District of Columbia non-degree school bonds.
From $100.
A private postsecondary non-degree school in the District, such as a career or trade school, must keep a bond or other surety acceptable to the Higher Education Licensure Commission while it operates. The Commission’s rule sizes it by enrollment and annual net tuition. The premium is 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum.
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How much does a District of Columbia non-degree school bond cost?
1% of the bond amount, from $100. Enter your amount in the calculator for the exact price.
Three steps. One sitting.
No underwriting queue for the standard school surety — enter your amount, pay, and file with the Commission. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your school’s name and details, the surety amount your licensure tier requires, and an effective date. That is the application.
Issued
No credit check up to $25,000, and most applications approve instantly. Your executed bond and power of attorney are generated as soon as you pay.
File with HELC
Send the executed bond with your initial licensure application, your renewal, or an amendment — the rule lists the surety as part of each. Wet-ink originals mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the school surety actually guarantees
The District licenses two different families of postsecondary school. Degree-granting institutions sit under one chapter of the Commission’s rules; private postsecondary non-degree schools — the career, trade, technical, and certificate schools whose instruction does not result in credit toward a degree — sit under 5-A DCMR chapter 81, which implements D.C. Law 1-104, now codified in D.C. Code Title 38, Chapter 13. The licensing body is the Higher Education Licensure Commission at the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.
The surety is a student-protection guarantee, payable to the Commission. Its stated purpose is protecting students should the school declare bankruptcy or otherwise breach its contract with its students by terminating an educational program without adequate refunds or teach-out arrangements. A student — or a student’s parent or guardian — aggrieved by that has a direct right of action on the bond for money, damages, or both. It is not insurance for the school: if the surety pays, the school repays the surety.
Two neighbors to know about. Agents who solicit students in the District for an out-of-District school are licensed separately and file their own $2,500 surety, and a school may instead file a blanket bond covering all its authorized agents in an amount the Commission sets, capped by the rule at $15,000. Licensure runs on a short leash: an initial or renewal license for not more than one year, a renewal of up to two years once the initial year is complete and the school is in full compliance, and up to three years after five years of continuous licensure in good standing — with the renewal application due at least 60 days before expiry.
You need this bond if you are
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A claim comes from the party the bond protects, the obligee named on the form, when the duty the bond guarantees is not met.
The surety investigates and pays a valid claim, up to the bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The premium covers a one-year term from the effective date you choose.
Renew before the expiry date to keep the bond in force: the license, permit or contract it backs expects continuous coverage.
How to file it
File with HELC. Send the executed bond with your initial licensure application, your renewal, or an amendment — the rule lists the surety as part of each. Wet-ink originals mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum: the amount the obligee sets moves the price, not your business profile.
No credit check up to $25,000. Above that, the carrier may run a soft pull, which never affects your score.
Where a check runs, it decides approval; the rate is the same for everyone approved.
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual issuing fields — your school’s name and details, the surety amount your tier requires, and an effective date. No credit check up to $25,000. Above that, the carrier may run a soft pull, which never affects your score.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other District of Columbia bonds.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Get the school surety off your licensure checklist.
From $100, no credit check up to $25,000, and the bond issues as soon as you pay. Enter the amount your tier requires and file with HELC today. Free until issued.