The City and County of Denver requires a $50,000 bond before you excavate in the public right-of-way — its streets, alleys, and sidewalks. The Department of Transportation & Infrastructure (DOTI) sets the amount; ours is $1,500 flat, which is 3% of the bond. The application is five minutes, and no credit check on this bond.
















Denver won't issue your excavation permit without this on file. Here's the entire process:
Business details and an effective date. That's the application — no financials, no credit check section, no follow-up scavenger hunt.
Municipal license bonds like this are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase. At most, 1–2 business days.
Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to file with Denver Contractor Licensing and your DOTI excavation permit. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
$50,000 bond × 3% = $1,500, one-time per term. Fixed amount, fixed price, multi-year if you want it.
When you cut into a Denver street, alley, or sidewalk, the city wants a financial backstop that you'll restore the public right-of-way to its standards afterward. The City and County of Denver Department of Transportation & Infrastructure (DOTI) conditions your right-of-way license and excavation permit on a $50,000 surety bond.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier standing behind you, and the City and County of Denver (the obligee). If you fail to comply with DOTI's requirements, specifications, and instructions — or leave the right-of-way unrestored — the city can recover against the bond.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. Contractors who backfill, compact, and repave to Denver's standards treat the bond as a licensing formality, and we keep your $50,000 filing continuous with renewal notices 60 and 30 days out.
These are the actual issuing fields — no credit check section, because this bond doesn't have one.
Start the application →If yours isn't here, the bond team can usually answer within the hour.
$1,500 flat, five-minute application, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.