Why the filing deadline drives the schedule
General contractors set an EAC cutoff — often 30 days out — because they need time to cross-check insurance limits and badge counts before printing floor credentials. A late filing can mean a crew shows up without dock access.
We build backward from that date: insurance request to your carrier first, personnel list second, letter filed third. Each step has its own lead time and we track all three against the same calendar.
Insurance limits venues actually ask for
Certificates typically need to name the show organizer and the venue as additional insured, with limits spelled out in the exhibitor kit. We read the kit line by line rather than reusing a generic template that might fall short on one line item.
When a carrier needs a few extra days to issue an endorsement, we flag it early instead of finding out at the will-call desk.
Working the floor under someone else's house rules
Every venue and every general contractor draws the line between exhibitor labor and union or house labor a little differently. At the Raleigh Convention Center that line is usually spelled out in the exhibitor manual, and we confirm it against the current show rather than assuming last year's rules still apply.
North Carolina is a right-to-work state, so blanket claims about union-only labor across the whole market do not hold up — the actual rule is whatever that specific show's general contractor publishes for that specific hall.
We put the labor category breakdown in writing for the client before the crew is booked, so nobody discovers on move-in morning that a rigging point or an electrical drop was reserved for a different labor pool than the one already on site.
Closing out the paperwork after the show
Once the crew badges are returned and the booth is struck, we keep a copy of the filed EAC letter and insurance certificate on file for the next event, since many shows ask for the same documentation cycle after cycle.
That saved paperwork usually cuts a week off the next show's filing timeline.
Frequently asked questions
How far ahead does the EAC letter need to go in?
Most general contractors publish a cutoff around 30 days before move-in. We start the insurance and personnel paperwork earlier so the filing itself is not rushed.
Does the venue require union labor for install?
North Carolina is a right-to-work state, so that depends on the specific show's general contractor and the labor categories printed in that show's exhibitor manual, not a blanket market rule.
What happens if the badge count changes after filing?
We send a revised personnel list to the exhibitor services office as soon as the count changes — most general contractors accept updates up until a second, later cutoff.
Do you handle this for shows outside the Raleigh Convention Center?
Yes, the same filing process applies at the NC State Fairgrounds and other regional halls; the deadlines and forms just come from that venue's general contractor instead.
What if our booth includes a rigged sign or a suspended element?
That usually triggers a separate rigging waiver on top of the standard EAC letter, and we file it against the same deadline so it does not become a second, later scramble.