Last updated: September 27, 2026|General California municipal contractor bond requirements information — confirm current requirements with the licensing authority.

9 cities, 1 table, exact code sections

Does Your California City Require a Second Contractor Bond?

Sometimes. Every California contractor already carries the statewide $25,000 CSLB license bond under Business & Professions Code § 7071.6. On top of that, several California cities require a second, city-filed bond before they will issue a permit for work that breaks ground in the public right-of-way — a driveway cut, a sidewalk replacement, a utility trench. Whether your city is one of them, and how that bond is calculated, is not uniform. Nine of California’s largest cities use at least four different methods to size it. The table below is the fastest way to check yours.

Need the statewide layer explained first? Read the CSLB bond page. For the full regulatory hub covering every California contractor bond, see California contractor license bonds.

$25,000

Statewide CSLB floor

Cities compared below

Different bonding methods

Quick answer

Sometimes. Every California contractor already carries the statewide $25,000 CSLB license bond, and several cities require a second, city-filed bond before issuing a permit for work in the public right-of-way.

Who requires it: City public works departments in California's nine largest cities, on top of the CSLB bond.
Amount: nine cities use four different methods. San Francisco is a hard $25,000 floor; San Diego bonds at 110% of the engineer's cost estimate, Long Beach at 2x the estimate, and Fresno at 100%.

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California Municipal Contractor Bonds: The Master Table

California’s nine largest cities by population, the permit that triggers a city-level bond, how the amount is calculated, and the exact code section. This is in addition to the $25,000 CSLB bond every row below assumes you already hold.

Municipal Permit Bonds — California’s 9 Largest Cities

City-filed bonds required for right-of-way, excavation, and encroachment permits (on top of the statewide CSLB bond).

City	Permit Type	Bond Amount / Basis	Code Citation
Los Angeles	Right-of-way / sidewalk ("B" Permit)	Project-sized to restoration estimate (commonly $5,000–$25,000)	LAMC § 62.105
San Francisco	Excavation Permit	$25,000 minimum, or restoration estimate if higher	PW Code § 2.4.40
San Francisco	Street Space Permit	Fee only — no bond required	PW Code § 724
San Diego	Right-of-Way / Grading Permit	110% of City Engineer estimate (ROW); tiered formula for grading; exempt ≤ $100,000	SDMC § 129.0119
San Jose	Encroachment Permit (construction)	Set by Public Works per project review	SJMC § 13.36
Oakland	Excavation / Grading Permit	Set by Public Works per project scope	OMC Ch. 12.12
Fresno	Street Work / Encroachment Permit	100% of estimated cost of work	FMC § 13-206
Long Beach	Excavation / Right-of-Way Permit	2× estimated cost, $1,000 minimum, 1-year minimum term	LBMC § 14.08.030
Bakersfield	Street Use Permit	100% performance + 100% labor & materials, per Engineer’s Estimate	BMC Ch. 12.12
Sacramento	Encroachment Permit	Set by Public Works Engineering per project scope	City Code Ch. 12.12

San Jose’s Municipal Code § 13.37 additionally covers encroachment for private improvements within the right-of-way, alongside § 13.36 shown above; both route through the same Public Works review.

Sources: city public works/engineering departments and municipal codes cited above — see full citations in Official Resources below.

Read the full city guide: Los Angeles · San Francisco · San Diego · San Jose · Long Beach

How to Read This Table: Two Bonding Models, One State

Every row above answers the same three questions differently, and the difference comes down to which of two bonding models the city uses.

Model 1 — statutory floor. The CSLB bond is this model: one fixed dollar amount ($25,000) written directly into state law, the same for every licensee regardless of project size. San Francisco is the only city on our list that runs this model at the municipal level — its excavation deposit under Public Works Code § 2.4.40 is a hard $25,000 floor no matter how small the trench.

Model 2 — cost-estimate-based. Every other city on the list uses this model: a licensed civil engineer prepares a Construction Cost Estimate for the specific job, and the bond is calculated as a percentage of that number. San Diego bonds at 110% of the estimate for right-of-way work; Long Beach at 2× the estimate; Fresno at 100% of the estimate. This is why we could not give you a single dollar figure for most cities in the table — there isn’t one until your engineer prices the job. A $15,000 sidewalk repair and a $400,000 storm-drain tie-in file the exact same permit type in the exact same city for wildly different bond amounts.

Two practical consequences follow. First, get your engineer’s cost estimate approved by the city before you ask a surety to quote the bond — the bond amount usually cannot be finalized without it. Second, if your project sits right at an exemption line — San Diego’s $100,000 threshold under SDMC § 129.0119(a)(7) is the clearest example — a slightly conservative engineer’s estimate can be the difference between needing a bond at all and skipping it entirely.

Your CSLB bond is the one filing every California contractor needs regardless of which city you work in.

