Illinois designated agent bonds.
$1,500 flat.
Illinois manufactured-home dealers who act as a designated agent of the Secretary of State — collecting title and registration fees and taxes from buyers — must file a $150,000 bond with the Vehicle Services Department. Ours is $1,500 flat — the price you see is the checkout price. One soft credit pull; the bond is issued when you pay.
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How much does an Illinois designated agent bond cost?
$1,500 at the $150,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps to designated.
Your designated-agent authority is waiting on this bond. Here's the entire process — no broker phone tag:
Apply once, online
Business details, owner information, effective date. That is the application — the only extra step is a one-time consent to a soft credit pull.
Approved
Most are approved as soon as you apply. One soft credit pull, never a hard inquiry, and it never affects your score. If it needs a second look, one to two business days at most.
E-sign & file with the Secretary of State
Pay online and receive the executed bond (form RTDS-54) ready to file with the Vehicle Services Department. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the state insists.
What it is and who needs it.
What the designated agent bond actually guarantees
Illinois lets certain dealers act as a designated agent of the Secretary of State — handling title and registration transactions for the manufactured homes they sell, and collecting the title fees, registration fees, and taxes due on each one directly from the buyer at the point of sale.
Because those funds belong to the state, the Secretary of State's Vehicle Services Department conditions designated-agent authority on a $150,000 surety bond. The bond guarantees that the dealer faithfully remits the fees and taxes it collects and properly processes the title and registration paperwork. If a dealer pockets or misapplies those funds, the state can recover against the bond.
Illinois generally requires this bond during a manufactured-home dealer's first ten years of operation, as long as the dealer hasn't been delinquent in transmitting fees or taxes. The bond runs on a calendar-year cycle — it expires December 31 — so it's renewed annually. It is not insurance for you: if the surety pays, you repay the surety.
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 $150,000 bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The bond runs to December 31 whatever day you buy; the premium covers the period to that date.
Renewal falls on the statutory date, December 31, 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
E-sign & file with the Secretary of State. Pay online and receive the executed bond (form RTDS-54) ready to file with the Vehicle Services Department. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the state insists.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $1,500 at the $150,000 amount for every applicant: the carrier’s rate book prices this bond by the form, not by your credit or your business profile.
One soft credit pull, never a hard inquiry, and it 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 underwriting fields, including a one-time consent to a soft credit pull. Submit once and your bond is issued when you pay.
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 .
The Secretary of State is waiting on one document.
$1,500 flat, short application, bond issued when you pay. Free until issued.