Tennessee highway grading permit bonds.
From $100.
When grading or earthwork affects a Tennessee state highway right-of-way, TDOT conditions the grading permit on a bond running to the Department. The amount tracks the estimated construction cost TDOT determines. Premiums are 1% of the bond amount, with a $100 minimum, and your exact price appears at the application.
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How much does a Tennessee highway grading permit 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 grading permit bond — enter your amount, pay, and file with TDOT. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your business details, the bond amount TDOT required, and the effective date — that is the application.
Issued on the spot
No waiting for most applicants — the executed bond generates as soon as you pay. No credit check up to $100,000.
File with TDOT
Submit the executed bond with your grading permit application to the regional Traffic Engineering office. TDOT often wants the original mailed or delivered — we send it.
What it is and who needs it.
What the grading permit bond actually covers
Grading and earthwork that affect a Tennessee state highway right-of-way require a permit from TDOT, issued through its regional Traffic Engineering offices under the same right-of-way framework that governs entrance permits. The grading permit is conditioned on a surety bond running to the Department.
The bond guarantees you perform the grading per your approved plans and restore to original condition any part of the highway, shoulders, or drainage your work disturbs or damages. The amount tracks the estimated construction cost TDOT determines for the work.
If you leave the right-of-way out of compliance or damaged, TDOT can recover against the bond to put it right — and if the surety pays, you repay the surety. We price the amount on your permit from $100, with most applicants approved instantly.
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 TDOT. Submit the executed bond with your grading permit application to the regional Traffic Engineering office. TDOT often wants the original mailed or delivered — we send it.
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.
Submit the application with the bond amount on your TDOT permit — the executed bond is generated instantly, ready to file.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Tennessee bonds.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Grading permit bond, issued today.
Premiums from $100. Enter the amount TDOT required and file the same day.