Before you drill or take over an oil or gas well in Kentucky, the Division of Oil and Gas requires a plugging and abandonment bond on file under KRS 353.590. This is the single-well (individual) bond — pricing is 5% of the bond amount plus a $25 fee, $125 minimum, calculated for you below. Enter the amount your permit calls for; your exact price appears at the application.
















A single-well bond is straightforward — enter your amount, consent to a soft pull, and file with the Division. Here is the whole thing:
Your operator details, the well, the bond amount your permit requires, and the effective date — plus a one-time consent to a soft credit pull.
Most of these clear quickly; if underwriting needs anything, you hear from an underwriter within 48 hours. The credit check is a soft pull that never affects your score.
Pay online and receive the executed bond, ready to file with the Department for Natural Resources, Division of Oil and Gas. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the Division insists.
Kentucky regulates oil and gas wells through the Department for Natural Resources, Division of Oil and Gas. Under KRS 353.590, a performance bond must be on file before a well is drilled or acquired from another operator — it guarantees that the well will be properly plugged and abandoned and that the required well records are filed.
This is the single-well (individual) bond, covering one specific well rather than a blanket bond covering all of an operator’s wells. For permits issued after June 27, 2019, the department generally requires $2 of bond for every foot of true vertical well depth — so the amount scales with how deep the well goes.
If an operator abandons a well without plugging it, the Commonwealth can forfeit the bond; forfeited sums go to the state oil and gas well plugging fund and are spent plugging abandoned wells. It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays, you repay the surety. Operators who plug their wells and file records treat the bond as a permit formality.
These are the actual underwriting fields, including a one-time consent to a soft credit pull. Submit once and the executed bond is typically ready within a day.
Start the application →Priced at 5% of the bond amount plus a $25 fee, $125 minimum, one soft pull that never affects your score. Enter the amount your permit requires and file with the Division.