You must have a license in order to operate as a bullion product dealer in Minnesota. License applications will be available online beginning July 23.

Background History Screening

As required by Minn. Stat. § 80G.05, you must establish screening procedures and screen each of the firm’s owners and officers and each of its dealer representatives prior to submitting your application for initial registration and at each renewal. You must keep the results of such screenings on file and, if requested by the commissioner, provide them to the commissioner.

Initial screening. The screening process for initial registration must be done no more than 60 days before the submission of an application for registration. The process must include a national criminal history record search, a judgment search, and a county criminal history search for all counties where the owner, officer, or dealer representative has resided within the last ten years. You must use a reputable vendor authorized to do business in any state to conduct the background screening process.

Renewal screening. The screening process for the renewal of a registration must include a national criminal history record search, a judgment search, and county criminal history search for all counties where the owner, officer, or dealer representative has resided since the last screening process. Screening for renewal of the owner, officer, and dealer representative registrations must take place no more than 60 days before the submission of an application for renewal of a registration.

Background Screening Vendor Information

Vendors can be found on the website for the Professional Background Screening Association.

Applying for registration as a Bullion Product Dealer

Before applying for registration as a bullion product dealer, you must conduct the background history screening described above.

To apply for registration, you will need to create an account at sircon.com (or sign into your account if you already have one). You will be able to complete the Bullion Product Dealer application once you are signed into sircon.com.

1. The application requires you to enter the firm name, Doing Business As name (DBA), Employer Identification Number (EIN), incorporation date, business structure, street address, mailing address, business telephone number, and an email address for business use. You will also need to enter the name, Social Security Number, birth date, title, and ownership percentage for the firm’s owners, partners, officers, and directors, as applicable.

You will also need to provide the following:

• each address where business is conducted
• any fictitious, alias, or trade names in which you are doing business or intend to do business
• the name and primary work location of each dealer representative
• information on any unclaimed property to report
• answers to background questions regarding criminal history, civil judgments, cease and desist orders, settlement agreements, administrative proceedings, and lawsuits or arbitration proceedings involving allegations of fraud, misappropriation or conversion of funds, misrepresentation, or breach of fiduciary duty

2. You must have an original, executed Minnesota Surety Bond. After you download and complete the bond form, it must be uploaded to the online application.

3. You must have registered the legal name of the firm, and if applicable, filed a Certificate of Assumed Name with the Minnesota Secretary of State's office. You must attach the supporting documents to the online application. 

4. The fee is $25.

5. Registrations expire annually on June 30 and must be renewed.

Applying for registration of a Bullion Product Dealer Representative

All applications for registration of a bullion product dealer representative must be submitted by the affiliated bullion product dealer.

Dealer procedure. To apply for registration of a bullion product dealer representative, you must first have applied and received approval for registration as a bullion product dealer. You must also have conducted the background history screening described above.

1. Sign in to your Sircon account and complete the Bullion Product Dealer Representative application.

The application requires you to enter your firm’s bullion product dealer license number and the representative’s name, Social Security Number, birth date, residence address, business address, mailing address, residence phone number, business phone number, email address, and email address for business use.

You will also need to enter answers to background questions regarding the following:

• criminal history
• civil judgments
• settlement agreements
• cease and desist orders
• administrative proceedings
• lawsuits or arbitration proceedings involving allegations of fraud, misappropriation or conversion of funds, misrepresentation, or breach of fiduciary duty

2. The fee is $10.

3. Registrations expire annually on June 30 and must be renewed.

Renewing a Bullion Product registration

Sign in to your Sircon account and complete the Bullion Product Dealer renewal application and Bullion Product Dealer Representative mass license renewal application process.

1. Renewal applications will be available on April 1. The renewal deadline is June 30.

2. The renewal fee is $25 for a bullion product dealer registration, and $10 for each bullion product dealer representative registration.