Markham contractor bonds.
$100 flat.
Markham, a Cook County city just south of Chicago, requires every contractor performing construction work in the city to be licensed and bonded before the Building & Housing Department will issue a permit — a $10,000 surety bond. Ours is $100 flat — the price you see is the checkout price. The application collects no credit information, and most applicants approve instantly.
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Three steps. One sitting.
A city contractor registration bond is about the simplest filing in surety. 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
Registration 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 and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to file with Markham's Building & Housing Department alongside your license or permit application. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Like most Illinois home-rule municipalities, Markham does not rely on a statewide contractor license — the Building & Housing Department conditions its own contractor licensing and permit process on a contractor first posting a $10,000 surety bond with the City. No construction permit inside city limits is issued to an unbonded contractor.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the City of Markham (the obligee), with property owners and the City itself as the protected parties. If a bonded contractor fails to comply with Markham's building codes or other applicable ordinances, a harmed party can recover against the bond up to the $10,000 penal sum, which the contractor must then reimburse the surety.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. The bond must stay active for the life of your license, so we track it and notify you 60 and 30 days out to keep your $10,000 filing continuous.
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.
Clear Markham's permit desk today.
$100 flat, soft pull only, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.