VT home improvement contractor bonds.
$1,000 flat.

Vermont registers residential contractors through the Secretary of State's Office of Professional Regulation, but that registry carries no bond of its own — a $50,000 home improvement contractor bond is what a homeowner, general contractor, lender, or town permit office asks for on top of it. Ours is $1,000 flat, and the price you see is the checkout price. The application includes a credit consent, but it authorizes a soft credit pull only — a soft inquiry that never affects your score.

✓

Sits alongside your OPR residential contractor registration under 26 V.S.A. ch. 106 — mandatory for homeowner jobs over $10,000

✓

Fixed price, fixed amount — a $50,000 penal sum on this form, one price, no quote process

✓

Multi-year terms available — write it once for up to 3 years and stop re-filing every spring

A-ratedA.M. Best carriersInstantissuance at checkoutSoft pullnever a hard inquiry

Trusted by industry leaders

How it works

Three steps. One sitting.

The homeowner or GC asking for the bond usually wants it before the contract is signed, so the whole thing is built to finish in one pass:

NOW · ONLINE

Apply online

Business details, your entity type, your Vermont EIN and OPR registration number, and an effective date. No financial statements, no work-in-progress schedule, no broker call.

MINUTES, USUALLY

Pay & e-sign

Your price is final at checkout — $1,000 flat for a one-year term. The application includes a credit consent, but it authorizes a soft credit pull only, and the price never moves with the result.

SAME DAY

Hand it to whoever asked

Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to attach to the contract, the permit file, or the lender package. Wet-ink original mailed on request.

About this bond

What it is and who needs it.

What the bond actually guarantees

A home improvement contractor bond is a three-party promise: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and the party that demanded the bond (the obligee). It answers for the promises in your contract — finishing the work you were paid for, honoring the deposit you took, and not walking off a half-finished kitchen. If you fail and the obligee proves a loss, the harmed party can recover against the $50,000 penal sum.

It is not insurance for you. If the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety in full — the bond buys the homeowner certainty, not you coverage. That is why it reads as a credibility instrument in Vermont, where the state stopped short of requiring one: a contractor who can post $50,000 of third-party paper has been underwritten by somebody, and a homeowner comparing three bids can see it.

Vermont does require registration. Under 26 V.S.A. § 5501 you must register with the Office of Professional Regulation before contracting with a homeowner for residential construction worth more than $10,000, and 26 V.S.A. § 5509 makes registrants carry $1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate liability insurance, use a written contract, and keep any deposit inside the statutory cap. Registration and this bond do different jobs — the registry screens for fraud and deception, the bond puts money behind your contract.

Contract or permit requirement — not 26 V.S.A. ch. 106Read 26 V.S.A. chapter 106 (Residential Contractors, added by Act 182 of 2022, effective July 1, 2022, with registration mandatory from April 1, 2023) start to finish and you will not find a bond: § 5501 requires registration with the Office of Professional Regulation before contracting with a homeowner for more than $10,000 of residential construction, § 5507 sets the biennial fees at $75 for an individual and $250 for a business organization, and § 5509 imposes the $1,000,000 / $2,000,000 liability-insurance floor, the written-contract terms, and the down-payment cap — no surety anywhere. This $50,000 bond is therefore a private requirement, not a licensing one: it is asked for by a homeowner, a general contractor, a property manager, a lender or grant program, or a municipal permit office that conditions a building or excavation permit on security. Vermont registrations can also be conditioned by an administrative law officer under 26 V.S.A. § 5505(a)(3), and a condition of that kind can include security. Confirm with the party requiring the bond that $50,000 is the penal sum they want and that they will accept a corporate surety bond — we issue on this form at a flat price.

You need this bond if you're

✓

Bidding a job whose owner or GC requires a bond — most Vermont remodelers meet this at the contract stage, not the registration stage

✓

Pulling a town building or excavation permit where the permit office conditions issuance on posted security

✓

Registered with OPR and want a differentiator — third-party paper a homeowner can verify next to your certificate of insurance

✓

Taking substantial deposits on large remodels and want the homeowner comfortable enough to sign

One application, issued instantly.

These are the actual issuing fields — business details, your Vermont EIN and registration number, an effective date, and a consent that authorizes a soft credit pull only.

Start the application →

FAQ

Common questions.

How much is the Vermont home improvement contractor bond?The premium is $1,000 flat for a one-year term — set by our carrier's rate book for this bond form, the same number for every applicant. Two- and three-year terms multiply that figure, and the price you see is the price at checkout.

Do I pay the $50,000?No. You pay the premium. The $50,000 is the surety's maximum liability if a valid claim is made against the bond — it is not a deposit, not escrow, and nobody holds your money.

How fast will I have the bond?Bond forms like this are among the thousands that issue right after purchase — most contractors finish the application and have the executed bond and power of attorney by email in the same sitting.

Is there a credit check?The application includes a credit consent, but it authorizes a soft credit pull only — a soft inquiry that never affects your score. No hard inquiry ever runs on this bond, and the price does not change with the result.

Does Vermont require this bond to register as a residential contractor?No, and we would rather tell you that than sell you a story. 26 V.S.A. chapter 106 requires registration with the Office of Professional Regulation for homeowner jobs over $10,000, $1,000,000 / $2,000,000 liability insurance and a written contract — it does not require a surety bond. Contractors buy this $50,000 bond because a homeowner, GC, lender, or town permit office asked for it, or to stand out from a bid stack that cannot produce one.

Related bonds

Other Vermont bonds.

Give the homeowner something to sign against.

A $50,000 bond, one flat price, executed bond and power of attorney by email in the same sitting. Free until issued.

Start application

Your price$1,000

Apply now →

VT home improvement contractor bonds.$1,000 flat.