Contractor License ($10,000) Bond - Will County, IL in Illinois

Brief Summary

Will County will not register a contractor, and its Building Division will not issue a permit to one, until a $10,000 bond bound to the county is on file. The figure is flat for every trade and every job size. Get the bond and the certificate of insurance in hand first, because the registration is what gates the permit, and the permit is what gates the work.

Will County requires a $10,000 permit and license bond from every contractor and subcontractor registering with the county, under section 117.05 of the Will County Code of Ordinances. The bond runs to the County of Will and must be written by a company authorized to issue bonds in Illinois. Registration runs on the calendar year, January 1 through December 31, and the county's Land Use Department will only accept an original bond, not a copy or a fax.

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How to Apply for a Contractor License ($10,000) Bond:

• Confirm the work is in unincorporated Will County. Work inside a municipality is licensed by that municipality.
• Confirm your category, since the fee follows it: general contractor with tradesmen, general contractor or construction manager without tradesmen, or subcontractor per specialty.
• Plumbing contractors skip the county bond and supply state registration paperwork instead.
• Have the exact legal business name as it will appear on the registration.
• Owner or principal name, home address and Social Security number for the credit review.
• Complete the bond application and review the quoted premium.
• Pay the premium and receive the original executed $10,000 bond naming the County of Will and identifying the trades.
• File the original bond with the registration application, the certificate of insurance and the registration fee with the Will County Land Use Department, Building Division.

Detailed Information About the Illinois Contractor License ($10,000) Bond:

The amount does not move

Section 117.05 sets it as a permit and license bond issued by a company approved and authorized to issue bonds by the state, bound to the county in the penal sum of $10,000, conditioned on compliance with county codes and ordinances. General contractor, construction manager, subcontractor, one job or forty, the penal sum stays at $10,000. What changes with your category is the registration fee, not the bond.

Plumbing contractors do not post this bond

The county's own registration application says plumbing requirements do not require a bond to the County of Will. Plumbing is licensed and bonded at the state level instead. The Illinois Department of Public Health plumbing contractor surety bond runs to the Director of the Department of Public Health in the sum of $20,000. Plumbers still complete Will County registration and still supply their state registration paperwork, they just do not buy the county's $10,000 bond on top of the state one.

Homeowners and family are not contractors

The definition in section 117.02 is worth reading before anyone buys anything. A homeowner, a family member, or an unpaid friend working on the homeowner's personal residence or lot is not a contractor for purposes of this ordinance. The ordinance defines family member specifically, covering brother, sister, mother, father, aunt, uncle, the step and half relations, and in laws. Pay that friend and the analysis changes, because the ordinance presumes anyone doing permitted construction, repair or alteration in the county is a contractor unless the presumption is rebutted.

Registration is for unincorporated Will County

Section 117.08 frames the registration around compliance with county codes during construction in unincorporated areas. Work inside Joliet, Naperville, Bolingbrook, Plainfield or any other municipality in the county is licensed and bonded by that municipality on its own terms. Registering with the county does not register you with a city, and a city license does not register you with the county.

Fees, and the July 1 break

Registration runs January 1 through December 31, and section 117.05 halves the fee for anyone registering in the back half of the year. A general contractor using its own tradesmen pays $250 for January 1 through June 30 and $125 for July 1 through December 31. A general contractor or construction manager without tradesmen, using subcontractors, pays $150 and then $75, and every subcontractor on that project has to register and pay the subcontractor fee. A subcontractor pays $75 per specialty and then $40. A general contractor registering with trades has to submit a list of the tasks and the tradesmen performing them at the time of registration.

Insurance is a separate condition, and it can revoke you

Section 117.06 requires a general contractor to carry general liability of $1,000,000 along with broad form worker's compensation and employer's liability as required by law. Subcontractors submit a certificate showing the amount of coverage along with the same worker's compensation and employer's liability. A contractor with no employees files a notarized affidavit to that effect. The insurance cannot be canceled without 10 days prior written notice to the county, you have to tell the Land Use Department if it is canceled, and if the coverage lapses the registration is revoked immediately and work has to stop. The bond does not cover that gap and it does not stand in for the certificate.

Filing details that get registrations rejected

The county accepts only an original copy of the surety bond, so a faxed or scanned bond will not clear. The bond has to identify the trades. Registration has to be complete before the permit is issued, and the county's building rules require the contractor list to be submitted so licensing, registration and insurance can be checked before a permit is issued. Trade specific credentials still apply on top of the county registration, including the state roofing license and the applicable city electrical license.

Eligibility and Requirements for a Illinois Contractor License ($10,000) Bond:

• A surety company approved and authorized to issue bonds in Illinois.
• Bond in the penal sum of exactly $10,000, bound to the County of Will.
• Original bond document. The county does not accept a copy or a fax.
• Trades identified on the bond.
• General liability insurance of $1,000,000 for a general contractor, with worker's compensation and employer's liability, and 10 days prior written notice to the county before cancellation.
• A notarized no employee affidavit if the contractor has no employees.
• Registration completed before the building permit is issued.
• Owner credit review. At this bond size credit generally shapes the rate rather than eligibility.

Illinois Contractor License ($10,000) Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the Illinois Contractor License ($10,000) Bond: