Lake County contractor bonds.
$50 flat.
Lake County requires a contractor to file a $5,000 unified license bond before the Lake County Plan Commission will issue a general contractor's license — ours is $50 flat, and the price you see is the checkout price.
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Three steps. One sitting.
A unified county license bond is about the simplest filing in Indiana surety. Here's the entire process:
Apply online
Business details and an effective date. That's the application — no financials, no follow-up scavenger hunt.
Pay & e-sign
Unified license bonds like this are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase. At most, 1–2 business days.
File with the Recorder
Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to record with the Lake County Recorder and attach to your license application. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Indiana does not license general contractors at the state level — in Lake and Porter Counties, that's done locally under a single countywide bonding statute rather than city by city. A contractor doing work in Lake County files a $5,000 unified license bond before the Lake County Plan Commission issues a general contractor's license.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and Lake County (the obligee), with the public as the protected party. If a licensed contractor's work violates the county's building, zoning, or contracting ordinances, a harmed party can bring a claim against the bond.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. The bond is recorded with the Lake County Recorder and must stay active for the life of your license, so we track it and notify you 60 and 30 days out to keep your $5,000 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 Indiana bonds.
License your business in Lake County today.
$50 flat, soft pull only, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.