Seattle shoring & excavation bonds.
From $100.
Before you shore or excavate in a Seattle public place, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) conditions your street use permit on a surety bond that guarantees you restore the right-of-way. The City sets the amount on your permit — pricing starts from $100, and no credit check up to $100,000.
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How much does a Seattle shoring & excavation 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 shoring bond — enter your amount, pay, and file with SDOT. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
No credit check up to $100,000.
Issued on the spot
Your bond is priced at 1% of the amount, $100 minimum, and issued instantly.
File with SDOT
Submit the executed bond with your Seattle street use / shoring permit application. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the City insists.
What it is and who needs it.
What the shoring bond actually guarantees
The City of Seattle manages its streets, sidewalks, and other public places through the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT). When your project requires shoring or excavation that affects a public place, SDOT issues a street use permit and conditions it on a surety bond.
The bond is a restoration and public-safety guarantee: it stands behind your obligation to shore safely, excavate within the permit, and restore the right-of-way to City standards when the work is done. If you don't, the City can recover its repair costs against the bond.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays the City, you repay the surety. Contractors who restore the right-of-way and close out their permits treat the bond as a permit formality. We issue the amount SDOT set, with pricing starting from $100 and no credit check up to $100,000 on the application.
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 SDOT. Submit the executed bond with your Seattle street use / shoring permit application. Wet-ink originals mailed whenever the City insists.
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 SDOT set — the executed bond is generated instantly, ready to file with your permit.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Washington bonds.
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Shoring bond, issued today.
Pricing from $100. Enter the amount SDOT set and file the same day.