Houston street vendor bonds.
$250 flat.
The City of Houston requires a $10,000 surety bond from anyone who sells, exhibits, or takes orders for merchandise from a vehicle, a vacant lot, or a space in a building under Chapter 22 of the Houston Code of Ordinances. Ours is $250 flat — the price you see is the checkout price. No credit check.
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How much does a Houston street vendor bond cost?
$250 at the $10,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps. One sitting.
A street vendor permit bond is about the simplest thing in surety. Here's the entire process:
Apply online
Business details and an effective date. That is the application. No credit check.
Pay & e-sign
Vendor bonds like this are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase.
File with the Permitting Center
Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to file with your street vendor permit application at the Houston Permitting Center. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the vendor bond actually guarantees
Houston requires anyone conducting a temporary or transient business — selling, exhibiting, or taking orders for merchandise from a vehicle, a vacant lot, or leased space — to hold a street vendor permit, administered by the Houston Permitting Center under Chapter 22 of the city's Code of Ordinances. The permit is conditioned on a $10,000 surety bond that stays in effect for the life of the permit and for two years after it ends.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the City of Houston (the obligee), protecting the city and the public if a vendor fails to pay the taxes, fees, or fines the ordinance requires, or otherwise violates the permit conditions.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. Because Houston's vendor permit itself is short-lived — commonly renewed every 7 days — vendors keep this bond active for the full two-year tail the ordinance requires, and we track it so it never lapses mid-permit.
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 $10,000 bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The carrier issues this bond for a term it sets; the term cannot be changed at checkout.
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 Permitting Center. Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to file with your street vendor permit application at the Houston Permitting Center. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $250 at the $10,000 amount for every applicant: the carrier’s rate book prices this bond by the form, not by your credit or your business profile.
No credit check.
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual issuing fields. No credit check.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Texas bonds.
Been told you need a different amount?
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Finish your Houston vendor permit today.
$250 flat, no credit check, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.