North Carolina DOT encroachment bonds, form R/W 16A.
From $100.
The performance and indemnity bond NCDOT can require before work begins in a highway right-of-way, filed by the contractor on form R/W 16A. It indemnifies NCDOT for damage your installation causes within the right-of-way. Pricing starts from $100, and no credit check up to $50,000 — enter the amount NCDOT set.
Trusted by industry leaders
How much does a North Carolina DOT encroachment bond cost?
1% of the bond amount, from $100. Enter your amount in the calculator for the exact price.
Three steps. One sitting.
No underwriting queue for the standard encroachment bond — enter your amount, pay, and file with the NCDOT encroachment agreement. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your business details, the bond amount NCDOT required, and the effective date — that is the application.
Issued on the spot
No credit check up to $50,000. Above $50,000, a soft pull may add a short review.
File with NCDOT
Submit the executed R/W 16A with your encroachment agreement to the NCDOT division or Utilities Unit handling the permit. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the state insists.
What it is and who needs it.
What the encroachment bond actually covers
When you place an installation — a utility line, driveway, drainage, or other work — within a North Carolina highway right-of-way, NCDOT requires an encroachment agreement, and it can require a performance and indemnity bond as a condition of that agreement. The bond's purpose is to indemnify NCDOT for any damage to the right-of-way caused by the installation.
NCDOT does not dictate whether the contractor or the encroaching party posts the bond — it leaves that to the parties. This page is the contractor's version, form R/W 16A, filed when the contractor doing the work carries the bond.
When the work is finished, you request release; NCDOT inspects, and if the right-of-way is restored, the bond is released. If deficiencies remain unaddressed, NCDOT can call the bond. If the surety pays, you repay the surety. We issue the amount NCDOT set; pricing is variable and starts from $100, and no credit check up to $50,000.
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 NCDOT. Submit the executed R/W 16A with your encroachment agreement to the NCDOT division or Utilities Unit handling the permit. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the state insists.
What sets the price
The premium is 1% of the bond amount, $100 minimum: the amount the obligee sets moves the price, not your business profile.
No credit check up to $50,000. Above that, the carrier may run a soft pull, which never affects your score.
Where a check runs, it decides approval; the rate is the same for everyone approved.
One application, issued on the spot.
Submit the application with the bond amount NCDOT set — the executed R/W 16A is generated instantly, ready to file with your encroachment agreement. No credit check up to $50,000.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other North Carolina bonds.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Encroachment bond, issued today.
Pricing from $100. Enter the amount NCDOT set and file the same day.