Washington State Surety Bond

There are three types of Washington surety bonding that can be required of you:

• License and permit bonds needed for many professions such as contractors and vehicle dealers to operate legally.
• Contractor bonds for public construction projects.
• Court bonds required by the courts for various purposes.

It’s important you understand how surety bonds work and that you're responsible to pay claims in full. You can also take a look at our guide to learn how to get bonded in Washington State.

Washington requires license and permit bonds in order to get and file licenses/permits for many different professions. You can find the full list of license and permit bonds required by using our bond requirement search tool.

The most frequently needed license and permit bond is the continuous contractor’s bond for general and specialty contractors, which is required by the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. Another license bond that’s often applied for is the vehicle dealer bond required by the Washington State Department of Licensing (a bond is also required for vessel dealers, vehicle manufacturers, registered tow truck operators, wreckers and scrap metal businesses).

Contract bonds such as bid bonds and performance bonds are needed to work on public construction projects. However, these are usually required by cities or municipalities as opposed to the state. You can learn more about what’s needed to get surety bonds for construction projects.

Court bonds aren’t needed as often as the bonds mentioned above, but can be required by the courts if you need to appeal a court decision, become a legal guardian of a minor or operate as a fiduciary of an estate.

Surety bonds generally cost 1-15% of the required bond amount. Costs vary significantly depending on the bond amount you need and your rate (which is the percentage of the full bond amount you must pay). You can get an instant estimate by using our bond premium calculator, or apply online to get a firm surety bond quote.

It’s possible to get surety bonds with bad credit, but it will depend on the bond type you need and how severe your credit issues are. You can get approved for most license and permit bonds with bad credit. However, it is more difficult to get contract bonds with credit issues. You can also read the most frequently asked surety bond related questions.