City of Columbia right of way bonds.
From $100.
Before you cut pavement, bore, or otherwise work in the public right of way, the City of Columbia requires a right-of-way (encroachment) permit — and conditions it on a bond that you will restore the right of way to city standards. The City sets the amount on your permit; our price is 1% of the bond amount, with a $100 minimum.
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How much does a City of Columbia right of way 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 right-of-way bond — enter your amount, pay, and file with the City. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your business details, a short description of the work being performed, the bond amount the City required, and the effective date — that is the application. No credit check up to $100,000.
Issued on the spot
No credit check up to $100,000.
File with the City of Columbia
Submit the executed bond with your right-of-way permit application to the City of Columbia. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the right-of-way bond actually guarantees
The public right of way — the streets, sidewalks, and the ground beneath them — belongs to the City of Columbia. Anyone who cuts, bores, excavates, or builds in it needs a right-of-way (encroachment) permit, and the City conditions that permit on a bond. The bond is a restoration-and-public-safety guarantee: that you will put the right of way back the way you found it, to city standards.
It is a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier standing behind you, and the City of Columbia (the obligee). If you damage the right of way and do not restore it — leave a failed patch, a sunken trench, or an unsafe condition — the City can recover against the bond to make the repair.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. Contractors who restore the right of way properly treat the bond as a permit formality, not a risk. We issue the amount the City set; pricing is 1% of the bond amount, with a $100 minimum, and no credit check up to $100,000.
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 the City of Columbia. Submit the executed bond with your right-of-way permit application to the City of Columbia. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
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 $100,000. 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 for most.
These are the actual issuing fields. No credit check up to $100,000. Submit and most executed bonds generate instantly.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other South Carolina bonds.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
The City of Columbia is waiting on one document.
From $100, no credit check up to $100,000 to fill out, bond usually issued on the spot. Free until issued.