Site improvement bonds.
From $275.
A local government approving your site plan or subdivision typically will not sign off until you guarantee its roads, curbs, drainage and other improvements get built. A site improvement bond is that guarantee, filed with the approving city, county or planning authority. Premium is 3% of the bond amount plus a $25 underwriting fee, $275 minimum.
Trusted by industry leaders
How much does a Site improvement bond cost?
3% of the bond amount plus a $25 fee, from $275. Enter your amount in the calculator for the exact price.
Three steps. One sitting.
Site improvement bonds close fast once your approving authority’s figure is in hand. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Who is requiring the bond (the city, county, or authority name), the estimated improvement cost, your estimated completion date, and the type of work being bonded. Because underwriting on a site improvement bond is more involved, every request carries a $25 fee.
Issued
Most requests at routine amounts clear the same day the file is complete. A soft credit pull runs as part of underwriting and never affects your score; larger or unusual improvement scopes can take a brief additional review.
File with your local authority
Submit the executed bond, on whatever form your city, county, or planning authority requires, to satisfy the condition attached to your site plan approval. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What a site improvement bond actually guarantees
A site improvement bond — also called a subdivision bond, site plan bond, or public improvement bond depending on the jurisdiction — is a developer’s guarantee to the government that approved the project: the roads, curbs, sidewalks, drainage, and utility work shown on the approved site plan will actually get built, or the local government has the money to finish them. It is standard practice across nearly every U.S. municipality and county with a site plan or subdivision review process, though each jurisdiction sets its own form, amount, and release conditions.
It is the usual three-party arrangement: you (the principal, typically the developer), the surety carrier, and your local government as obligee — the city, county, or planning authority that conditioned final approval on the bond. If the improvements are not completed to the approved plan, the obligee can draw on the bond to hire another contractor to finish them. It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety.
Because no single statute governs this bond nationwide, we do not cite one — the requirement comes from whatever ordinance, subdivision regulation, or development agreement your local approving authority applies, and the amount is normally the engineer’s estimated cost of the improvements, sometimes with a contingency percentage the authority adds. Name the authority requiring your bond in the application, and put the improvement cost from your approved plans in the amount field — we price from that figure, with a $25 underwriting fee that applies to every site improvement request on this program.
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 your local authority. Submit the executed bond, on whatever form your city, county, or planning authority requires, to satisfy the condition attached to your site plan approval. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is 3% of the bond amount plus a $25 fee, $275 minimum: the amount the obligee sets moves the price, not your business profile.
One soft credit pull, never a hard inquiry, and it never affects your score.
Where a check runs, it decides approval; the rate is the same for everyone approved.
One application, fast review.
These are the actual issuing fields — who is requiring the bond, your estimated improvement cost, and the type of work being bonded. A $25 underwriting fee applies to every request; the rest is priced from your figure.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Federal bonds.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Get your site plan improvements bonded.
From $275, priced at 3% of the bond amount plus a $25 fee. Enter your approving authority’s figure and file the same day. Free until issued.