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Have a question? +1 815-826-6324 (815-8-BondAI) phil@AmericasSuretyBonds.com
Army Veteran Owned | Expert Surety Bonds Since 2004
If you sell other people's things online for a commission or fee in Pennsylvania, the law treats you as a trading assistant, and the State Board of Auctioneer Examiners will not register you until a $5,000 bond is on file. Selling your own property is not trading assistant work. Taking consignments is.
Section 7 of Pennsylvania's Auctioneer Licensing and Trading Assistant Registration Act bars the State Board of Auctioneer Examiners from granting a registration until the applicant files an approved $5,000 bond payable to the Commonwealth. The requirement covers both individual trading assistants and trading assistant companies, which register separately and use separate Board bond forms. The surety must hold a Certificate of Authority from the Pennsylvania Insurance Department.
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The Act defines a trading assistant as an individual who, for a commission or fee, conducts or intends to conduct a business in Pennsylvania of selling or offering to sell the personal property of another through an online trading assistant consignment sale transaction. A trading assistant company is a legally recognized entity doing the same thing. That covers listing someone else's goods online at a set price, by best offer, by competitive bidding or with a buy it now feature. Under section 5.1, it is unlawful to act as a trading assistant or trading assistant company without first registering with the Board or holding a license from it.
Section 7(a) says no license or registration will be granted until the applicant files with the Board an approved $5,000 bond payable to the Commonwealth, executed by a surety company authorized to do business in Pennsylvania. The bond conditions the registrant to comply with the Act and to pay the Commonwealth, the Board or any person any money that may come due. A person harmed by a registrant's misconduct who recovers a judgment can bring an action on the bond.
The Board posts a personal bond form for auctioneers, apprentice auctioneers and trading assistants, and a corporate bond form for auction companies and trading assistant companies. Both are for $5,000 and name the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A certified copy of the surety's power of attorney must be attached, and the date of that certification must agree with the date the bond is executed. The bond continues in effect until the surety gives written notice of cancellation.
Registration applications are filed through PALS and must include the applicant's name, business and physical business location, the date the applicant will begin accepting goods, a Pennsylvania tax identification number and an e-mail address. The Board's trading assistant snapshot lists an initial fee of $135 and a biennial renewal fee of $250, rising to $300 effective March 1, 2027. There is no degree, exam, experience or continuing education requirement. Registrations renew every two years and expire on the last day of February of each odd-numbered year.
The registration covers selling the personal property of another for a commission or fee. Selling your own property does not fit that definition. If you take items on consignment and sell them online for a fee, you need the registration and the $5,000 bond.
It guarantees the registrant will comply with the Act and pay any money that comes due to the Commonwealth, the Board or any person. Someone harmed by a registrant's misconduct who obtains a judgment can bring an action on the bond.
The Board's bond form says it continues in effect until the surety gives written notice of cancellation. The registration itself renews every two years and expires on the last day of February of each odd-numbered year.
The Board's trading assistant snapshot lists $135 for the initial registration and $250 for each biennial renewal, increasing to $300 effective March 1, 2027. The bond premium is separate and is paid to the surety.
No. The Board lists no degree, exam, experience or continuing education requirement for trading assistants. The bond and the application are the main steps.
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