The City of Detroit requires a licensed junk collector to file a $2,000 bond as a condition of the city license, processed through the Consumer Affairs Business License Center. Ours is $100 flat, issued instantly — the application collects no credit information.
















License bonds are the simplest thing in surety. Here's the entire process:
Business details and an effective date. That is 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 arrives by email, ready to file through the Detroit Business License Center (eLAPS). Wet-ink original mailed on request.
The City of Detroit licenses junk collectors — those who buy, gather, and resell scrap and used material — and conditions the license on a $2,000 surety bond. The bond is a public-protection guarantee that you will follow the city's rules on recordkeeping and lawful dealing in secondhand and scrap goods.
It is a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety, and the City of Detroit together with the public (the protected parties). If a collector violates the licensing rules or deals in stolen or misrepresented goods, a harmed party can recover against the bond.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. The bond must stay active for the life of your license, so we track it and send renewal notices 60 and 30 days out.
These are the actual issuing fields — the application has no credit section, and most applicants are approved instantly.
Start the application →If yours isn't here, the bond team can usually answer within the hour.
$100 flat, five-minute application, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.