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Raleigh right of way infrastructure performance bonds.
Quote on review.
The City of Raleigh takes this performance bond in lieu of finishing the public improvements a subdivision or site plan requires before you record the plat or pull a building permit. UDO Sec. 8.1.3 sets the bond at 125% of the City-approved estimate of the work outstanding. A surety specialist quotes it, usually within one business day.
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Built around your plat or building permit.
Residential projects must have the surety accepted before the plat is recorded; commercial projects before the building permit issues. Here is the whole process, from approved estimate to executed bond:
Send us the approved estimate
Apply online with the developer’s legal name (it should match the owner in the property records), the project and case number, and the bond amount from the Infrastructure Surety Estimate City staff approved. If the estimate is not approved yet, have your engineer upload it to the Permit and Development Portal first — the bond is sized to it.
A surety specialist prices it
The City has already sized the bond, so the review is about the project and the developer, not about guessing an amount. Performance bonds on large public-improvement packages are underwritten on the developer’s file, and a specialist confirms your exact premium and any conditions before you commit.
Pay, sign & attach it to the agreement
Once you accept the quote and pay, the executed bond is prepared with the City of Raleigh as obligee and the surety’s power of attorney attached. It goes into the Infrastructure Construction Surety Agreement as Exhibit D, which you send to the City’s Surety Coordinator for DocuSign routing. A digital copy of the bond is accepted.
What it is and who needs it.
What the Raleigh infrastructure surety guarantees
Every Raleigh subdivision and site plan — inside the city limits and in its extraterritorial jurisdiction — comes with development-related improvements the developer must build to City standards: streets and curbs, sidewalks, street trees and street lights, public water and sewer mains, transit stops and other work in the public right-of-way. UDO Sec. 8.1.1 bars City services and utilities to a development until those improvements are installed or their installation is guaranteed. This bond is the guarantee. The City’s own estimate template states its purpose as capturing all construction costs within the public right-of-way.
Under UDO Sec. 8.1.3.A, if the improvements are not completed and accepted before you ask to record any part of a subdivision or to pull a building permit for a site plan — whichever comes first — you post a security instrument in lieu of completing the work, in an amount of 125% of the estimated construction cost of what remains unfinished. A licensed professional prepares a signed-and-sealed estimate on the City’s Infrastructure Surety Estimate template and uploads it through the Permit and Development Portal; once staff approve it, the bond amount follows. Where the improvements sit on a State-maintained road, the requirement is a 100% surety posted with the State instead, and the City only needs proof of it — that bond does not run to Raleigh and is not this product.
It is a three-party arrangement: you (the developer and principal), the surety, and the City of Raleigh (the obligee). It is not insurance for you — if the City draws on the bond to finish the work, you repay the surety. The City’s agreement requires a surety authorized to do business in North Carolina with no ownership or equity interest in the development, asks for a bond that runs at least two years, and requires renewal or a replacement guarantee at least 30 days before it expires. After at least half the work is done, the parties can agree in writing to reduce it, so long as 1.25 times the remaining cost stays secured. The City can withdraw active permits or hold certificates of occupancy if the surety is not in good standing. It is separate from Raleigh’s 15% warranty surety under UDO Sec. 8.1.4, its work-in-public-streets bond, and erosion-control or stormwater sureties.
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 bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
Term and renewal are set in the underwriter's quote.
Keep the bond in force for as long as the obligation behind it runs.
How to file it
Pay, sign & attach it to the agreement. Once you accept the quote and pay, the executed bond is prepared with the City of Raleigh as obligee and the surety’s power of attorney attached. It goes into the Infrastructure Construction Surety Agreement as Exhibit D, which you send to the City’s Surety Coordinator for DocuSign routing. A digital copy of the bond is accepted.
What sets the price
This bond is underwritten: the premium is quoted from the bond amount and your financial picture, so there is no flat price to show.
One application, one specialist review.
These are the actual issuing fields — the developer, the project, and the bond amount from your approved Infrastructure Surety Estimate. There is no credit section on this bond. Submit once and a surety specialist returns your exact price, typically within one business day. Free until your bond is issued.
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Post your infrastructure surety and record the plat.
Send us one short application with the amount from your approved estimate, and a surety specialist returns your price, typically within one business day. Free until issued.