Chicago plumbing contractor bonds.
$100 flat.
Before the City Clerk issues you a plumbing contractor license, Chicago requires a $20,000 indemnification bond on file to protect anyone you contract to do plumbing work for. Ours is $100 flat, and the price you see is the checkout price. No credit check.
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How much does a Chicago plumbing contractor bond cost?
$100 at the $20,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps. One sitting.
A contractor indemnification bond is about the simplest filing in the license packet. Here's the entire process:
Apply online
Business details and an effective date. That is the application. No credit check.
Pay & e-sign
Contractor bonds like this are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase.
File with the City Clerk
Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to file with the City Clerk alongside your plumbing contractor license application or renewal. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Chicago licenses plumbing contractors through its Department of Buildings and the City Clerk's office, under the plumbing contractors provisions of the Municipal Code of Chicago. Before a plumbing contractor license issues, the applicant must file a $20,000 indemnification bond (or an equivalent letter of credit) payable to the City of Chicago.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the City of Chicago (the obligee), for the benefit of any person who contracts with you for plumbing work. If you fail to perform plumbing work you contracted to do, in accordance with the plumbing provisions of the Code, that customer can recover damages against the bond.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. Chicago's own rule matters here too: your plumbing contractor license is automatically inactivated the moment this bond expires or is cancelled, so we track the term and notify you before renewal.
You need this bond if you're
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A claim comes from the party the bond protects, the obligee named on the form, when the duty the bond guarantees is not met.
The surety investigates and pays a valid claim, up to the $20,000 bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The premium covers a one-year term from the effective date you choose; a longer term is the same price per year, chosen at checkout.
Renew before the expiry date to keep the bond in force: the license, permit or contract it backs expects continuous coverage.
How to file it
File with the City Clerk. Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to file with the City Clerk alongside your plumbing contractor license application or renewal. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $100 at the $20,000 amount for every applicant: the carrier’s rate book prices this bond by the form, not by your credit or your business profile.
No credit check.
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual issuing fields. No credit check.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Illinois bonds.
Been told you need a different amount?
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Get your plumbing contractor license moving.
$100 flat, no credit check, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.