Cook County use tax dealer bonds.
From $100. Per dealer location.
Cook County's Use Tax Ordinance requires a registered motor-vehicle dealer to maintain an active $5,000 surety bond with the Department of Revenue for each dealer location. Premiums cost 2% of the bond amount, $100 minimum. No credit check up to $10,000, and most applications approve instantly.
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How much does a Cook County use tax dealer bond cost?
2% of the bond amount, from $100. Enter your amount in the calculator for the exact price.
Three steps. One sitting.
Cook County use tax dealer bonds are a short, standard-form registration bond. Enter your dealer location and file with the Department of Revenue. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your dealer business details, the location the bond covers, and the effective date — no financials, no credit check up to $10,000.
Approved
No credit check up to $10,000, so most use tax dealer bonds approve instantly — pricing is 2% of the $5,000 bond, $100 minimum.
File with the Department of Revenue
Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to file with the Cook County Department of Revenue to keep your dealer registration in compliance. Wet-ink originals mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the use tax dealer bond actually guarantees
Cook County's Use Tax Ordinance imposes a tax on the use of tangible personal property purchased from a retailer and titled or registered with a State of Illinois agency at a location inside Cook County — in practice, this is the tax collected on motor vehicle sales. Motor vehicle retailers within Cook County must register with the Department of Revenue and remit the tax they collect from purchasers.
As part of a December 2023 amendment to the ordinance, a registered dealer must maintain an active $5,000 surety bond with the department for each dealer location. It is a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and Cook County (the obligee) — the bond secures your compliance with the tax-remittance obligations the ordinance imposes on registered dealers.
Upon expiration, the surety bond must be renewed for the dealer to remain in compliance with the ordinance. A dealer with more than one Cook County location maintains a separate $5,000 bond for each; the premium is 2% of that amount, $100 minimum, and no credit check up to $10,000.
You need this bond if you are
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.
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 Department of Revenue. Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to file with the Cook County Department of Revenue to keep your dealer registration in compliance. Wet-ink originals mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is 2% of the bond amount, $100 minimum: the amount the obligee sets moves the price, not your business profile.
No credit check up to $10,000. 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. No credit check up to $10,000.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Illinois bonds.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Keep your dealer registration in compliance.
From $100 per location, no credit check up to $10,000. Apply today and file with the Department of Revenue the same day.