Markham contractor license 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. No credit check, and most applicants approve instantly.
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How much does a Markham contractor license bond cost?
$100 at the $10,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
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 is the application. No credit check.
Pay & e-sign
Registration bonds like this are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase.
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
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 $10,000 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.
Renewal falls on the statutory date, October 7, 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 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 sets the price
The premium is fixed at $100 at the $10,000 amount for every applicant: the carrier’s rate book prices this bond by the form, not by your credit or your business profile.
No credit check.
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual issuing fields. No credit check.
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 .
Clear Markham's permit desk today.
$100 flat, no credit check, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.