Every show at McCormick Place has an official general contractor, and that contractor’s furniture catalog comes with your exhibitor service kit. For many booths, that catalog is enough. But you may want pieces it doesn’t carry: a branded registration counter, an illuminated LED bar, or the same lounge setup you use at every show. In that case, you can bring in your own furniture company as a McCormick Place exhibitor appointed contractor, usually shortened to McCormick Place EAC. If you’re still choosing furniture, start with our trade show furniture rental in Chicago page.
The process isn’t complicated, but it has deadlines that are easy to miss. Here’s how it works.
An EAC is any company you hire directly to provide a service at your booth, instead of ordering that service through the show’s official contractor. Installation crews, AV companies, photographers and furniture rental companies can all work as EACs.
What matters is whether a service is exclusive or not. An EAC can handle services the official contractor offers on a preferred basis, but not services the show has made exclusive. Furniture is almost always non-exclusive. At RSNA 2026, for example, booth furnishings are a non-exclusive service, while electrical, material handling and cleaning are reserved for Freeman. Your show’s service kit lists which services fall on which side.
Bringing a furniture vendor into McCormick Place takes two separate approvals, and different people handle each one.
1. Your vendor’s annual McCormick Place registration. Any third-party company with staff working on-site must register with McCormick Place every year, at a cost of $200. The registration exists so the building knows who is working inside it, for safety, security and liability reasons. This is your vendor’s responsibility. Ask whether theirs is current for this year.
2. Your show-level EAC request. Each show also requires the exhibitor to name its EAC by a deadline listed in the service kit. This part is your responsibility, and many shows won’t accept it from the vendor. For RSNA 2026, exhibitors must submit the request by October 15, late requests are not considered, and only requests from exhibitors are accepted.
If you miss the show deadline, your vendor can be turned away at the dock even when everything else is in order.
Once you’ve named your EAC, the vendor submits a certificate of insurance (COI). Limits vary by show. A typical package is general liability of $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate, workers’ compensation at state minimums, and $1 million in auto liability, with both the show organizer and the venue named as additional insureds. Confirm the exact numbers in your show’s manual. Get your vendor the COI instructions early; a vendor that works McCormick Place regularly should have this ready quickly.
McCormick Place’s Exhibitor Bill of Rights spells out what exhibitors can do themselves. Your own full-time employees, meaning people employed for at least six months before the show opens, can work in a booth of any size using ladders, hand tools and power tools. They cannot use forklifts, pallet jacks, scissor lifts or other motorized or hydraulic equipment.
That has two practical consequences:
The official contractor’s catalog works well if you need standard pieces and want everything on one invoice. An outside furniture vendor makes more sense when:
If none of that applies to your booth, ordering from the show catalog is usually simpler.
Modern Event Rental supplies lounge seating, charging furniture, LED furniture, bars and branded registration counters to exhibitors and event organizers at McCormick Place. Much of our inventory is designed and fabricated in-house at our 24,000-square-foot warehouse in Elk Grove Village, so the same team that produces a branded piece also delivers it. Tell us your show and booth number and we’ll walk you through the EAC process for that event.
For booth layouts and piece-by-piece recommendations, see our guide to trade show furniture rentals at McCormick Place. Exhibiting at RSNA this year? Read our RSNA 2026 booth furniture guide.
At most shows, yes. Booth furniture is usually a non-exclusive service, so an exhibitor can appoint an outside furniture company as an Exhibitor Appointed Contractor (EAC). The show’s exhibitor service kit lists which services are exclusive to the official contractor, so check it before you order.
Both have a part. The exhibitor submits the show’s EAC request by the show’s deadline, and many shows only accept requests from exhibitors. The vendor keeps its own annual McCormick Place registration current and submits its certificate of insurance.
Each show sets its own requirements, but most ask for commercial general liability of at least $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate, automobile liability, and workers’ compensation, with the show organizer and venue named as additional insureds. Confirm the exact limits in your show’s exhibitor manual.
McCormick Place’s Exhibitor Bill of Rights lets an exhibitor’s own full-time employees of at least six months work inside their booth with hand and power tools. They cannot use forklifts, pallet jacks or other motorized or hydraulic equipment, and those rights do not transfer to outside contractors.
Before your show’s EAC deadline, which usually falls several weeks before move-in. For RSNA 2026, it is October 15. Custom-branded counters and bars need extra time for artwork approval and vinyl production, so starting 8 to 10 weeks before the show is safer.
Yes. Modern Event Rental delivers and installs lounge seating, branded registration counters, bars, LED furniture and charging furniture for exhibitors and event organizers at McCormick Place, from our warehouse in Elk Grove Village.
Modern Event Rental provides event furniture for trade shows, conferences and corporate events across Chicago, from lounges and LED bars to custom branded counters. Tell us about your event and we’ll put together a quote.
