Seattle street use bonds.
$100 flat.
The City of Seattle conditions a street use and occupation permit on a fixed $10,000 bond filed with the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT). The price you see is the checkout price: $100 flat, the same for everyone — and no credit check.
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How much does a Seattle street use bond cost?
$100 at the $10,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps. One sitting.
Street use bonds are about as simple as surety gets. Here's the entire process:
Apply online
Business details and an effective date. That is the application. No credit check.
Pay & e-sign
Fixed-amount bonds like this are among the thousands that issue right after purchase.
File with SDOT
Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to file with your Seattle street use and occupation permit. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the street use bond actually guarantees
The City of Seattle manages its streets and sidewalks through the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT). When you occupy or use a public place — a sidewalk cafe, a construction staging area, a long-term encroachment — SDOT issues a street use and occupation permit and conditions it on a $10,000 surety bond.
The bond is a restoration and compliance guarantee: it stands behind your obligation to use the public place within the permit and to restore the right-of-way when the use ends. If the City has to repair or clean up after you, it can recover against the bond.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays the City, you repay the surety. The bond must stay active while your permit is in force, so we track it and send renewal notices 60 and 30 days out.
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 $10,000 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; a longer term is the same price per year, chosen at checkout.
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. Your executed bond arrives by email, ready to file with your Seattle street use and occupation permit. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $100 at the $10,000 amount for every applicant: the carrier’s rate book prices this bond by the form, not by your credit or your business profile.
No credit check.
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual issuing fields. No credit check.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Washington bonds.
Been told you need a different amount?
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
SDOT is waiting on one document.
$100 flat, no credit check, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.