Illinois second division installment bonds.
From $100.
Illinois lets the owner of second division motor vehicles (trucks, trailers, buses) pay flat weight registration taxes in two equal semiannual installments under 625 ILCS 5/3-816. An owner electing installments must file a surety bond covering the second installment. The premium is 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum.
Trusted by industry leaders
How much does an Illinois second division installment bond cost?
1% of the bond amount, from $100. Enter your amount in the calculator for the exact price.
Three steps. One sitting.
Enter your amount, pay, and file with the Secretary of State. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Business details, the second-installment amount you are securing, an effective date, and a term. One soft credit pull, never a hard inquiry, and it never affects your score.
Pay & e-sign
The premium is 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum, computed before you pay — and the bond issues the moment you pay, executed bond and power of attorney on the spot.
File with the Secretary of State
Submit the executed bond with your installment election so your fiscal-year registrations can be issued with only the first installment paid. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
For second division motor vehicles — the trucks, trailers, and buses that pay Illinois flat weight taxes — 625 ILCS 5/3-816 lets the owner pay the annual tax in two equal semiannual installments instead of all at once. Fiscal-year registrations pay on July 1 and January 1. The owner electing installments must file a surety bond or certificate of deposit for the amount of the second installment, in a form approved by the Secretary of State.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the Secretary of State (the obligee). The bond is conditioned on paying all monies becoming due by reason of the operation of the second division vehicles — if the second installment goes unpaid, the state recovers it from the bond.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays, you repay the surety. Fleets that also run apportioned (IRP) plates use the companion International variant of this bond, whose installments fall on April 1 and October 1; we track the term and send renewal notices 60 and 30 days out.
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 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
File with the Secretary of State. Submit the executed bond with your installment election so your fiscal-year registrations can be issued with only the first installment paid. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
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.
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 issuing fields — business details, your bond amount, an effective date, and a term. That is the application.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Illinois bonds.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Installment election bond, issued today.
1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum, issued the moment you pay. Free until issued.