Johnston right-of-way permit bonds.
$100 flat.
Before the City of Johnston will review a right-of-way work permit, the application must carry a $10,000 security deposit or annual bond made to the City, under § 141.08 of the Johnston Code of Ordinances. The bond lets you keep that $10,000 in your business. The premium is $100 flat for a term.
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How much does a Johnston right-of-way permit bond cost?
$100 at the $10,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
From application to permit review.
Johnston will not review a right-of-way permit until every required document is in, and the bond is one of them. Here is the whole process:
Apply online
Your business details, the effective date, and a short description of the right-of-way work you will perform. The $10,000 amount is already set — there is nothing to size.
Pay & e-sign
$100 flat for a term. Nothing to quote, nothing to wait on — pay and e-sign in the same sitting.
E-sign & submit with your permit
Accept, pay, and receive the executed bond payable to the City of Johnston. Send it to Public Works with your certificate of liability insurance, construction documents, and permit fee.
What it is and who needs it.
What the Johnston right-of-way bond guarantees
Chapter 141 of the Johnston Code of Ordinances governs work in the public right-of-way. Under § 141.03(1), no person may enter a public place or the public right-of-way to erect, construct, emplace, or otherwise work on facilities without first obtaining a work permit from the Public Works Director. Other chapters route their work through the same permit: street, parking and alley excavation (§ 135.09), sidewalk removal or installation (§ 136.07), and new or modified curb cuts and driveway approaches (§ 140.03).
Section 141.08 then requires that every work permit application be accompanied by a $10,000 security deposit or annual bond made to the City. The bond is a restoration guarantee: if a permit holder leaves the work incomplete or out of compliance, § 141.12(4) lets the City restore the area using the security and issue violations. Section 141.12(3) separately makes the permit holder responsible for correcting defective materials or workmanship for at least one year after completion.
It is a three-party arrangement — you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the City of Johnston (the obligee). If the City draws on the bond, the surety pays and you repay the surety; it is not insurance for your business. And under § 141.08, once the security is used, no further work permits issue until the deposit or annual bond is reinstated.
Two points trip up first-time applicants. First, this $10,000 bond is not the liability requirement: § 141.08 separately calls for an indemnifying bond or a certificate of insurance in favor of the City at set liability limits, and the City’s permit checklist asks for a certificate of liability insurance alongside the bond. Second, a cash deposit is the alternative — § 141.08 refunds cash deposits on written application after the work is complete, but the money is tied up until then. The bond keeps that cash free.
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 $10,000 bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The term is set on the carrier’s application; the premium covers the period shown there.
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
E-sign & submit with your permit. Accept, pay, and receive the executed bond payable to the City of Johnston. Send it to Public Works with your certificate of liability insurance, construction documents, and permit fee.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $100 at the $10,000 amount for every applicant: the carrier’s rate book prices this bond by the form, not by your credit or your business profile.
No credit check.
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual application fields — your business details, the effective date, and a description of the right-of-way work. The $10,000 amount is locked by ordinance, and the price is $100 flat. No credit check.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Iowa bonds.
Been told you need a different amount?
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Get the bond your Johnston permit is waiting on.
The City will not review your right-of-way permit without it. $100 flat, no credit check, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.