The City of Cleveland requires a $500 surety bond to register as a sidewalk contractor working in the public way. At 3% that's only $15, but our minimum premium is $275 flat — the same for every contractor. The application is five minutes.
















Municipal contractor bonds are about the simplest thing in surety. Here's the entire process:
Business details and an effective date. That's the application — no financials, no credit check section, no follow-up scavenger hunt.
Small municipal license bonds like this are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase. At most, 1–2 business days.
Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to file with the City of Cleveland, alongside your sidewalk contractor registration. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
$500 bond × 3% = $15, but our minimum premium is $275 — so you pay $275 per term. Fixed amount, fixed price, multi-year if you want it.
The City of Cleveland conditions sidewalk contractor registration on a $500 surety bond. Sidewalk work sits in the public way, so even at this small amount the bond guarantees that you'll build to the city's standards and won't leave the city or the public with a defective walk or damaged public property.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier standing behind you, and the City of Cleveland (the obligee). If you violate the city's sidewalk or contractor ordinance, the city or a harmed party can recover against the bond.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. Contractors who build to standard and keep the city whole treat the bond as a registration formality, not a risk.
These are the actual issuing fields — no credit check section, because this bond doesn't have one.
Start the application →If yours isn't here, the bond team can usually answer within the hour.
$275 flat, five-minute application, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.