Corpus Christi ship agent license bonds.
$500 flat.
The Port of Corpus Christi Authority of Nueces County requires every licensed ship or vessel agent to file a $25,000 Indemnity and Payment Bond. Ours is $500 flat — the price you see is the checkout price. The application includes a credit consent, but it authorizes a soft pull only.
Trusted by industry leaders
How much does a Corpus Christi ship agent license bond cost?
$500 at the $25,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps. One sitting.
A licensing bond like this is one of the more straightforward things in surety, even with a credit consent on the form. Here is the entire process:
Apply online
Business details, an effective date, and a credit consent authorizing a soft pull only — never a hard inquiry.
Pay & e-sign
Bonds like this one, with a soft-pull credit consent, typically clear the same day. Issued when you pay. One soft credit pull, never a hard inquiry, and it never affects your score.
File with the Port Authority
Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to file with the Port of Corpus Christi Authority alongside your Vessel Agent License application. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Since May 1, 2021, the Port of Corpus Christi Authority of Nueces County has required anyone operating as a ship or vessel agent at the Port to first obtain a license from the Port Commission. Licensees must submit an Indemnity and Payment Bond in the amount of $25,000, payable to the Port Authority — a financial-responsibility guarantee alongside the required insurance and credit-history review.
It is a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the Port of Corpus Christi Authority (the obligee). Under Tariff 200, the Port Authority can redeem the bond if the licensee has an undisputed invoice that goes unpaid 60 days past its due date.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. Vessel agents in good standing with the Port Authority treat the $25,000 bond as a licensing formality, not a risk. We issue it for $500 flat, with a soft-pull-only credit consent on the application.
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 $25,000 bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The premium covers a one-year term from the effective date you choose; a longer term is the same price per year, chosen 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 Port Authority. Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to file with the Port of Corpus Christi Authority alongside your Vessel Agent License application. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $500 at the $25,000 amount for every applicant: the carrier’s rate book prices this bond by the form, not by your credit or your business profile.
One soft credit pull, never a hard inquiry, and it never affects your score.
Where a check runs, it decides approval; the rate is the same for everyone approved.
One application, one soft pull.
These are the actual issuing fields. The credit consent below authorizes a soft pull only — never a hard inquiry.
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 .
Get your Corpus Christi agent license bond today.
$500 flat, soft pull only, bond often issued the same day. Free until issued.