St. Louis contractor license bonds.
$125 flat.
In the City of St. Louis, the $25,000 surety bond attaches to specific trade licenses rather than to general contracting. The Electrical Code requires one of every communications contractor, and the Plumbing Code requires one of master plumbers and sprinkler contractors. Ours is $125 flat.
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How much does a St. Louis contractor license bond cost?
$125 at the $25,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps. One sitting.
A City trade-license bond is one of the simpler filings in surety. Here's the entire process:
Apply online
Business details, an effective date and your contractor type — communications contractor, for example. That's the application: no financials and no credit check.
Pay & e-sign
This bond is among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase — no underwriter review and no credit check.
File with the Building Division
Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to file with the City section that licenses your trade — the Electrical Inspection Section for communications contractors. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
Which St. Louis contractors need a $25,000 bond
The City of St. Louis building codes attach the $25,000 bond to specific trade licenses, not to general contracting. The Electrical Code’s Annex H licenses communications contractors: the low-voltage trade that installs and repairs fire and burglar alarm systems, telephones, public address, card readers, and TV and radio distribution systems up to 24V nominal. Section 80.21.4.1 requires each applicant to file a $25,000 indemnifying bond with the Electrical Inspection Section.
That bond names the City of Saint Louis as insured, for the use and benefit of every customer you contract with, and pays them for damages if you fail to perform the work as contracted. The Comptroller must approve it before the license issues. The Plumbing Code imposes the same $25,000 figure on master plumbers (§ 111.8) and sprinkler contractors (§ 112.8), with a $1,000,000 liability certificate. Electrical contractors and drainlayers have their own pages below.
The carrier’s form asks for your contractor type, so name the City license you are applying for, and check with that licensing section that this form suits its filing. It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. For a communications contractor a lapse is costly: under § 80.21.4.1 it means re-applying to the Board with fees, and re-testing.
You need this bond if you're
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 $25,000 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
File with the Building Division. Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to file with the City section that licenses your trade — the Electrical Inspection Section for communications contractors. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $125 at the $25,000 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 issuing fields, including the contractor-type line. No credit check.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Missouri bonds.
Been told you need a different amount?
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Get your St. Louis trade license bonded today.
$125 flat, no credit check, bond issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.