El Paso County Right-of-Way Contractor Permit Bond
What it is & who requires it
Contractors working in an El Paso County right-of-way or easement under a permit issued through the Engineering Criteria Manual. The County does not license these contractors so much as certify them: to become a certified contractor you sit and pass a written test given by the ECM Administrator, and you may be tested in any or all of three areas — earthwork, concrete work and asphalt work. A certified contractor may designate authorized representatives to perform the work, but stays responsible for it, and either the certified contractor or an authorized representative must be on site at all times during construction or a stop-work order may issue. Special districts, utilities regulated by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and municipalities are not required to be certified contractors themselves — but when they use a contractor for work in a County right-of-way, they must use a certified one, which is what pulls this requirement onto the contractor rather than the owner.
Obligee: Board of County Commissioners of El Paso County, Colorado, by and through the ECM Administrator (Department of Public Works). Citation: El Paso County Engineering Criteria Manual § 5.2.7(F) (Contractor Certification — Obligation of Contractors Performing Work in the County Right-of-Way); § 5.2.7(A)–(E) (certification, testing, expiration, revocation); § 5.2.8 (Surety from Public Agency, Public Utilities and Quasi-Governmental Agencies); ECM Ch. 1 § 1.17 (Surety) and Ch. 1 definitions; ECM § 5.5 (Work in the Right-of-Way Permit); adopted by resolution of the Board of County Commissioners.
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: Held on file with the ECM Administrator while you work, and it stays exposed afterwards: the bond must remain in place for at least two years after the work is completed.
Renewal: Carried alongside the contractor certification, which runs for two years and is renewed on payment of a renewal fee. The ECM Administrator may require you to retest before renewing where the standards have changed materially or where your certification period included substandard performance or violations.
Filing
Filed with the ECM Administrator before you perform any right-of-way work requiring a permit, for the benefit of the Board of County Commissioners. What it secures is narrow and specific: recovery by the County of any expense it incurs completing work you began and did not finish to the manual’s standards. Two features of the manual keep a figure off this page. The requirement is written as a minimum rather than as a penal sum, in the codified section and in the Public Works excerpt the County publishes alongside its permit forms. And the manual’s general surety provision — the one that governs wherever a particular standard is silent — says the type and amount of surety are per the applicable standard or otherwise at the ECM Administrator’s discretion, and names cash deposits and assigned savings alongside bonds as types of surety. Confirm the form and the sum with the ECM Administrator before you buy. Liability insurance covering your subcontractors and independent contractors as well as your own employees is filed alongside, at the County’s published combined single limit. Keep the bond and the insurance current: failure to maintain them is listed in the manual as a substantial breach of a Work in the Right-of-Way Permit, which is grounds for revocation. Note also that a separate construction surety, posted by the permit applicant and available in several non-bond forms, may be required on the same project — that is a different instrument with a different principal. Authority: El Paso County Engineering Criteria Manual §§ 1.17 and 5.2.7.
Source
This bond requirement is corroborated by multiple public sources; Board of County Commissioners of El Paso County, Colorado, by and through the ECM Administrator (Department of Public Works) sets the exact amount, which we confirm when you start your bond.
Related Colorado bonds
Frequently asked questions
- Who requires the El Paso County Right-of-Way Contractor Permit Bond?
- It’s required by Board of County Commissioners of El Paso County, Colorado, by and through the ECM Administrator (Department of Public Works) (El Paso County Engineering Criteria Manual § 5.2.7(F) (Contractor Certification — Obligation of Contractors Performing Work in the County Right-of-Way); § 5.2.7(A)–(E) (certification, testing, expiration, revocation); § 5.2.8 (Surety from Public Agency, Public Utilities and Quasi-Governmental Agencies); ECM Ch. 1 § 1.17 (Surety) and Ch. 1 definitions; ECM § 5.5 (Work in the Right-of-Way Permit); adopted by resolution of the Board of County Commissioners). Contractors working in an El Paso County right-of-way or easement under a permit issued through the Engineering Criteria Manual. The County does not license these contractors so much as certify them: to become a certified contractor you sit and pass a written test given by the ECM Administrator, and you may be tested in any or all of three areas — earthwork, concrete work and asphalt work. A certified contractor may designate authorized representatives to perform the work, but stays responsible for it, and either the certified contractor or an authorized representative must be on site at all times during construction or a stop-work order may issue. Special districts, utilities regulated by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission and municipalities are not required to be certified contractors themselves — but when they use a contractor for work in a County right-of-way, they must use a certified one, which is what pulls this requirement onto the contractor rather than the owner.
- How much is the El Paso County Right-of-Way Contractor Permit 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 El Paso County Right-of-Way Contractor Permit 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?
- Held on file with the ECM Administrator while you work, and it stays exposed afterwards: the bond must remain in place for at least two years after the work is completed. Renewal: Carried alongside the contractor certification, which runs for two years and is renewed on payment of a renewal fee. The ECM Administrator may require you to retest before renewing where the standards have changed materially or where your certification period included substandard performance or violations.
- 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.