Get Your $25,000 CSLB Bond Quote

Deep Dive: Los Angeles, San Francisco & San Diego

These three cities carry the most contractor volume and the most distinct bonding mechanics of the nine. Each has its own dedicated page with worked examples, full FAQ, and a city-specific quote form — this is the summary.

Los Angeles — Bond Sized to Restoration Cost, Not a Fixed Schedule

LAMC § 62.105

The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety and Bureau of Engineering do not run a single fixed bond schedule for right-of-way work. Sidewalk and right-of-way bonds under LAMC § 62.105 are typically set in the $5,000–$25,000 range for routine sidewalk and driveway work, but larger excavation and grading jobs are sized to the engineer’s restoration estimate under LAMC § 91.106 and can run considerably higher. This is stacked on top of, not instead of, the statewide $25,000 CSLB bond — a C-8 concrete contractor replacing a Hollywood sidewalk files both.

Read the full Los Angeles contractor bond guide →

San Francisco — the Only $25,000 Statutory Floor at the City Level

PW Code § 2.4.40

San Francisco codifies its right-of-way bonding more specifically than any other city on this list. Any contractor who excavates in a street, sidewalk, or other public right-of-way must file a $25,000-minimum deposit with the Department of Public Works under Public Works Code § 2.4.40 (or the engineer’s restoration estimate, if higher) — retained for three years after backfill under § 2.4.46(d). A separate Street Space Permit under § 724 covers temporary staging of material or equipment in the roadway and is fee-based with no bond at all — confusing the two is one of the most common reasons SF permit applications bounce back.

Read the full San Francisco contractor bond guide →

San Diego — a Published Formula, Plus a $100,000 Exemption

SDMC § 129.0119

San Diego is the most transparent of the nine about its math. SDMC § 129.0119(a)(6) sets a published schedule: 110% of the City Engineer’s estimate for public improvements and encroachments, a stepped formula for grading, and separate rates for appurtenances and revegetation. Ordinance O-22109 N.S., effective July 15, 2026, raised the no-bond threshold to $100,000 of estimated cost under § 129.0119(a)(7) — up from a prior $50,000 — meaning many small and mid-size San Diego jobs now skip the city bond entirely. Coastal Overlay Zone parcels should confirm current status with Development Services before assuming the higher threshold applies.

Read the full San Diego contractor bond guide →

Outside City Limits: County-Level Bonding Is a Different Code Entirely

A city’s municipal code stops at its own boundary. Work in unincorporated territory — parts of Spring Valley, Lakeside, or Alpine outside San Diego, or unincorporated Fresno County — runs through the county’s own code and its own department, not the nearby city’s.

County (unincorporated area)	Permit	Bond Basis	Citation
San Diego County (unincorporated)	Major Subdivision Improvement Security	100% of estimated improvement cost; 95% released on completion, 5% held 1 year	County Code § 81.408; Gov. Code § 66499(a)(1)
Fresno County (unincorporated)	Road Encroachment Permit	Set administratively per project scope	Fresno County Ordinance Code §§ 13.04.040, 13.08.010, 13.08.020

County-level bonding is not comprehensively covered here — confirm the current schedule with the specific county’s Public Works or Planning & Development Services department before pricing a bond for unincorporated work.

Your City Isn’t in the Table? Here’s the Process

California has roughly 482 incorporated cities. We verified the nine largest above — for the rest, this is the exact sequence to run before you order a bond.

Confirm the work actually touches the public right-of-way

A city permit bond is triggered by the permit, not the trade. If the job is entirely on private property — interior remodel, roof, HVAC swap — most cities never ask for a second bond. Driveway cuts, sidewalk work, curb ramps, and any street or utility trench are the jobs that trigger it.

Call the city’s Public Works or Engineering permit counter directly

Ask specifically: "Does an encroachment / right-of-way / excavation permit for this scope require a bond, cash deposit, or letter of credit?" Front-counter staff can answer this in one call — it rarely requires a formal records request.

Get the exact municipal code section number in writing

Ask for the section by number (e.g., "Chapter 12.12" or "§ 129.0119"), not just the department’s plain-English name for it. A surety underwriter needs the citation, and city staff sometimes use an informal name that doesn’t match the code index.

Ask how the amount is calculated — flat fee or cost-estimate-based

As shown above, most California cities size the bond off a licensed engineer’s Construction Cost Estimate rather than a flat number. If that’s the case in your city, get the estimate approved first — the bond usually can’t be finalized without it.

Ask about a continuing or annual bond if you pull permits regularly

Several cities (San Francisco, San Diego, and others) allow a standing bond across multiple permits instead of a new bond per job. If you work in one city repeatedly, this is usually cheaper than resetting a bond each time.

One CSLB bond is not optional in any city. Whatever your city’s permit bond turns out to require, the $25,000 statewide CSLB bond under BPC § 7071.6 is the filing that has to exist first — no California city will issue a work permit to a contractor whose underlying CSLB license is not active. Use our contractor license bond calculator for that layer before pricing a city-specific bond.

