Indiana Contractor License Bonds

Purchase Your Indiana Contractor Bond Today

Who Is Required To Purchase an Indiana Contractor Bond?

This is not an exhaustive list. Bonding requirements change and are updated every few years.

If you were told to purchase a surety bond by any local contracting authority and you don't see the bond listed on this page, request a quote anyway. We have access to and experience with all required bond forms and procedures.

Here's a list of the Indiana contractor bonds we sell most often:

• City of Indianapolis general contractor bond
• City of Indianapolis electrical contractor bond
• City of Indianapolis HVACR contractor bond
• City of Indianapolis wrecking contractor bond
• City of South Bend contractor bond
• City of Lafayette contractor bond
• City of Terre Haute contractor bond

This is not an exhaustive or all-inclusive list of required contractor bonds. When you go to pull permits for any given project, you'll learn if a surety bond is required.

Again, if you don't see the bond you need on this page, we can still help you get bonded. Just fill out our quote form (or call 1-800-608-9950) and a bond specialist will call to make this process easy.

The Contractor License Bond Amounts

A surety bond has an amount associated with it. This amount is the coverage available to customers in the event a valid claim is made against the contractor.

Keep in mind the customer can be a county or city government if it's a public project.

These amounts are set by the local contracting authority responsible for issuing licenses and permits. The amount is determined based on all recorded claims against contractors in past years.

Indianapolis Contractors

South Bend Contractors

Lafayette Contractors

Terre Haute Contractors

Let's recap, the bond amount is the maximum available coverage in the event of a legitimate claim made against the bond.

In most cases, contractors resolve mistakes or disagreements before issues ever escalate to a claim. But it's good to understand the reality of bond claims.

How Much Does an Indiana Contractor Bond Cost?

The price of a contractor bond varies based on the type of bond required. Typically, the more responsibility a contractor has, i.e. general contractor, the higher the bond amount and price will be.

The price is determined from a rate quoted by a surety.

A surety is an insurance company that underwrites the surety bond. Each surety performs an independent assessment to determine a rate using factors such as:

• Personal credit of the owner or owners
• Contracting experience and industry experience
• Any prior bond claims if owners have been licensed in the past
• The overall risk of complaints in the local area

BOX -- This rate multiplied by the bond amount is the price you pay.

And this is why working with a specialized surety agency is the best way to purchase an Indiana contractor bond.

Not only will you save money, but you'll save time.

How to Not Overpay for a Contractor Bond

Here's how this works in Indiana.

For nearly every bonding requirement we've secured low, fixed priced bonds with zero credit check required.

This means you can get instant pricing based on your bond amount and purchase the bond you need for your project today. Once the bond is purchased, it's usually issued within 24 hours of purchase.

Here's how the pricing works for the bond we sell most often.

Indiana Contractor Bond Pricing

Remember if you don't see the bond you need, we can still help. Fill out our online bond quote form and tell us about the bond you need or call a bond specialist today at 1-800-608-9950.

Why is an Indiana Contractor Bond Required?

Nearly every Indiana city requires individuals and businesses to obtain a contractor license or permit in order to perform contracting services in their county or city.

A contractor license ensures each contractors has:

• A minimum level of experience
• Passed any required exams
• Registered the proper business forms
• Purchased the required insurance policies

And in many cases a contractor license bond is required to be active before the license or permit can be issued.

What Does a Indiana Contractor Bond Protect Against?

The contractor bond (surety bond) is a type of insurance for the protection of:

• The city licensing and permit authority
• Customers of the contractor
• Hired subcontractors

Its unfortunate, but each year there will be a handful of contractors who will purposefully commit fraudulent acts to make more money on a project.

Examples of misconduct and fraud by a contractor can include:

• Breaking the terms of a construction project
• Never finishing projects
• Taking deposits or down payments and never starting or completing a project
• Replacing agreed upon materials with cheaper alternatives to increase profits
• Fail to pay subcontractors for completed work
• Negligent activity or poor signage when working on a public right of way project
• Altering contracts or overcharging for changes

If a contractor is deemed guilty of any of these actions, a claim can be made against their contractor license bond for financial repayment as long as the claim is deemed valid.

Remember the amount of coverage only extends to the bond amount.

What Happens After You Purchase Your Bond?

Once you purchase your bond, Surety Bonds Direct's issuance team will prepare your bond with the correct signatures, seals, and the required power of attorney so your bond will be accepted.

Because we work with A-rated sureties, your bond is guaranteed to be accepted by the license or permitting authority.

If, for whatever reason, your bond is rejected, we'll fix the issue or refund your money, no questions asked.

Indiana allows us to email your bond to you. This makes it easy for you to print, sign, and submit your bond to the correct authority.

Receiving your bond depends on the city requirements. For example, Indianapolis allows us to email the bond to you. The city of Lafayette requires us to mail the original bond to you.

When you receive pricing, we will notify you how your bond must be submitted.

This is why it's a good idea to not put getting your bond off as the last step. You don't want your application to be delayed.

Get this done!

Renewing Your Contractor Bond

Some bonds (permit or right-of-way bonds) may only be required on a per project basis. If this is the case, you may not have to renew the bond. However, if the project lasts longer than one year, in most cases, the bond will need to be renewed.

Other contractor bonds like those for Indianapolis have a 2 year bond term and a hard expiration date of December 31 on every numbered years.

If you need to renew a bond, Surety Bonds Direct makes the process nearly seamless.

Your bond specialist is responsible for managing your bond. This means they will contact you 30 to 40 days in advance to ensure your renewal premium is paid on time and your bond remains active.

Contractor License Bonds Are Continuous

A continuous bond means the original bond remains active as long as you pay the renewal premium.

Most of the time, you never have to worry about having a new bond issued or submitting a new bond back to the Board.

The only time you will have to file a new bond is if we find you lower pricing or the city raises the bond amount, requiring a new bond.

Contractor Bonds And Getting Your Indiana Business License/Registration

Every city has it's own licensing requirements. However they typically share the similar steps:

1. Get your application fees and other payments together
2. Take any exam to show experience
3. Fulfill any required years of in-the-field experience
4. Purchase the required surety bond (if required)
5. Purchasing the required minimum level of liability insurance coverage
6. Submit your application review

For Indiana contractors, we have written an article outlining the process for getting licensed for all the major contractor licenses we help on a weekly basis.

Here are important links for the Colorado cities mentioned on this page:

• Indianapolis Business and Neighborhood Services
• South Bend Building Department
• Lafayette License, Bonding and Insurance
• City of Terre Haute Licensing