Illinois currency exchange bonds.
From $100.
Before Illinois issues a community currency exchange license, the Currency Exchange Act requires the applicant to file, and re-file annually, a surety bond of $25,000 for each licensed location, up to a $350,000 aggregate, under 205 ILCS 405/5. The premium is 0.5% of the bond amount, $100 minimum.
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How much does an Illinois currency exchange bond cost?
0.5% of the bond amount, from $100. Enter your amount in the calculator for the exact price.
Three steps. One sitting.
Enter your amount, pay, and file with IDFPR. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Business details, the bond amount for your locations, an effective date, and a term. No credit check up to $25,000. Above that, the carrier may run a soft pull, which never affects your score.
Pay & e-sign
The premium is 0.5% of the bond amount, $100 minimum, computed before you pay — and the bond issues the moment you pay, executed bond and power of attorney on the spot.
File with IDFPR
Submit the executed bond with your currency exchange license filing at the Division of Financial Institutions. The Act requires the bond to be filed annually — we track the statutory dates.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Illinois community currency exchanges — the storefronts that cash checks, sell money orders, and handle license-plate and bill-payment services — are licensed by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation's Division of Financial Institutions under the Currency Exchange Act. Before a license issues, 205 ILCS 405/5 requires the applicant to file annually, and have approved by the Secretary, a surety bond of $25,000 for each licensed location, up to a $350,000 aggregate per licensee.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the State (the obligee). The bond stands behind the exchange's obligations to the customers whose checks, money orders, and payments pass through it. It does not cover money orders issued or liabilities incurred for the exchange's own account or that of its controlling persons.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. The Secretary can require an additional bond if liabilities grow, and the Act offers a statewide-association blanket-bond alternative; most independent exchanges simply file this per-location bond. It renews on the July 31 statutory date — we track the term and send notices 60 and 30 days out.
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 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.
Renewal falls on the statutory date, October 8, in the year your term ends.
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 IDFPR. Submit the executed bond with your currency exchange license filing at the Division of Financial Institutions. The Act requires the bond to be filed annually — we track the statutory dates.
What sets the price
The premium is 0.5% of the bond amount, $100 minimum: the amount the obligee sets moves the price, not your business profile.
No credit check up to $25,000. Above that, the carrier may run a soft pull, which never affects your score.
Where a check runs, it decides approval; the rate is the same for everyone approved.
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual issuing fields — business details, your bond amount, an effective date, and a term. That is the application.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Illinois bonds.
The same bond in nearby states.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Currency exchange bond, issued today.
0.5% of the bond amount, $100 minimum, issued the moment you pay. Free until issued.