Illinois Contractor License Bonds

Purchase Your Illinois Contractor License Bond Today

Who Is Required To Purchase an Illinois Contractor Contractor Bond

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) requires Illinois roofers to purchase a surety bond in amount of:

• $10,000 bond amount for a limited roofing license
• $25,000 bond amount for an unlimited roofing license

The Illinois Department of Public Health

The Illinois Department of Public Health requires Illinois plumbing contractors to purchase a contractor surety bond in the amount of:

• $20,000 bond amount

County or Municipal Bonding Requirements

Depending on where your project is located you may have to purchase a separate county or city contractor license or permit bond.

You'll be notified of these additional bonding requirements when you apply for the necessary permits to begin work on the project.

Examples of cities we have helped contractors satisfy the bond requirement are:

• Village of Lakewood - $10,000
• Village of Orland Hills - $10,000
• Village of Lansing - $10,000
• City of Elmhurst - $10,000
• City of Darien - $10,000
• Lincolnwood - $10,000

These local requirements are a mix of bonds like:

• Contractor license bonds
• Concrete permit bonds
• General contractor bonds
• Landscape contractor bonds
• Electrical contractor bonds

As you can see, on the local level, the bonding requirements can vary. But each bond serves and is required for a similar purpose.

Why is an Illinois Contractor License Bond Required?

The state of Illinois and local cities require contractors to obtain licenses to demonstrate:

• A minimum level of experience
• The necessary level of education
• The proper business records are submitted
• An appropriate license type for the projects they want to bid on

The state of Illinois and the local governments want to ensure contractors are serving the public and adding value to the community. This makes it a more desirable place to live.

Requiring a surety bond is the primary way a licensing agency can hold contractors accountable to the promises they make when taking on a new customer.

Contractors making false promises the reason bonding requirements are signed into law.

What Does an Illinois Contractor License Bond Protect Against?

It doesn't matter what type of licenses you're obtaining, all contractor bonds serve the same purpose of ensuring the contractor completes contracts and does not financially harm their customers on purpose.

And yet, there will always be licensed contractors who cut corners to increase profits or even steal money from their customers.

These fraudulent actions of misconduct include:

• Breaking the terms of a construction project
• Taking deposits or down payments and never starting or completing a project
• Replacing agreed upon materials with cheaper alternatives to increase profits
• Failing to pay subcontractors for completed work
• Neglecting building codes and purposefully performing poor quality work

If a contractor is found guilty of any of these actions, a claim can be made against the contractor license bond or permit for financial repayment, but only up to the bond amount.

How Much Does an Illinois Contractor Bond Cost?

At a high level the cost of a contractor bond is based on a rate quoted from a surety.

A surety is an insurance company that underwrites the surety bond. And because a surety bond is similar to insurance, the surety will determine a rate based on their independent assessment using criteria such as:

• Personal credit of the owner or owners
• Contracting experience and industry experience
• Any prior bond claims if you or an owner has been licensed in the past

Because each surety will quote a unique rate, the final prices of the bond will vary. Specialized surety agencies like Surety Bonds Direct help customers save hundreds of dollars purchasing contractor bonds and permit bonds.

For most Illinois contractor bonds, we have secured low fixed prices for Illinois contractor bonds. This allows you to:

• Skip having your credit pulled
• Speed up the bond purchase process

Here are the prices for the contractor bonds we sell the most.

Illinois Roofing Contractor Bond

Illinois Plumbing Contractor Bond

County, City, or Local Government License Bonds

For local bonding requirements, you can instantly purchase your bond, for bond amounts up to $25,000.

Once you have the bond amount given to you by the county or city agency requiring the bond, the minimum price starts at $100.

The price is 1% to 1.8% of the bond amount.

Surety Bonds Directly allows you to enter your bond amount and instantly purchase your bond. After you purchase, the bond will be issued within 1 to 2 business days.

Here are some examples of recent bonds we hold Illinois contractors with:

• Village of Lakewood - $10,000 - $100 for 12 months
• Village of Orland Hills - $10,000 - $100 for 12 months
• City of Rolling Meadows - $10,000 - $100 for 12 months
• Village of South Holland - $10,000 - $50 for 12 months

Get your instant price so you know exactly what you have to pay and purchase your bond today.

What Happens After You Purchase Your Bond?

After you purchase your bond, Surety Bonds Direct's issuing department will prepare your bond with the correct signatures, notarized seals, and the required power of attorney.

Most Illinois bonds can be emailed to you making the process faster. You would need to print a copy of the bond and sign it before you submit it to the appropriate authority.

If the agency requiring the bond wants the original bond, we can mail you the original bond. Make sure you account for shipping time.

Determining The Contractor Bond Term

Bond terms and expirations are different for each type of bond.

• Illinois roofing license bonds has a bond term of 2 years, expiring on December 31st of odd numbered years
• Illinois plumbing contractor bonds expire every year on September 30th
• Many local contractor bonds expire 12 months from the effective date on the bond

The effective date is a date you choose when purchasing your bond. And in many cases, you can even choose to purchase the bond for multi-year terms and save money.

Permit bonds are purchased for the life of the project. Most permit bonds have a term or 12 months so if the project were to extend past this time period, you would have to renew the bond.

Renewing Your Bond

Your Surety Bonds Direct bond specialist will reach out to you 30 to 45 days in advance of your renewal date to make paying the renewal premium easy.

Once you pay the renewal premium your bond is activated for the next term.

If you no longer need your bond, don't renew it and it will expire automatically.

Continuous Bond vs New Bond

A continuous bond means the original bond remains active as long as you pay the renewal premium. You don't have to do anything extra.

Some Illinois bonds, like the plumbing contractors bond, are not continuous and you will have to file a new bond with the Illinois Department of Public Health each renewal period.

Contractor License Bonds And Getting Your Illinois Business License/Registration

If you're applying for your first Virginia contractor license, read our posts that highlight the steps for obtaining an:

• Illinois roofing license
• Illinois plumbing contractor license

At a high level the steps are:

1. Create a business registry or register a business name
2. Outline business management
3. Decide on license classification and specialty or registered agent
4. Purchase the required surety bond
5. Pay all the appropriate fees
6. Submit your completed application

Additional Illinois Contractor License Bond Resources & Links

If this bond is for a job that you are bidding or a contract that has been awarded to you, the surety bond you need is a Contract/Construction Bond rather than a Contractor License Bond.

• IDFPR website for Roofing Contractors
• Illinois Department of Health Plumbing Contractor website