Colorado Contractor License Bond
What it is & who requires it
Contractors who need a license bond in Colorado, where the question is always which jurisdiction rather than which state agency. Colorado issues no general contractor license at all: its Title 12 professions code runs to forty-four articles and none of them is contractors or construction, and the state’s own Division of Professions and Occupations licenses exactly two construction trades — electrical and plumbing — and requires a bond from neither. What the legislature did instead was hand the ground to local government in writing, authorizing any city, town, county or city and county to provide for the licensing of contractors. The result is the densest municipal licensing pattern in this directory. Denver alone licenses seven bonded contractor classes; Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, Aurora, Arvada, Greeley, Westminster, Wheat Ridge, Lafayette, Pueblo, Durango and La Junta all license and bond in their own ways; and several water and sanitation districts license contractors independently of any city.
Obligee: Colorado municipal and county licensing authorities (general-use contractor product).
Bond amount
Set by the obligee — the exact amount is confirmed automatically when you start your bond in our portal, or call 317-942-0549.
How to get it
This bond is individually underwritten, so it is not issued instantly. Request a quote and a licensed producer follows up to walk you through it.
Request a bond quote
Tell us about the bond and the project. A licensed producer follows up — these bonds are individually underwritten, so they are not issued instantly.
Term & renewal
Term: Set by the licensing city or county — most Colorado municipal license bonds run with the license year, and several are written continuous until cancelled.
Renewal: Annual in most Colorado jurisdictions, aligned to the local license renewal.
Filing
Filed with whichever Colorado city, county or district licenses your trade, in the form that jurisdiction requires — which is why no figure appears here and why the amount is confirmed when your license class is identified. Two things are worth knowing before you shop. First, the trade matters as much as the town: the same firm can need a general contractor license in one city, a concrete or excavation license in the next, and no license bond at all in a third. Second, several of Colorado’s largest suburbs do not use surety bonds for this at all — Lakewood and Longmont take cash or an irrevocable letter of credit, Westminster defines its security as a performance guarantee and names a letter of credit or cash escrow, Wheat Ridge makes a cash bond the default with a surety bond as the substitute, and Boulder and Loveland require no contractor bond of any kind. Electricians and plumbers are a special case statewide: the state licenses them, several cities decline to issue a separate trade license and simply require the state credential on file, and the state itself asks for no bond. Start with the jurisdiction and the trade, and the instrument follows.
Source
This bond requirement is corroborated by multiple public sources; Colorado municipal and county licensing authorities (general-use contractor product) sets the exact amount, which we confirm when you start your bond.
Related Colorado bonds
Frequently asked questions
- Who requires the Colorado Contractor License Bond?
- It’s required by Colorado municipal and county licensing authorities (general-use contractor product). Contractors who need a license bond in Colorado, where the question is always which jurisdiction rather than which state agency. Colorado issues no general contractor license at all: its Title 12 professions code runs to forty-four articles and none of them is contractors or construction, and the state’s own Division of Professions and Occupations licenses exactly two construction trades — electrical and plumbing — and requires a bond from neither. What the legislature did instead was hand the ground to local government in writing, authorizing any city, town, county or city and county to provide for the licensing of contractors. The result is the densest municipal licensing pattern in this directory. Denver alone licenses seven bonded contractor classes; Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, Aurora, Arvada, Greeley, Westminster, Wheat Ridge, Lafayette, Pueblo, Durango and La Junta all license and bond in their own ways; and several water and sanitation districts license contractors independently of any city.
- How much is the Colorado Contractor License Bond?
- Set by the obligee — the exact amount is confirmed automatically when you start your bond in our portal, or call 317-942-0549.
- How do I get the Colorado Contractor License Bond?
- This bond is individually underwritten, so it is not issued instantly. Request a quote and a licensed producer follows up to walk you through it.
- What is the term?
- Set by the licensing city or county — most Colorado municipal license bonds run with the license year, and several are written continuous until cancelled. Renewal: Annual in most Colorado jurisdictions, aligned to the local license renewal.
- Is this bond insurance for me?
- No. It protects the obligee and the public — not you. If a valid claim is paid, you repay the surety.
- How is this requirement verified?
- This bond requirement is corroborated by multiple public sources. The obligee sets the exact amount, which we confirm automatically when you start your bond in the portal or with a producer.
