Minneapolis trade show exhibitor bonds.
From $100.
When the City of Minneapolis licenses a company to exhibit, demonstrate, sell, or take orders for merchandise at a trade show or convention held in the city, it can condition that license on a surety bond filed with the City's Business Licenses & Consumer Services division. Premiums cost 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum.
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How much does a Minneapolis trade show exhibitor bond cost?
1% of the bond amount, from $100. Enter your amount in the calculator for the exact price.
Three steps. One sitting.
No long underwriting queue for the standard exhibitor bond — enter your amount, pay, and file with the City. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your business details, the bond amount your license application requires, and the effective date — that is the application.
Issued
No credit check up to $25,000 in the application, and most applications approve instantly. Because trade show schedules move fast, larger amounts may get a brief review.
File with the City
Submit the executed bond to Business Licenses & Consumer Services to complete your trade show exhibitor license before the event opens. Wet-ink originals mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the trade show exhibitor bond actually covers
A trade show exhibitor bond backs a company or individual that Minneapolis has licensed to exhibit, demonstrate, or sell goods and take orders at a trade show, convention, or similar temporary commercial event held in the city. The City requires the bond as a condition of issuing that business license, so exhibitors who sell to Minneapolis residents and businesses can be held to the same standards as a permanently located merchant.
It is a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the City of Minneapolis (the obligee), with the public and the City as the protected parties. If you take orders or payment and fail to deliver, misrepresent merchandise, or otherwise violate the terms of your license, a claim can be filed against the bond — and if the surety pays, you repay the surety. It is a public-protection backstop, not insurance for your business.
We could not confirm a single, publicly indexed Minneapolis ordinance section that names a fixed penal sum for the trade show exhibitor category specifically — enter the amount stated on your own license application from Business Licenses & Consumer Services. We price the bond from a $100 minimum, and no credit check up to $25,000.
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 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 City. Submit the executed bond to Business Licenses & Consumer Services to complete your trade show exhibitor license before the event opens. Wet-ink originals 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.
No credit check up to $25,000. Above that, the carrier may run a soft pull, which never affects your score.
Where a check runs, it decides approval; the rate is the same for everyone approved.
One application, no credit check up to $25,000.
Submit the application with the bond amount your license application requires. Because show schedules move fast, larger amounts may get a brief review — usually within 48 hours.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Minnesota bonds.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Exhibitor license waiting on one bond.
No credit check up to $25,000, and most applications approve instantly. Enter the amount your license requires and file with the City the same day.