California Surety Bonds

Surety bonds are required in a wide variety of professions and industries in California. Often part of the professional licensing process, these bonds help to protect the public and government bodies from fraudulent or unscrupulous business practices.

Types Of Surety Bonds In California

There are three main types of surety bonds required in the state of California. These are:

• Commercial bonds (also known as license bonds or permit bonds)
• Contract bonds (also known as performance bonds or service bonds)
• Court bonds

License Bonds

Commercial, or license bonds, are required if you want to get a professional license for a number of specific roles. A wide range of careers require commercial bonds. These include:

• Auto dealer
• Legal document assistant
• Mortgage broker
• Notary
• Finance lender
• Escrow licensee
• Pest control officer
• Process server
• Motor vehicle wholesaler
• Line broker

You may also need to get a commercial bond if you want to open an employment agency, a credit services organization and even a car wash.

A commercial bond guarantees that the party seeking the bond (also known as the principal) will comply with the relevant rules and regulations governing their industry.

Contract Bonds

Contract bonds are often required for contracting businesses that want to participate in public or private construction projects. A contract bond is designed to ensure that the terms of a contract are fulfilled. If the contracted party (the principal) fails to realize its duties, the owner of the project can use the bond to cover any financial losses from the surety company. The surety company will then recover this money from the principal.

Court Bonds

Court bonds can be required by a court if you wish to appeal a ruling or be appointed another person’s guardian. Court bonds are essentially judicial surety bonds that are used protect plaintiffs, dependants and, occasionally, defendants, from any losses incurred as the result of a court proceeding

Determining Your California Surety Bond Type

California, like many states, has a wide variety of surety bond requirements. Within these three main categories of California surety bonds are a lot of other unique options ranging from auctioneer bonds to freight broker bonds.

Obtaining the right bond from a surety company is essential if you want to properly secure your contract, earn your professional license or protect yourself from losses. So, before applying for a bond, it’s important to determine the exact type of bond you require.

The best way to do this is to contact the party that has asked you to obtain a bond. This party is known as the obligee, and is likely to be an entity like a government department, a court or a licensing board.

The obligee should be able to tell you which bond form is needed, and let you know your required bond amount. Having these two pieces of information will speed up the process and ensure you get the right bond for your requirements.

Find Your California Surety Bond

Check out the table below to find the bond you need:

Lance Surety Bonds offers all types of surety bonds in all 50 states. We’re experts in the field and can help you find the bond you need.

How to Get a California Surety Bond

Obtaining a California surety bond is an easy and straightforward process. If you’d like to get bonded, just follow these three simple steps:

Apply Online

The first step in obtaining a surety bond is to complete our short online application. The application process is quick and easy. All we need is a few basic details about you (the applicant) and about the bond you require.

Get a Quote

As soon as we have your details, we’ll start searching through our large surety partner network to find the top bonding options for your needs. When we have a bond that’s right for you, we’ll send you a free, no obligation quote. This bond quote will outline the surety bond cost and give you more information on exactly what you’re getting.

Buy Your Bond

If you’re happy with your free quote, all you need to do to complete the process is pay your bond premium. As soon as the premium is paid, we’ll email you confirmation and you’ll receive a digital copy of your bond straight away. If you need a hard copy, we can provide you with a paper bond as well.

If you’d like to learn more about the bonding process, we offer a range of excellent resources including an in depth guide on How to Get Bonded. To learn more about how exactly the bond price is set, take a look at our How Much Does a Surety Bond Cost? Guide.

How Much Does a California Surety Bond Cost?

While the exact amount a bonding company will charge for each bond will vary, in general you’ll pay 1% to 10% of the bond amount or required coverage.

There are a number of factors that impact the cost of a California surety bond. The most important is risk. If a bond is considered ‘low risk’ it means that the surety company believes there’s only a small chance it will have to pay out. Low risk bonds are generally issued instantly and at a fixed price.

If a surety company considers a bond is ‘high risk’, it means that they believe there’s an increased chance that a claim will be made against the bond. In these cases, underwriting consideration may be required and the bonding company may perform a review of the applicant’s credit history and bond amount.

Can I Get a California Surety Bond With Bad Credit?

Because a surety bond is a type of financial guarantee, applicants with financial problems have a more difficult time getting bonded.

To help those with bad credit get the bonds they need, Lance Surety Bonds runs a bad credit surety bonds program. This program is designed to provide you with a bonding option if you’re struggling with a low credit score or other financial issues.

Due to the higher bonding risk involved in bonding those with poor credit, the rates you can expect to pay are slightly higher. Generally, you’ll be asked to pay between 5%-15% of the required bond amount. Our bad credit surety bonds program is a great way to get the bond you need to take the next step in your professional career.

Additional Resources

If you want to get a professional license in California, take a look at our licensing guides for the most common fields:

• How to Get a California Dealer License
• How to Get a Used Car Dealer License in California
• Simple Guide To Getting A California Contractor License
• Your Guide To Becoming A Mortgage Broker In California
• How to Get a California Money Transmitter License [2021 Guide]
• How to Open a California Credit Services Organization [2021 Guide]
• How to Become a California Immigration Consultant (2021)
• How to Get an Insurance Broker License in California
• Your Guide to Liquor License Costs in California

City-Level Bonding Requirements

Choose your city from the list below to learn more about its bonding requirements. Or keep reading to get an overview of all California bond requirements.