Official California Requirements

"The Permittee shall file and maintain a Street Excavation Bond with a minimum amount of $25,000.00 with the Department of Public Works, to guarantee the maintenance of the pavement in the trench and roadway area for a period of 3 years following the completion of the backfill and pavement restoration pursuant to Article 2.4 of the Public Works Code."

San Francisco Public Works Department • San Francisco Public Works Code Article 2.4, § 2.4.40

California Municipal Contractor Bond FAQs

The questions that come up once a contractor sees the table above.

Do I need a city bond on top of my $25,000 CSLB bond, or does one bond cover everything?

They are two different obligations and the CSLB bond never substitutes for a city one. Every California contractor must hold the $25,000 statewide license bond under Business and Professions Code § 7071.6 — that bond activates your license and is filed with the Contractors State License Board, not any city. A second, city-filed bond only comes into play if your specific job pulls a right-of-way, excavation, encroachment, or street-use permit — meaning the work physically breaks ground, trenches, or occupies a public street, sidewalk, or curb. A kitchen remodel, a re-roof, or an interior tenant improvement almost never triggers it. A driveway cut, a sidewalk replacement, or a utility trench almost always does.

Why don’t most California cities publish a flat bond amount the way the CSLB does?

The CSLB bond is a state statute with one number for every licensee: $25,000, full stop. City permit bonds are different by design — they secure the cost of repairing a specific piece of public infrastructure, so most cities size the bond to a licensed engineer’s cost estimate for that particular job rather than a fixed schedule. San Diego bonds right-of-way work at 110% of the City Engineer’s estimate; Long Beach bonds at 2× the estimated cost with a $1,000 floor; Fresno bonds at 100% of estimated cost. San Francisco is the outlier that runs a true statutory floor — a $25,000 minimum under Public Works Code § 2.4.40 — which is exactly why it is one of the three cities we break out in full below.

Which California city has the largest municipal contractor bond requirement?

There is no single answer, because none of the nine cities in our table caps the bond at a fixed ceiling — the amount scales with the size of the job. San Diego’s 110%-of-estimate formula and Long Beach’s 2×-cost formula can both produce bonds well into six figures on a large public-improvement job, while a small driveway cut in the same city might bond for a few thousand dollars or qualify for an exemption entirely (San Diego exempts projects estimated at $100,000 or less under SDMC § 129.0119(a)(7), effective July 15, 2026). San Francisco is the only city on this list with a true statutory floor regardless of job size: $25,000 minimum under Public Works Code § 2.4.40.

What happens if I pull a city permit without the required bond?

The permitting department will not issue the permit at all — the bond (or approved cash deposit / letter of credit) is a prerequisite for issuance in every city in our table, not a follow-up requirement. Starting work without the permit itself is a separate municipal code violation that can trigger stop-work orders, fines, and in some cities a hold on future permits for that contractor until the violation is resolved. It also exposes you directly: without the city’s security in place, any pavement failure or right-of-way damage becomes your liability to resolve out of pocket rather than a claim the surety absorbs first.

Can one bond cover permits in more than one California city?

No — each city bonds its own permits, and a bond filed with Los Angeles does not satisfy San Diego’s requirement even for the same contractor on the same day. What several cities do allow is a standing or continuing bond that covers multiple permits within that one city: San Francisco lets frequent excavators maintain a single $25,000 deposit across jobs instead of resetting it each time (PW Code § 2.4.40), and San Diego’s SDMC § 129.0119(b) permits an annual bond covering multiple permits in a calendar year. If your work spans several cities, budget for a separate bond — or cash deposit — in each one.

My city isn’t one of the nine in your table — how do I find out if it requires a bond?

California has roughly 482 incorporated cities, and we cannot pre-verify a bond schedule for every one of them on a single page. The reliable path is the same in any city: call that city’s Public Works or Engineering permit counter, ask specifically whether your permit type (encroachment, right-of-way, excavation, or grading) requires a bond, and get the exact municipal code section in writing before you order one. The step-by-step version of that process is below.

Official Sources Cited on This Page

BPC § 7071.6 (CSLB bond statute)CSLB Bond Requirements LAMC § 62.105 (via LADBS Bureau of Engineering)SF Public Works Code § 2.4.40 (General Excavation)SF Public Works Code § 724 (Street Space Permit)SDMC § 129.0119 / DSD Info Bulletin 126 San Jose Municipal Code §§ 13.36 / 13.37 Oakland — Excavation Permit (DOT)City of Fresno — Street Work & Excavation Bond Long Beach Municipal Code § 14.08.030 Bakersfield Municipal Code Ch. 12.12 (Street Use Permits)Sacramento City Code Ch. 12.12 (Encroachment Permits)San Diego County Code § 81.408 Fresno County Ordinance Code (Road Encroachment)

Keep Going: California Contractor Bond Resources

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Eric Drummond, Licensed Surety Producer

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