The City of Rock Island, on the Mississippi River in the Quad Cities, requires a contractor to file a $10,000 surety bond before the City will license them and issue building permits. Ours is $100 flat — the price you see is the checkout price. The bond issues the moment you pay — a soft credit pull at most, never a hard inquiry.
















A city contractor license bond is about the simplest filing in surety. Here's the entire process:
Business details and an effective date. That's the application — no financials, no credit section.
License bonds like this are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase. At most, 1–2 business days.
Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to file with Rock Island's licensing office alongside your contractor license application. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
Illinois does not license general contractors at the state level, so the City of Rock Island runs its own contractor licensing program and conditions it on a $10,000 surety bond. No license, and no building permit tied to it, goes to an unbonded contractor.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the City of Rock Island (the obligee), with property owners and the City itself as the protected parties. If a licensed contractor's work causes damage the licensing requirement is meant to guard against, a harmed party can recover against the bond up to the $10,000 penal sum.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. The bond has to stay active for the life of your city license, so we track it and remind you before renewal so your permit privileges don't lapse.
These are the actual issuing fields — no credit section, because this application doesn't collect credit information.
Start the application →$100 flat, soft pull only, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.