Virginia Resident Agent Countersignature Requirement in Loudoun County Performance Bond

On behalf of the National Association of Surety Bond Producers (NASBP), a national trade association representing firms employing surety bond producers, including licensed resident and licensed nonresident agents placing contract surety bonds in the Commonwealth of Virginia, I am contacting you to express concerns about a “Virginia Resident Agent” countersignature requirement contained in the “County of Loudoun Performance Bond.” You may not be aware that resident agent countersignature requirements have been held as unconstitutional by federal courts throughout the U.S., since such requirements impermissibly favor licensed resident agents over licensed non-resident agents. You also should note that resident agent countersignature statutes have been repealed in Virginia. Such disparate treatment between licensed resident producers and licensed non-resident producers cannot be permitted to stand, and we urge that the requirement be eliminated from the bond form.

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