s job function.
  • Ensure that at least one Account Administrator remains active at all times to prevent loss of administrative access.