Columbia Falls right-of-way excavation bonds.
$100 flat.
A $5,000 bond must be on file with the city clerk before the Director of Public Works issues a permit to dig, bore or break up a Columbia Falls street, alley, sidewalk or other public grounds, including for a water or sewer service connection (CFMC § 12.32.030). Ours is $100 flat for a term.
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How much does a Columbia Falls right-of-way excavation bond cost?
$100 at the $5,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Built around the excavation permit.
Public Works signs off “Bond Valid and Permit Fee Paid” before it authorizes the dig, so the bond comes first. Here is the whole process:
Send us the file
Apply online with your business details and the effective date. If you are registering as an excavation contractor for the year, tell us so the bond can travel with your registration.
Pay & e-sign
$100 flat for the $5,000 bond — no quote round-trip. Pay and e-sign, and the bond issues right after, usually in the same sitting.
Execute & file with the city clerk
We issue the executed bond with the power of attorney attached, ready to file with the Columbia Falls city clerk and to present to Public Works with your Application/Permit to Excavate Within City Right of Way.
What it is and who needs it.
What the Columbia Falls right-of-way bond guarantees
Columbia Falls regulates digging in public ground through Chapter 12.32 (Excavations) of its municipal code. Section 12.32.010 makes it unlawful to dig, break, excavate, tunnel, undermine or break up any street, or to excavate in or under the surface of any street, alley, sidewalk or other public grounds, without first obtaining an excavation permit from the Director of Public Works. Under § 12.32.020 the application names the location, size and purpose of the excavation and who is doing the work, and the applicant must hold a license to do business in the city.
Section 12.32.030 then bars the permit until the applicant has filed with the city clerk a bond in the sum of five thousand dollars. The bond is conditioned to indemnify the city for any loss, liability or damage arising from the making, existence, or manner of guarding or constructing the excavation. It is further conditioned to fill, restore and place every opening in good and safe condition to the Director’s satisfaction.
The bond also carries a maintenance tail. You must keep the street, alley, sidewalk or public ground in as good condition as before the work, ordinary wear and tear excepted, for 12 months after the work if the backfill is mechanically compacted by accepted methods, or 24 months if it is not. The city’s permit form states the warranty more simply, as one year from completion of the work to Public Works Standards.
It is a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety, and the City of Columbia Falls (the obligee). If the city has to restore the right-of-way at your expense and the surety pays the claim, you repay the surety. Work on a state highway route is separate and runs through a Montana Department of Transportation encroachment permit.
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 $5,000 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
Execute & file with the city clerk. We issue the executed bond with the power of attorney attached, ready to file with the Columbia Falls city clerk and to present to Public Works with your Application/Permit to Excavate Within City Right of Way.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $100 at the $5,000 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, no credit check.
These are the actual issuing fields — your business details, the $5,000 penal sum and the effective date. Submit once and a surety specialist reviews it and returns a quote, typically within one business day. Free until your bond is issued.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Montana bonds.
Been told you need a different amount?
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Get bonded and get your excavation permit.
$100 flat for the $5,000 bond — no credit check, often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.