Missouri Contractor License Bonds

Purchase Your Missouri Contractor Bond Today

Who Is Required To Purchase a Missouri Contractor License Bond?

It's important to stipulate between a contractor license bond and a permit bond.

A license bond is required to be active for the entire time you are doing business in a certain city or county.

A permit bond is required for a specific project and only needs to remain active for the life of that project.

The following is not an exhaustive list of counties and/or municipalities that require a contractor bond.

However, these are the most common Missouri contractor bonding requirements we've helped contractors with.

St. Louis County

St. Louis county has bonding requirements for:

Other Common Missouri City Level Contractor Bonds

Again, this is not a complete list. However, most municipal bonding requirements will have a bond amount $25,000 or less.

Permit and Right of Way Construction Bonds

I wanted to mention permit bonds one more time. A common example of a permit bond is a right of way bond.

Most cities across the country require a bond when hiring a contractor for city projects or private projects that need to temporarily damage public spaces. These public spaces can include:

• Sidewalks
• Sewer systems
• Roadways

If you're working on public property, it's likely you'll need to purchase a right of way bond, regardless of the city you're completing the project in.

If you're required to purchase a license, permit, or right of way bond in Missouri, we can help you purchase your bond.

Click here to get your instant pricing for the contractor bond you need.

If you prefer to speak with a bond specialist in person, call 1-800-608-9950.

Missouri State Electrical Contractor License

Remember, there is no state level bonding requirement.

However, for the state level electrical contractor license, you must provide proof of the required active bonding requirements in the county and cities where you'll be performing work.

This is part of the electrical contractor licensing process.

Why is a Missouri Contractor Bond Required?

Each county and city in Missouri has its own licensing requirements for contractors. These licensing requirements ensure a contractor has:

• A minimum level of experience
• The necessary level of education
• The proper business records are submitted
• An appropriate license type for the projects they want to bid on
• The required paperwork on life to legally perform work in the county and/or city

These counties and cities want contractors to provide a good service and make their local communities a better place to live. Plus customers want to know they're hiring a legitimate contractor.

For consumer protection, the surety bond is the primary way counties and local municipalities can hold contractors accountable to the promises they make to their customers.

The bond is for your customers' protection.

What Does a Missouri Contractor License Bond Protect Against?

All contractor license bonds, regardless of whether they're a state, county, or city requirements, hold contractors accountable to:

• Municipal building codes
• Fulfilling contracts for customers

It's unfortunate, but every year there will be a handful of licensed contractors who purposefully:

• Break the terms of a construction project
• Take deposits or down payments and never starting or completing a project
• Replace agreed upon materials with cheaper alternatives to increase profits
• Fail to pay subcontractors for completed work
• Neglect building codes and purposefully performing poor quality work

If a customer is victim to these actions or similar, they can make a claim against the contractor surety bond for some financial compensation. However, these claims are capped by the specific bond amount.

This bond amount will impact the price you pay for your bond.

How Much Does a Missouri Contractor Bond Cost?

Every type of contractor bond is priced by a surety. A surety is an insurance company that chooses to write contractor bonds.

Every surety conducts their own internal assessment of an applicant using these primary factors:

• Personal credit of the owner or owners
• Contracting experience and industry experience
• Any prior bond claims if you or an owner has been licensed in the past

Based on this assessment, the surety will quote a rate.

However, if you work with a specialized surety agency like Surety Bonds Direct, you can get low fixed prices with no credit check.

County and City Level Contractor Bond Pricing

As a surety agency, we work with a network of A rated sureties to find you the lowest pricing.

For nearly every Missouri county and municipal bonds, we have secured low fixed prices that require no credit check.

For many bonds, the prices start at only $100 for a 12 month term.

Find your price by clicking here and getting your instant price. Just tell us about your bond requirement on the quote for you and we'll instantly price your bond for you.

If you have any questions or you would rather speak with a bond specialist, call 1-800-608-9950.

What Happens After You Purchase Your Bond?

Once you purchase your bond, our issuing department will prepare your bond with the correct signatures, notarized seals, and the required power of attorney.

When you submit your bond with the rest of your licensing paperwork, how you submit your bond matters.

Most municipalities will accept a copy of the bond. This means, once you purchase your bond, we can email you a copy nearly instantly.

However, some counties and municipalities require the original bond with raised seals. This means we'll have to mail the bond to you.

Keep this in mind because you don't want to wait until the last second to get your bond, especially if you have to wait a few days for the mail.

Once you submit your bond with your application packet, you're done with the bonding process for about 12 months.

Determining the Contractor Bond Term and Renewal

• Bond Term - the length of time the bond is active
• Effective date - the date, you choose when purchasing your bond, that signifies your bond active date
• Expiration date - the date your bond must be renewed by to remain active
• Renewal premium - The premium (payment) required to keep your bond active

Many local bonds tend to expire at the end of the year on December 31st.

Many other contractor license bonds have a term of 12 months from the effective date.

Regardless of your bond's expiration date, it will have to be renewed.

Renewing Your Bond

This is another reason to work with Surety Bonds Direct. We manage your bond for you.

Your bond specialist will reach out to you 30 to 45 days in advance of your renewal date to make paying the renewal premium easy.

Once you pay the renewal premium your bond is activated for the next term.

If your bond is a right of way bond, it will only require renewal if the project extends beyond the bonds expiration date.

If the project concludes before the bond's expiration date, you can let the bond expire.

Contractor Bonds And Getting Your Missouri Business License/Registration

Here are some links to help you get licensed in various cities in Missouri:

• City of Springfield contractor applications
• City of Joplin contractor requirements
• City of St. Charles community development
• City of Neosho contractors
• City of Kansas City contractor licensing
• City of North Kansas City contractor licensing
• City of Arnold building permits and inspections