Cedar Rapids solicitor license bonds.
Quote on review.
Anyone who sells goods or services door-to-door in Cedar Rapids needs a solicitor license from the City Clerk, and under § 42.04 of the Cedar Rapids Municipal Code every applicant must file a $1,000 surety bond. The license is personal, so every rep on a crew files a bond of their own. The premium is quoted on review.
Trusted by industry leaders
How much does a Cedar Rapids solicitor license bond cost?
It is underwritten: the premium is quoted from the bond amount and your financial picture, so there is no flat price to show.
From application to solicitor license.
The City Clerk will not issue a solicitor license until the bond, the insurance certificate and the background paperwork are all in. Here is the bond side of it:
Apply online
Your name, address, entity type and the effective date. The $1,000 amount is already set by ordinance — there is nothing to size. If you run a crew, each rep applies as their own principal.
A specialist quotes it
A surety specialist reviews the application and returns your exact premium. Nothing is charged until you accept the quote.
Sign & deliver the original
Accept, pay, and receive the executed bond naming the City of Cedar Rapids as obligee. Sign it as principal and deliver the original to the City Clerk with your online license application — the City does not accept photocopies.
What it is and who needs it.
What the Cedar Rapids solicitor bond guarantees
Chapter 42 of the Cedar Rapids Municipal Code (Solicitors and Transient Merchants, repealed and reenacted by Ord. No. 034-25 in June 2025) governs door-to-door selling in the city. Section 42.01 defines a solicitor as anyone who initiates or attempts to initiate personal contact at or near residences or businesses — including on private driveways, parking lots and public sidewalks — to solicit money or orders for goods, services, subscriptions or merchandise, delivered immediately or later. Under § 42.02(a), no vendor may operate without a license, and only one natural person may work under one solicitor license.
Section 42.04 then requires every license applicant to file with the City Clerk a $1,000 surety bond. The bond carries two promises: that you will comply fully with the City’s ordinances and the laws regulating vendors, and — to any resident of the City — that all money paid will be accounted for and applied according to your representation. A resident whose money is not applied as represented — a deposit for a service that never arrives, for example — can bring an action on the bond, because § 42.04 lets the person aggrieved sue on it directly. The bond must stay in force for not less than one year from execution.
It is a three-party arrangement — you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the City of Cedar Rapids (the obligee), with aggrieved residents also able to claim. If the surety pays a valid claim, you repay the surety; it is not insurance for your business. Under § 41.04, license bonds must be written by a corporate surety authorized in Iowa, are subject to the City Attorney’s approval, and must be on file with the City Clerk before the license issues.
The bond is one item on a longer list. Section 42.05 separately requires general liability insurance, including products liability, of at least $1 million per occurrence, with the City as certificate holder. Section 42.03(b) asks solicitors for a physical description and a statewide criminal history report from every state lived in during the last five years, and the City Clerk also requires a government-issued photo ID, the annual license fee and an Iowa criminal history check. Once licensed, § 42.11(a) limits solicitors to 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and bars federal holidays unless the City Manager approves otherwise, and § 42.12 bars a repeat call at the same home for the same goods or services within fourteen days without an invitation, and knocking where a “No Soliciting” sign is posted.
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 $1,000 bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
Term and renewal are set in the underwriter's quote.
Keep the bond in force for as long as the obligation behind it runs.
How to file it
Sign & deliver the original. Accept, pay, and receive the executed bond naming the City of Cedar Rapids as obligee. Sign it as principal and deliver the original to the City Clerk with your online license application — the City does not accept photocopies.
What sets the price
This bond is underwritten: the premium is quoted from the bond amount and your financial picture, so there is no flat price to show.
One application, one underwriting review.
These are the actual application fields — your name or business, entity type, address and the effective date. The $1,000 amount is locked by ordinance. Submit once and a surety specialist returns your quote, typically within one business day. Free until issued.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Iowa bonds.
Been told you need a different amount?
Requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Get the bond your Cedar Rapids license is waiting on.
The City Clerk will not issue a solicitor license without it. Apply once and a specialist returns your quote, typically within one business day. Free until issued.