Illinois talent agency bonds.
From $100.
A talent agency that wants to sign union performers in Illinois has to be franchised by SAG-AFTRA, and the franchise is conditioned on a surety bond running to the union. It sits on top of the bond the State already takes for your agency license. Premiums cost 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum.
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How much does an Illinois talent agency bond cost?
1% of the bond amount, from $100. Enter your amount in the calculator for the exact price.
Three steps. One sitting.
The union side of an agency file moves quickly once the bond exists — it is the state license, not the surety, that sets the pace. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your agency details, your county, the bond amount the franchise requires, and an effective date. No credit check up to $25,000.
Pay & e-sign
Talent agency bonds are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase. No credit check up to $25,000, and most applications approve instantly.
Send it to SAG-AFTRA
Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to submit with your franchise application or renewal. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the SAG-AFTRA agency bond actually guarantees
A franchised agency stands between a performer and a producer, and money moves through it in both directions — a session payment lands with the agency, the agency takes its commission and passes the balance on. SAG-AFTRA, as the union whose members are on the other end of that transfer, requires a franchised agency to post a bond so that a member harmed by an agency’s misconduct has a real recovery and not just a grievance.
The obligee is the union, not the State of Illinois. A claim looks like commissions taken above the franchise limits, funds held past the deadline or never passed on, or a breach of the franchise agreement’s conduct rules. Coverage commonly targets $20,000 in total: in states that already require a talent-agency bond, the union bond is written to complement the state bond up to that figure rather than to duplicate it, which is why the amount on your paperwork may not be a round $20,000.
Illinois is one of those states. Agencies that procure engagements for performers are licensed here by the Illinois Department of Labor under the Private Employment Agency Act (225 ILCS 515), which takes a $5,000 bond filed with the license application and conditioned on the licensee conforming to the Act — and an aggrieved employer, employee or other person may sue on it in circuit court. Two bonds, two obligees, two purposes. Neither is insurance for you — if a surety pays a claim, you reimburse the surety.
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
Pay & e-sign. Talent agency bonds are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase. No credit check up to $25,000, and most applications approve instantly.
What sets the price
The premium is 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum: the amount the obligee sets moves the price, not your business profile.
No credit check up to $25,000. 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 $25,000.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Illinois bonds.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Get the franchise filed.
From $100, no credit check up to $25,000, bond issued the moment you pay. Enter the amount your franchise names. Free until issued.