a court of law. Additionally, if the surety company pays a claim on the bond, they would seek to be reimbursed by the bonded entity for all costs and expenses incurred as a result of the claim. This differs from a traditional fidelity bond where the insured (bonded entity) would be responsible for paying the deductible only in the case of covered claim up to the policy limit. Penal bonds The penal bond is another type of the bond that was historically used to assure the performance of a contract. They are to be distinguished from surety bonds in that they did not require any party to act as surety—having an obligee and obligor sufficed. One historically significant type of penal bond, the penal bond with conditional defeasance, printed the bond (the obligation to pay) on the front of the document and the condition which would nullify that promise to pay (referred to as the indenture of defeasance—essentially, the contractual obligation) on the back of the document. The penal bond, although an artifact of historical interest, fell out of use by the early part of the nineteenth century in the United States. Electronic surety bonds In certain situations, an electronic surety bond (ESB) can be used in lieu of a traditional paper surety bond. In 2016, the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry (NMLS) initiated a system for the issuance, tracking, and maintenance of ESBs in support of some licenses being managed through the NMLS. This new online system speeds bond issuance and decreases paperwork, among other potential benefits. Timeline The NMLS ESB initiative began on January 25, 2016, when surety bond companies and providers were able to begin the account creation process. The second phase began on September 12, 2016, when an initial group of nine state regulatory agencies began accepting ESBs for certain license types. This initial rollout included agencies in Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Texas, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. On January 23, 2017, another group of twelve state agencies were added to allow ESB capability for certain license types. This group included agencies in Alaska, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island, and South Dakota. Minor upgrades were also completed early in 2017. The types of licenses transitioning to ESBs and the implementation timelines vary by licensing agency. The NMLS plans to roll out additional state agencies and update the