New Castle County requires every outside utility contractor — water, sewer, and underground utility work — to file a fixed $50,000 bond with the Department of Land Use as a condition of the license. Ours is $1,500 flat, which is 3% of the bond amount, and the application is five minutes.
















Contractor license bonds are the simplest thing in surety. 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.
Contractor 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 your New Castle County outside utility license application or renewal. 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.
New Castle County licenses outside utility contractors — water-main, sewer-main, and underground utility installers — through its Department of Land Use, and conditions the license on a statutory compliance bond. The bond is a code-compliance guarantee: it stands behind your compliance with the New Castle County Building Code and the Delaware laws governing utility work in the public right-of-way.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier standing behind you, and New Castle County (the obligee), with the public protected. If a licensed contractor violates the code or the County’s contractor ordinance and someone is harmed, they can recover against the bond.
The bond must stay active for the life of your license. New Castle County contractor bonds run on a statutory January 1 renewal, so we track the date and notify you 60 and 30 days out, keeping your $50,000 filing continuous.
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.