South Carolina lets a Group 5 general contractor file a $350,000 surety bond in place of proving the net worth or working capital its license group otherwise requires, under S.C. Code 40-11-262. Ours is $7,000 flat — the price you see is the checkout price, identical for every applicant. A quick soft credit check may apply; it's never a hard inquiry and won't touch your score.
















Your Group 5 license is waiting on either a financial statement or this bond. Here's the bond route, end to end:
Business details, owner information, effective date — plus a one-time consent to a soft credit pull. That is the application.
A $350,000 bond gets a real underwriting look, but most clear quickly; an underwriter reaches out within 48 hours if anything else is needed. Any credit check on this application is a soft pull that never affects your score.
Pay online and receive the executed bond ready to file with your initial or renewal application to the LLR Contractor's Licensing Board. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the Board insists.
South Carolina licenses general contractors through the LLR Contractor's Licensing Board, and each license group carries a minimum net-worth or working-capital requirement that scales with the size of projects you can take. Group 5 is one of the larger tiers. Under S.C. Code 40-11-262, an applicant may file a surety bond in the same amount as the required net worth or working capital instead of submitting a qualifying financial statement.
For Group 5 that bond amount is $350,000. It lists the State of South Carolina as obligee and stands for the benefit of any person damaged by your breach of a construction contract — or by an unlawful act or omission in performing construction. The bond must be continuous and stay in effect as long as you hold the license on the bond route, until you instead file financials that meet the group requirement.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. Most contractors who use the bond route treat it as a cash-flow tool: they keep their capital working rather than parking $350,000 in net worth on paper.
These are the actual underwriting fields, including a one-time consent to a soft credit check. A $350,000 bond gets a quick review; most issue within 1–2 business days.
Start the application →$7,000 flat, short application, e-signed bond in 1–2 business days. Free until issued.