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 the application collects no credit information.
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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 financials, no credit section.
Pay & e-sign
Fixed-amount bonds like this are among the thousands that issue right after purchase. At most, 1–2 business days.
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
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual issuing fields — no credit section, because this bond doesn't have one.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Washington bonds.
SDOT is waiting on one document.
$100 flat, no credit review, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.