Illinois consumer installment loan bonds.
$250.
Illinois requires every consumer installment loan applicant and licensee to maintain a $25,000 surety bond running to the Director under the Consumer Installment Loan Act, filed with the license through NMLS. Our premium is 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum, so $250 for this statutory $25,000 bond.
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How much does an Illinois consumer installment loan bond cost?
$250 for the $25,000 bond: 1% of the bond amount.
Three steps. One sitting.
The bond is one line on your NMLS checklist — and the easiest one to clear. Here's the entire process:
Apply online
Business details, an effective date, and a term. That is the application. No credit check.
Pay & e-sign
This bond is checkout-priced at 1% — $250 for the $25,000 amount — so it issues the moment you pay. Your executed bond and power of attorney generate on the spot.
File with IDFPR through NMLS
Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to satisfy the bond line on your Illinois consumer installment loan license record in NMLS. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Illinois licenses consumer installment lenders under the Consumer Installment Loan Act, administered by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation's Division of Financial Institutions through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS). Every applicant and licensee must maintain a surety bond in the principal sum of $25,000, issued by a bonding company authorized to do business in Illinois and approved by the Director.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the Director (the obligee). The statute makes the bond run for the benefit of any consumer who incurs damages from a violation of the Act or its rules — the interest-rate, fee, and conduct protections that govern installment lending in Illinois.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. And if the Director ever finds a bond insufficient, insecure, or exhausted, an additional bond can be demanded within 30 days — so the base bond has to stay continuously in force. We track the term and send renewal 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 $25,000 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 IDFPR through NMLS. Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to satisfy the bond line on your Illinois consumer installment loan license record in NMLS. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum: the amount the obligee sets moves the price, not your business profile.
No credit check.
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual issuing fields — business details, an effective date, and a term. That is the entire application.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Illinois bonds.
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Clear the bond line on your NMLS checklist today.
$250 for the statutory $25,000 bond, issued the moment you pay, no credit check. Free until issued.