Kentucky Surety Bonds
Contractor License & Permit Bonds in Kentucky
Find the exact license, permit, right-of-way, or public-works bond your Kentucky obligee requires — by city, county, and the state. License and permit bonds issue online.
How contractor bonding works in Kentucky
Kentucky has no statewide contractor license bond
Kentucky issues no statewide general contractor license, and the trades it does license at the state level — electrical, HVAC, and plumbing — are credentialed with insurance, not a surety bond. So the bond you post in Kentucky is set locally, by the city, county, or special district whose permit you pull, not by a single state credential.
Special districts are Kentucky’s distinctive obligee
Kentucky’s sewer and sanitation districts act as bond obligees in their own right — an unusual feature of the state. The Louisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District requires a $2,500 builder bond on a single-family home not already under an MSD bond, and a $1,000 bond for construction in a mapped floodplain. In Northern Kentucky, Sanitation District No. 1 requires a $6,338 sewer tapper’s bond to connect to its public sewers across Kenton, Boone, and Campbell counties.
Right-of-way and land-disturbance bonds are set city by city
Most Kentucky cities require a right-of-way, street-cut, or land-disturbance bond before you work in the public way, and each sets its own amount. Paducah sets the bond to the cost of the work in the right-of-way; Bowling Green computes it at $5.00 per square foot of cut with a $250 minimum; Bardstown sets a land-disturbance performance bond starting at $750 for minor work and $1,000 for home construction; and Berea requires a subdivision guarantee of 115% of the cost of completing the improvements.
Public works are bonded by statute
On Kentucky public construction over $100,000, the bidder posts bid security of at least 5% of the bid (KRS 45A.430), and the awarded contractor furnishes a performance bond and a payment bond, each equal to 100% of the contract price — KRS 45A.190 for state agencies and KRS 45A.435 for local public agencies. Work in a state highway right-of-way requires a Transportation Cabinet encroachment bond set to the estimated cost of the work. These are underwritten — see the public-works and bid-bond pages in the directory below.
Kentucky bonds we write
Contractor License & Permit Bonds
Statewide
City
- Bardstown Land Disturbance Permit Performance Bond
- Bowling Green Right-of-Way / Street-Cut Bond
- Covington (Kenton County, Kentucky) Right-of-Way / Street-Excavation Bond
- Fort Thomas (Campbell County, Kentucky) Right-of-Way / Street-Cut Bond
- Frankfort (Franklin County, Kentucky) Erosion & Sediment Control Fiscal Surety
- Georgetown (Scott County, Kentucky) Construction and Maintenance Surety Bond
- Glasgow (Barren County, Kentucky) Street-Cut / Excavation Bond
- Lexington-Fayette (Kentucky) Right-of-Way Surface-Cut Performance Bond
- Louisville Metro Right-of-Way Bond
- Louisville Metro Wrecking (Demolition) Contractor Bond
- Mayfield (Graves County, Kentucky) Encroachment Permit Bond
- Newport (Campbell County, Kentucky) Move-and-Set Building Relocation Bond
- Owensboro (Daviess County, Kentucky) Right-of-Way / Sidewalk Permit Bond
- Paducah Right-of-Way Work Bond
Bid Bonds
Statewide
Underwritten bonds in Kentucky
Bid, performance, and payment bonds are individually underwritten — request a quote rather than the instant portal:
Kentucky surety bond FAQ
- Does Kentucky require a state contractor license bond?
- No. Kentucky has no statewide general contractor license, and the electrical, HVAC, and plumbing licenses it does issue require insurance, not a bond. Contractor, permit, and right-of-way bonds in Kentucky are set by each city, county, or special district.
- What is a sewer tapper or MSD builder bond?
- They are special-district bonds. Northern Kentucky’s Sanitation District No. 1 requires a $6,338 sewer tapper’s bond to connect to its sewers; the Louisville and Jefferson County MSD requires a $2,500 builder bond and a $1,000 floodplain-construction bond.
- What bond do I need to cut a street in Kentucky?
- A right-of-way or excavation permit bond from the city or the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet that owns the road. The amount is set per obligee — Paducah sets it to the cost of the work, and Bowling Green computes it at $5.00 per square foot with a $250 minimum.
- Are Kentucky public-works bonds different?
- Yes. Bid security of at least 5% of the bid is required on contracts over $100,000 (KRS 45A.430), and the winner posts performance and payment bonds at 100% of the contract price (KRS 45A.190 and 45A.435). These are underwritten, so they start with a quote request.
- How fast can I get a Kentucky license or permit bond?
- License, permit, and right-of-way bonds issue online, usually in one sitting. Bid, performance, and payment bonds are underwritten and start with a conversation.
- Who is Wexford Bonds?
- Wexford Bonds is the surety bond brand of Wexford Insurance, LLC, licensed in 48 states. We write Kentucky right-of-way, special-district, and public-works bonds.
Get bonded in Kentucky
Find your bond above, or get a license, permit, or bid bond online right now.