Long Beach Contractor BondCSLB Statewide + City Right-of-Way — Not the LA Bond
Short answer: every contractor working in Long Beach needs the same $25,000 statewide CSLB license bond required under California Business and Professions Code Section 7071.6. If your job also touches a public street, sidewalk, or excavation, the City Engineer can additionally require a Long Beach-specific bond under Long Beach Municipal Code Section 14.08.030 — a separate filing, at a separate counter, from anything Los Angeles requires. Long Beach is its own charter city, not a Los Angeles district, and its permit office does not honor an LA-filed bond or license.
*City bond amount, when the City Engineer requires one, is twice the estimated cost of the permitted work, minimum $1,000 — see the requirements section below.
Why Long Beach's Contractor Mix Looks Different From a Typical LA County City
Long Beach anchors the Port of Long Beach, one of the nation's busiest seaports, and that single fact shapes the kind of contracting work this city generates. Alongside the residential remodels and tenant improvements common to any California city, Long Beach sees a disproportionate share of industrial, warehouse, rail-adjacent, and utility-trenching work tied to cargo movement through the harbor — plus a wave of infrastructure work along Ocean Boulevard, Pine Avenue, and the Alamitos Beach corridor as the city grows around the waterfront.
That mix matters for bonding because right-of-way and excavation work — running new utility laterals to a warehouse, cutting a curb for a driveway serving a logistics facility, trenching under a street near rail spurs — is exactly the category of work that triggers Long Beach's own city-level bond under LBMC Chapter 14.08, on top of the statewide CSLB bond every contractor already carries. A contractor doing a kitchen remodel in a Long Beach bungalow rarely sees this second bond. A contractor building out a Westside Long Beach industrial parcel very often does.
And because Port of Long Beach property is its own jurisdiction layered on top of the city — governed by Port policy and tariff, not the Long Beach Municipal Code — a contractor working inside the Harbor District can face a third, Port-specific process. We break down all three layers below, starting with the one contractors mix up most: assuming Long Beach and Los Angeles share a permit office.
Long Beach vs. Los Angeles: Two Cities, Two Permit Offices, Two Sets of Bonds
Both cities sit in Los Angeles County. Neither is a subdivision of the other. Confusing the two is the single most common error contractors make when quoting Long Beach work.
| Layer | Long Beach | Los Angeles |
|---|---|---|
| Statewide license bond | $25,000 CSLB (BPC § 7071.6) — identical everywhere in CA | $25,000 CSLB (BPC § 7071.6) — identical everywhere in CA |
| Permitting authority | Long Beach Public Works / City Engineer | LADBS & LA Bureau of Engineering |
| Right-of-way / excavation bond | LBMC § 14.08.030 — 2x cost estimate, $1,000 floor | LAMC § 62.105 — project-sized per permit |
| Building/grading permit bond | LBMC Title 14, per City Engineer determination | LAMC § 91.106 |
| City business license | Long Beach Finance Dept., separate application | LA Office of Finance, separate application |
| Port/harbor overlay | Port of Long Beach Harbor Construction Permit Policy (deposit, not a bond) | Port of LA is a separate authority; not covered here |
A bond or permit filed with LADBS for a Los Angeles project does nothing for a Long Beach job site, and vice versa — each city runs an independent permit counter under its own municipal code. See our Los Angeles contractor bond page for the LADBS-side rules if you also work LA jobs, or the California contractor license bond hub for the statewide CSLB rules that apply no matter which city you're working in.
Long Beach's Own Bond: The LBMC § 14.08.030 Right-of-Way Requirement
Not every Long Beach job needs this. It applies when work touches the public right-of-way.
Official California (Long Beach) Requirements
"The City Engineer may require the permittee to furnish a surety bond, cash deposit, or letter of credit to ensure compliance with the conditions of the permit. Such bond shall be in an amount equal to twice the estimated cost of performing the work, provided that the minimum amount shall not be less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), and the minimum duration of the bond shall not be less than one (1) year."Long Beach Municipal Code — Public Works, Department of • Long Beach Municipal Code § 14.08.030 (Chapter 14.08, Title 14 — Streets and Sidewalks)
- Excavation in or adjacent to a public street
- Street improvements (curb cuts, driveway approaches, restoration work)
- Temporary occupation of the public right-of-way (staging, lane closures, cranes)
- Utility trenching or lateral installation under a city street
The bond, cash deposit, or letter of credit is sized at twice the City Engineer's estimated cost of the permitted work, with a $1,000 statutory floor and a one-year minimum duration. Bond form and regulations are further governed by LBMC § 2.84.040.
Example: a right-of-way permit with a $3,000 restoration estimate produces roughly a $6,000 bond. A larger excavation with a $40,000 restoration estimate produces roughly an $80,000 bond. Get the Public Works estimate before pricing the bond.
Long Beach also requires its own city business license through the Finance Department's Business License Division — separate from both this permit bond and your CSLB license. Confirm current permit and business-license requirements directly at longbeach.gov/pw/services/permits before bidding right-of-way work.
A Third Layer, If You're Working Inside the Harbor District
The Port of Long Beach operates its own Harbor Construction Permit Policy for tenants and third parties performing significant construction on Port property — separate from the City of Long Beach's permit process above. Based on the Port's own policy record, this is structured as a refundable construction deposit tied to the estimated cost of the work, not a third-party surety bond, and it is administered by the Port's Construction Management division under Port tariff and policy rather than the Long Beach Municipal Code.
