DC public space / ROW permit bonds.
From $125. Enter your amount.
When you occupy, dig, or build in the public right-of-way, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) can require a bond on your public space permit to guarantee you restore the space to District standards. DDOT sets the amount; the premium is 1% of the bond amount plus a $25 fee, with a $125 minimum — enter your amount at the application to see the exact price.
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Apply to filed in one sitting.
No underwriting queue for the standard public space bond — enter your amount, pay, and file with DDOT. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your business details, the bond amount DDOT required, and the effective date — that is the entire application.
Issued on the spot
Most applicants are issued as soon as they pay — no waiting. It never affects your score; larger amounts may get a quick review.
File with your DDOT permit
Submit the executed bond with your public space / right-of-way permit application in TOPS. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever DDOT insists.
What it is and who needs it.
What the public space bond actually covers
Anything you do between the property lines of a District street — occupy the sidewalk, open a roadway cut, set a dumpster or scaffold, install a vault or driveway — needs a public space permit from DDOT's Public Space Regulation office. On work that disturbs the right-of-way, DDOT can require a bond as a condition of the permit.
The bond is a performance and restoration guarantee: it backs your obligation to restore the public space to DDOT standards and to cover the permit deposits. DDOT's bond instructions are explicit that the amount is set to cover the entire cost of the deposits, with no partial credits.
If you fail to restore the space or leave the District out-of-pocket, DDOT can recover against the bond — and if the surety pays, you repay the surety. We issue the amount DDOT set.
You need this bond if you are
One application, issued on the spot.
Submit the application with the bond amount DDOT set — the executed bond is generated instantly, ready to file with your permit.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other District of Columbia bonds.
Public space bond, issued today.
Pricing from $125. Enter the amount DDOT required and file the same day.