Fargo excavator license bonds.
$500.
The City of Fargo requires a $100,000 excavator license bond before you can dig and work in the city's streets and right-of-way. Our carrier's rate book sets this bond at a flat $500 — the price you see is the checkout price. Because this is a larger bond, the application may include a soft credit check that never affects your score.
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How much does a Fargo excavator license bond cost?
$500 at the $100,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps. One sitting.
Even with the soft pull, this is a fast bond. Here's the entire process:
Apply online
Business details, an effective date, and consent to a quick soft credit check that never affects your score.
Pay & e-sign
Most applicants pay and e-sign in the same sitting. Issued when you pay. One soft credit pull, never a hard inquiry, and it never affects your score.
File with the City
Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to file with the City of Fargo for your excavator license. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
A City of Fargo excavator license bond is a right-of-way guarantee. Excavation in city streets risks utilities, pavement, and public safety — Fargo wants a $100,000 financial backstop that you'll restore what you dig up and follow the city's excavation rules.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the City of Fargo (the obligee). If you damage city infrastructure or fail to restore the right-of-way, the City can recover against the bond up to $100,000.
The bond must stay active while you hold the excavator license. Let it lapse and the City can pull your ability to open street cuts — so we track it and notify you 60 and 30 days out, keeping your $100,000 filing continuous.
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 $100,000 bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The bond runs to March 2 whatever day you buy; the premium covers the period to that date.
Renewal falls on the statutory date, March 2, in the year your term ends.
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 City. Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to file with the City of Fargo for your excavator license. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $500 at the $100,000 amount for every applicant: the carrier’s rate book prices this bond by the form, not by your credit or your business profile.
One soft credit pull, never a hard inquiry, and it never affects your score.
Where a check runs, it decides approval; the rate is the same for everyone approved.
One application, one soft pull.
These are the actual issuing fields. One soft credit pull, never a hard inquiry, and it never affects your score.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other North Dakota bonds.
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Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Finish your Fargo excavator license today.
$500 flat, short application, soft pull only. Free until issued.