Minneapolis Building Wrecker Bond
What it is & who requires it
Contractors who wreck, demolish or tear down buildings or structures in Minneapolis. Read the class table before pricing, because the two figures are five times apart and the boundary is a size test rather than a work-type test: Class B is capped at three stories or thirty-five feet and ten thousand square feet of floor area above grade, and anything past any one of those limits is Class A. This is one of the very few building trades Minneapolis still licenses in its own right — the front eleven articles of the same chapter are reserved and most of what they once covered is now licensed by the state — and it survives because nothing in the state scheme bonds or licenses demolition. There is a genuine exemption at the small end: no license is required for wrecking a dwelling not over two stories, or a private garage, shed or similar minor building not exceeding one thousand square feet of total floor area, unless the building official orders one on account of special hazards. Two related permits usually ride along, because the city allows only wrecking contractors and solid waste haulers to place a dumpster in the street: a street use permit for the dumpster and an obstruction permit for a blocked lane, street or sidewalk.
Obligee: City of Minneapolis (Business Licenses and Consumer Services, Community Planning and Economic Development). Citation: Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 277.2300 (Insurance; bond — the surety bond shall be in the sum of ten thousand dollars for a Class B license and fifty thousand dollars for a Class A license, to indemnify and save the city harmless from all damages, judgments, losses, claims, suits or liabilities of every kind growing out of the wrecking or demolition of any building; approved by the city attorney before issuance; not cancellable except on thirty days’ written notice to the licensing official); § 277.2270 (License required); § 277.2275 (Classes of licenses; Ord. of 5-14-76, § 1); § 277.2330 (When licenses expire — December first of each year; 2009-Or-138, § 1, 11-13-09); § 277.2360 (Exception from license; 2013-Or-176, § 6, 12-6-13); Title 13, ch. 277, Article XII (Building Wreckers), Code 1960 As Amend. § 323.010 et seq.; 2005-Or-118, § 1, 11-18-05.
Bond amount
Set by the class of license rather than by the size of the job, from one section with two paragraphs. $50,000 for a Class A building wrecker, which may wreck, demolish or tear down any building or structure regardless of size or height. $10,000 for a Class B building wrecker, which is limited to buildings not exceeding three stories or thirty-five feet in height and not exceeding ten thousand square feet of floor area on all levels above grade. The city publishes both figures on its own license page in the same terms as the ordinance.
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 with the building wrecker license and conditioned to indemnify and save the city harmless from all damages, judgments, losses, claims, suits or liabilities of every kind growing out of the wrecking or demolition of any building.
Renewal: Annual — every license issued under the article expires on the first of December, so the whole trade renews on one date. The bond may not be cancelled except on thirty days’ written notice served on the licensing official.
Filing
Filed with the licensing official with the application, together with the public liability policy, and both must be approved by the city attorney before the license issues. The figures render because the ordinance states flat sums by class, names a surety, and offers no cash or deposit alternative anywhere in the article. Price the insurance alongside, because it is unusual and is where a demolition account is really underwritten: the policy may not carry an explosion and collapse exclusion, personal injury cover must be at three hundred thousand dollars for one occurrence, property damage at not less than fifty thousand for any one occurrence, and the city must be named as an additional named insured. No provision in the policy or the bond requiring the contractor to notify the insurer before undertaking wrecking operations binds the city. Neither the policy nor the bond may be cancelled except on thirty days’ written notice served on the licensing official. Note when reading a carrier list for this city that a separate ten thousand dollar Class A bond exists in a different chapter for tow truck operators, and it is not this instrument.
Source
Verified against the obligee source (last checked 2026-09-07).
Related Minnesota bonds
Frequently asked questions
- Who requires the Minneapolis Building Wrecker Bond?
- It’s required by City of Minneapolis (Business Licenses and Consumer Services, Community Planning and Economic Development) (Minneapolis Code of Ordinances § 277.2300 (Insurance; bond — the surety bond shall be in the sum of ten thousand dollars for a Class B license and fifty thousand dollars for a Class A license, to indemnify and save the city harmless from all damages, judgments, losses, claims, suits or liabilities of every kind growing out of the wrecking or demolition of any building; approved by the city attorney before issuance; not cancellable except on thirty days’ written notice to the licensing official); § 277.2270 (License required); § 277.2275 (Classes of licenses; Ord. of 5-14-76, § 1); § 277.2330 (When licenses expire — December first of each year; 2009-Or-138, § 1, 11-13-09); § 277.2360 (Exception from license; 2013-Or-176, § 6, 12-6-13); Title 13, ch. 277, Article XII (Building Wreckers), Code 1960 As Amend. § 323.010 et seq.; 2005-Or-118, § 1, 11-18-05). Contractors who wreck, demolish or tear down buildings or structures in Minneapolis. Read the class table before pricing, because the two figures are five times apart and the boundary is a size test rather than a work-type test: Class B is capped at three stories or thirty-five feet and ten thousand square feet of floor area above grade, and anything past any one of those limits is Class A. This is one of the very few building trades Minneapolis still licenses in its own right — the front eleven articles of the same chapter are reserved and most of what they once covered is now licensed by the state — and it survives because nothing in the state scheme bonds or licenses demolition. There is a genuine exemption at the small end: no license is required for wrecking a dwelling not over two stories, or a private garage, shed or similar minor building not exceeding one thousand square feet of total floor area, unless the building official orders one on account of special hazards. Two related permits usually ride along, because the city allows only wrecking contractors and solid waste haulers to place a dumpster in the street: a street use permit for the dumpster and an obstruction permit for a blocked lane, street or sidewalk.
- How much is the Minneapolis Building Wrecker Bond?
- Set by the class of license rather than by the size of the job, from one section with two paragraphs. $50,000 for a Class A building wrecker, which may wreck, demolish or tear down any building or structure regardless of size or height. $10,000 for a Class B building wrecker, which is limited to buildings not exceeding three stories or thirty-five feet in height and not exceeding ten thousand square feet of floor area on all levels above grade. The city publishes both figures on its own license page in the same terms as the ordinance.
- How do I get the Minneapolis Building Wrecker 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 with the building wrecker license and conditioned to indemnify and save the city harmless from all damages, judgments, losses, claims, suits or liabilities of every kind growing out of the wrecking or demolition of any building. Renewal: Annual — every license issued under the article expires on the first of December, so the whole trade renews on one date. The bond may not be cancelled except on thirty days’ written notice served on the licensing official.
- 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?
- We verify it against the obligee’s primary source (last checked 2026-09-07); the source link is on this page.
