Florida Surety Bonds
Contractor License & Permit Bonds in Florida
Find the exact license, permit, right-of-way, or public-works bond your Florida obligee requires — by city, county, and the state. License and permit bonds issue online.
How contractor bonding works in Florida
Florida certifies contractors statewide — but attaches no mandatory license bond
Florida inverts the inversion. Most states have no state contractor license at all; California flips that with a license bond every contractor must post. Florida certifies contractors through the DBPR — and yet attaches no mandatory statewide license bond. Chapter 489 is a financial-responsibility framework: an applicant shows financial stability with a surety bond OR a 660 FICO credit score, not a bond every licensee has to carry.
The one true state contractor surety is the $100,000 FRO bond
The single statewide DBPR contractor bond is conditional: the $100,000 Financially Responsible Officer (FRO) bond, required only when a company qualifies through a financially responsible officer instead of a primary qualifying agent — typically when it operates under another qualifier’s license. It is the exception, not the rule. On public works, Florida’s Little Miller Act (F.S. 255.05) requires a payment and performance bond equal to the contract price, and an FDOT connection permit takes a security instrument sized to the right-of-way work.
HB 735 preempted city licensing — so the city layer is right-of-way bonds
A 2021 state law, HB 735, preempted most municipal contractor licensing, which is why Florida’s city bonds are permit-class rather than license-class. The recurring instruments are right-of-way and excavation bonds keyed to the work: a $50,000 City of Miami maintenance bond for work in the right-of-way, $10,000 and $50,000 Jacksonville right-of-way bonds, a $500,000 Orlando blanket construction bond, and engineer-set right-of-way bonds in Fort Lauderdale and St. Petersburg. Jacksonville is a consolidated city-county — the City of Jacksonville is Duval County — and it is not Jacksonville, North Carolina.
Counties carry the contractor bonds — and one county unifies its cities
Where a Florida contractor bond exists it is usually county-issued — but most counties don’t require one: the Certificates of Competency in Miami-Dade, Broward, Pinellas, and most other counties take liability and workers’ compensation insurance, not a surety bond. The counties that do bond their contractors are the exception — Orange, Polk, Pasco, and Osceola each set a $5,000 certificate-of-competency bond, and Palm Beach County $2,000 (Lee County’s bonds are right-of-way: a $5,000 minimum per permit, or a $25,000 blanket). Hillsborough County is the consolidator — its county Code-Compliance bond is the single instrument the City of Tampa, Temple Terrace, and Plant City all defer to. Beyond the contractor bond, the broad county-and-city layer is subdivision and right-of-way improvement bonds — performance and maintenance bonds sized to the engineer’s cost estimate, from the City of Miami and Coral Gables to Pembroke Pines, Lakeland, and Escambia and Pinellas counties. And Miami is two obligees, not one: the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County each bond their own right-of-way work, so the bond you post depends on whose road you are working in.
Florida bonds we write
Contractor License & Permit Bonds
County
- Hillsborough County Contractor Code Compliance Bond
- Miami-Dade County Public Works / DTPW Right-of-Way Permit Bond
- Orange County Contractor Performance Bond (Certificate of Competency)
- Osceola County Construction Contractors’ Bond
- Palm Beach County Contractor Certificate of Competency Surety Bond
- Palm Beach County Right-of-Way Permit - Temporary Driveway Connection Surety
- Pasco County Contractor Surety Bond
- Polk County Contractor Surety Bond
City
- Coral Gables Right-of-Way Excavation Restoration Bond
- Gainesville Right-of-Way Obstruction / Excavation Bond
- Gainesville Sidewalk, Curb and Gutter Contractor Bond
- Hialeah Streets Department Right-of-Way Permit Bond
- Jacksonville Contractor License Bond
- Jacksonville Residential Driveway Right-of-Way Surety Bond
- Jacksonville Right-of-Way Surety Bond (All Other ROW Work)
- Jacksonville Sign Permit Bond
- Miami Maintenance Bond for Communications Facilities in the Right of Way
- Miami Right-of-Way Excavation Restoration Bond
- Orlando Contractor License Bond
- Winter Haven Contractor Registration Bond
Performance & Payment Bonds
Statewide
County
City
- Fort Lauderdale Right-of-Way (Engineering Permit) Construction Bond
- Lakeland Subdivision Performance & Maintenance Bond
- Miami Subdivision / Right-of-Way Improvements Performance Bond
- North Miami Subdivision / Right-of-Way Improvements Surety Bond
- Orlando Blanket Construction Bond (Communications/ROW)
- Orlando Construction Bond (Right-of-Way Restoration)
- Pembroke Pines Subdivision / Right-of-Way Improvement Bond
- Port St. Lucie Subdivision Required-Improvements Performance Bond
- Sarasota Right-of-Way Work Permit Security
- St. Petersburg Right-of-Way Permit Performance Bond
- Tallahassee Right-of-Way Construction Bond
Underwritten bonds in Florida
Bid, performance, and payment bonds are individually underwritten — request a quote rather than the instant portal:
Florida surety bond FAQ
- Does Florida require a state contractor license bond?
- No. Florida certifies contractors through the DBPR, but Chapter 489 is a financial-responsibility framework — you show financial stability with a surety bond or a 660 FICO credit score, not a bond every licensee must carry. The one statewide contractor surety is the conditional $100,000 Financially Responsible Officer (FRO) bond, required when a company qualifies through an FRO instead of a primary qualifying agent.
- Does my Florida city require a contractor bond?
- Usually not a license bond — HB 735 (2021) preempted most municipal contractor licensing. What cities require are right-of-way and excavation permit bonds tied to the work, like the City of Miami’s $50,000 right-of-way maintenance bond or Jacksonville’s $10,000 and $50,000 right-of-way bonds. Contractor bonds themselves are mostly county-issued.
- Which Florida counties require a contractor bond?
- Orange, Polk, Pasco, and Osceola each require a $5,000 certificate-of-competency bond, and Palm Beach County $2,000. Most other counties — including Miami-Dade, Broward, and Pinellas — require insurance for the Certificate of Competency rather than a surety bond. Hillsborough County’s Code-Compliance bond is the one the City of Tampa, Temple Terrace, and Plant City defer to. Find yours in the directory below.
- Are Florida public-works bonds different?
- Yes. Under the Little Miller Act (F.S. 255.05) a public-works payment and performance bond equals the contract price — required on state work over $100,000, and local entities may exempt contracts of $200,000 or less. These are financially underwritten, so they start with a conversation.
- How fast can I get a Florida bond?
- License, permit, and right-of-way bonds issue online, usually in one sitting. Performance and payment bonds — including the FRO bond and public-works bonds — are underwritten and start with a quote request.
- Who is Wexford Bonds?
- Wexford Bonds is the surety bond brand of Wexford Insurance, LLC, licensed in 48 states. We write the Florida FRO bond, county contractor bonds, municipal right-of-way bonds, and public-works bonds.
Get bonded in Florida
Find your bond above, or get a license, permit, or bid bond online right now.