Ohio SAG-AFTRA talent agency bonds.
From $100.
SAG-AFTRA franchises the talent agencies allowed to represent its members, and the franchise runs on a surety bond naming the union as obligee, not the State of Ohio. Ohio licenses no talent agencies at all, so no state bond offsets the union's figure here. Premiums cost 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum.
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How much does an Ohio SAG-AFTRA talent agency bond cost?
1% of the bond amount, from $100. Enter your amount in the calculator for the exact price.
Three steps. One sitting.
There is no state queue to wait in on this one, because there is no state agency involved. Enter your amount, pay, and send the executed bond to the union. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Agency details, the bond amount your franchise requires, and an effective date. That is the application. No credit check up to $50,000.
Issued
No credit check up to $50,000, and most applications approve instantly with the price final at checkout. A larger amount can draw a brief look.
Send it to SAG-AFTRA
Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to go to the union's agency relations staff with the rest of your franchise paperwork. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the SAG-AFTRA bond actually guarantees
This is one of the rare bonds with no government on either side of it. Ohio never replaced the talent agency licensing it once ran under its personnel placement services chapter, so there is no Ohio board, no state application, no state form, and no state filing fee for a talent agency here. The requirement comes from SAG-AFTRA, which franchises the agencies permitted to represent its members and conditions that franchise on a bond naming the union itself as obligee.
What the bond secures is your compliance with SAG-AFTRA's own agency regulations governing how a franchised agent handles a member's money. In practice, the claims that reach a talent agency bond are money claims: commissions taken above the permitted percentage, payments collected on a performer's behalf and not remitted, and the wider duty to deal with members honestly and faithfully. A member harmed that way can look to the bond instead of suing a small business and hoping it is still solvent when judgment lands.
The standard requirement is a $20,000 total. Where a state imposes its own talent agency bond, that state bond is credited against the union's figure rather than added to it — Ohio imposes none, so the union's number normally stands alone for an Ohio agency. It is not insurance for you: if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety, and the bond has to stay continuous for as long as the franchise does. Because the amount and the form are contractual rather than statutory, confirm both with SAG-AFTRA before you file — the union can change them without a rulemaking.
You need this bond if you're
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
Issued. No credit check up to $50,000, and most applications approve instantly with the price final at checkout. A larger amount can draw a brief look.
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 $50,000. 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, issued instantly.
These are the actual issuing fields. Enter the bond amount your franchise requires; no credit check up to $50,000, and your exact price is set before you pay.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Ohio bonds.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Get franchised without the bond holdup.
Premiums from $100, no credit check up to $50,000, bond issued the moment you pay. Free until issued.