If your job is on a Port-owned or Port-leased parcel — a terminal, a rail yard, harbor infrastructure — confirm current deposit and documentation requirements with Port Construction Management before bidding; this is a different jurisdiction than the city streets covered by LBMC Chapter 14.08, and Port policy can be updated independent of the city's code. See the Port's facts and FAQ page for current contacts.
The Statewide Floor Underneath Every Long Beach Job: $25,000 CSLB Bond
Regardless of which of the layers above apply, this bond is non-negotiable for every California-licensed contractor.
Official California Requirements
"A bond required by this section shall be in the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000). The bond shall be executed by a sufficient surety... and shall be filed with the registrar by the licensee or applicant."California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) • California Business and Professions Code § 7071.6
Long Beach Contractor Bonding — All Layers Side by Side
Which bond, which authority, which statute, when it applies
| Layer | Authority | Amount | Statute / Code | Applies When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statewide CSLB License Bond | CSLB (statewide) | $25,000 | BPC § 7071.6 | Always — every CA contractor |
| LLC Employee/Worker Bond | CSLB (statewide) | $100,000 | BPC § 7071.6.5 | LLC-licensed contractors only |
| City Right-of-Way/Excavation Bond | Long Beach City Engineer | 2x cost est., $1,000 min | LBMC § 14.08.030 | Work touching public streets/ROW |
| City Business License | Long Beach Finance Dept. | License fee, not a bond | LBMC Title 5 | Always — doing business in the city |
| Harbor Construction Deposit | Port of Long Beach | Est. construction cost | Port policy (not LBMC) | Work on Port-owned/leased property |
Statewide layers (BPC) are filed with CSLB; the city ROW bond is filed with Long Beach Public Works; the Harbor deposit is filed with the Port directly.
Sources: California BPC §§ 7071.6, 7071.6.5 (leginfo.legislature.ca.gov); Long Beach Municipal Code § 14.08.030 (library.municode.com); Port of Long Beach (polb.com).
Quote the Statewide Bond First — the City Bond Follows at Permit Pull
The $25,000 CSLB bond is the one filing every Long Beach contractor needs from day one. Get that priced now.
Get Your Long Beach Contractor Bond QuoteWhat Long Beach Contractors Actually Pay
The $25,000 CSLB bond costs the same in Long Beach as anywhere else in California — annual premium runs roughly $125 to $1,000 (0.5% to 4% of the bond amount), priced almost entirely on personal credit. A contractor with 750+ credit typically lands near the bottom of that range; a contractor with credit under 620 lands well above it, sometimes into a $1,000–$2,500 range at 4%–10%+.
The city right-of-way bond under LBMC § 14.08.030, when required, is a different economic animal — it's not a flat annual premium but a security instrument sized to twice the estimated cost of your specific permitted work, with a $1,000 floor. Many Long Beach right-of-way sureties will write this as a percentage-of-face premium similar to the CSLB bond (roughly 1%–3% of the bond face for standard credit), but because the face amount is project-specific rather than fixed, ask your permit reviewer for the estimated cost figure before requesting a quote — that number, doubled, is what the surety underwrites.
Worked example — interior TI, no ROW work
Worked example — curb cut & utility trench
Illustrative only — your City Engineer sets the actual restoration estimate.
For the full statewide premium model by credit tier, see our contractor license bond cost guide or run the numbers on the contractor license bond calculator.
Verify Yourself — Every Citation on This Page, Direct From the Source
BPC § 7071.6 — the statewide CSLB bond
leginfo.legislature.ca.govLBMC § 14.08.030 — the Long Beach right-of-way bond
library.municode.com/ca/long_beachLong Beach Public Works permits
longbeach.gov/pwPort of Long Beach facts & FAQ
polb.comLong Beach Contractor Bond FAQs
Six questions specific to the LA/Long Beach jurisdiction split and the LBMC 14.08.030 bond.
Is a Long Beach contractor bond the same filing as a Los Angeles contractor bond?
Does the City of Long Beach require its own bond on top of the CSLB license bond?
How much is the Long Beach right-of-way / excavation bond under LBMC 14.08.030?
Do I need a Long Beach business license in addition to my CSLB state license?
Does the Port of Long Beach require a separate bond for harbor-district construction work?
I do work in both Long Beach and neighboring cities — do I need a different bond for each one?
Related Bond Resources
California City Pages
Los Angeles contractor bond (LADBS layer)California statewide CSLB bond hubCSLB bond — $25,000 statute-level detailAll 50 state contractor bondsEstimate Your California Contractor License Bond Premium
Free calculator — ballpark cost in under 60 seconds, no email required.
Other California Bonds
Additional surety bonds available in California
Nearby States
Contractor license bonds in neighboring states
All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov) and verified before publication. BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-certified, A-minimum rated surety carriers serving all 50 states.
Don't file an LA bond for a Long Beach job. Get the right one, filed today.
The $25,000 statewide CSLB bond under BPC § 7071.6 is the first thing every Long Beach contractor needs — and it's the same one whether your next job is here, in LA, or anywhere else in California. If your Long Beach permit also needs the LBMC § 14.08.030 right-of-way bond, we can quote both.
Get your Long Beach contractor bond quoteSources: BPC § 7071.6 · LBMC § 14.08.030 · longbeach.gov/pw · polb.com