The City of Detroit requires a used building materials dealer to file a $1,000 bond as a condition of the city license, processed through the Consumer Affairs Business License Center. Ours is $275 flat, with no credit check.
















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 check 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.
$1,000 bond × 3% = $30, which is below our $275 minimum — so the price is $275, one-time per term. Fixed amount, fixed price, multi-year if you want it.
The City of Detroit licenses used building materials dealers — those who buy, store, and resell salvaged lumber, fixtures, brick, and other reclaimed construction material — and conditions the license on a $1,000 surety bond. The bond is a public-protection guarantee tied to recordkeeping and lawful dealing in salvaged material.
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 dealer deals in stolen or misrepresented material or violates the licensing rules, 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 — no credit check section, because this bond doesn't have one.
Start the application →If yours isn't here, the bond team can usually answer within the hour.
$275 flat, five-minute application, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.