CMS Durable Medical Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies DMEPOS Bond
Overview
The DMEPOS bond is one of the few surety requirements written into federal regulation. Under 42 CFR 424.57(d), suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics, and supplies seeking or maintaining Medicare billing privileges must obtain a surety bond of $50,000 from an authorized surety — and the bond attaches per location: a supplier enrolling multiple practice locations must post a separate $50,000 bond for each National Provider Identifier it enrolls. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services uses the bond to recover unpaid claims, civil money penalties, and assessments arising from the supplier's Medicare activity.
Who Needs This Bond?
Home medical equipment companies, prosthetics and orthotics practices, and pharmacies billing Medicare for DMEPOS items enroll under CMS's supplier standards, and the 424.57(d) bond is part of enrollment and revalidation alike. Certain professionals and suppliers are exempted by the regulation itself — for example, qualifying government-operated suppliers and specified practitioners furnishing items only to their own patients — so review the exemption list in 424.57 before assuming the bond applies or doesn't.
What is this Bond For?
The bond protects the Medicare program. 42 CFR 424.57(d) requires the bond to guarantee that the surety will pay CMS, up to the bond amount, for unpaid claims, civil money penalties, and assessments the supplier owes — and the regulation obligates the surety to pay within 30 days of receiving written notice from CMS that the amount is due. It is program-integrity infrastructure: a funded backstop against billing abuse and unrecovered overpayments in the DMEPOS space.
When is it Required?
At enrollment, at revalidation, and continuously in between. CMS requires the bond to be on file and current for a supplier's billing privileges to be issued or maintained, with the bond submitted as part of the enrollment package. A gap in bond coverage jeopardizes the supplier number itself — and with it, the ability to bill Medicare at all.
Where Does it Apply?
Nationwide. This is a federal requirement in the Code of Federal Regulations, administered by CMS through its enrollment contractors, so it applies identically to DMEPOS suppliers in every state and territory. State-level bonds, where they exist, are separate obligations layered on top of the federal one.
How to Buy Online
Click 'Buy This Bond Online' to open the secure surety portal in a new tab. Provide your supplier details and the NPI(s) you are enrolling, complete the application, and pay online. Your executed $50,000 DMEPOS bond — one per enrolled NPI — will be ready for your Medicare enrollment package.
Why Bond Titan?
Bond Titan is powered by The Southern Agency, a licensed surety agency. Both the CMS program page and the actual regulation text are linked in the Official Sources section, so you can verify the per-NPI rule and the surety's payment obligations before you buy — then finish the whole process online.
Official Sources
The requirements described on this page are verified against the official sources below.
- $50,000 surety bond required per enrolled NPI for DMEPOS billing privileges; surety pays CMS unpaid claims, CMPs, and assessments up to the bond amount within 30 days of written notice; exemptions listed in the regulation: 42 CFR §424.57 (DMEPOS supplier standards and surety bond requirements) (verified July 16, 2026)
- CMS program overview of DMEPOS supplier enrollment and surety bond requirement: CMS — DMEPOS Suppliers (Provider Enrollment) (verified July 16, 2026)