Chicago sign erector bonds.
$125 flat.
Chicago licenses sign erectors — the contractors who install, alter, or remove signs under a City sign permit — and conditions that license on a $25,000 surety bond. Ours is $125 flat, and the price you see is the checkout price. The application collects no credit information.
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Three steps. One sitting.
A sign erector bond is about the simplest filing in the license packet. Here's the entire process:
Apply online
Business details and an effective date. That's the application — no financials, no credit section.
Pay & e-sign
License bonds like this are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase. At most, 1–2 business days.
File with the City
Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to file with your sign erector license application or renewal. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Chicago licenses sign erectors — contractors who install, repair, or remove signs — with the Department of Buildings administering sign permits and inspections. Licensure is conditioned on a surety bond filed with the City.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the City of Chicago (the obligee), with the public and adjoining property owners as the protected parties. If a sign erector damages property, fails to follow the zoning and safety rules attached to a sign permit, or leaves work incomplete, a claim can be made against the bond to cover the loss.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. The bond must stay active for as long as your sign erector license is active, so we track the term and notify you before it lapses.
You need this bond if you're
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual issuing fields — no credit section, because this application doesn't collect credit information.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Illinois bonds.
Get your sign erector license moving.
$125 flat, soft pull only, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.