Minnesota SSTS Business License Bond
What it is & who requires it
Businesses licensed by the Pollution Control Agency to design, install, maintain, inspect or provide service for subsurface sewage treatment systems — the septic trade. Get the routing right, because Minnesota runs three overlapping bonds across two agencies and the department of labor and industry states the rule plainly: contractors licensed by the Pollution Control Agency do not file a pipe-laying bond with it, and should not renew one. If you are licensed here, your bond goes to this agency. A plumbing contractor who also holds this license writes one bond covering both plumbing work and subsurface sewage treatment work, and files a duplicate original with each agency rather than buying twice. The license also carries an unusual clearance: no other professional license is required to design, install, maintain, inspect or service a system that needs no state permit and uses the agency’s prescriptive designs and design guidance, provided the local unit of government has adopted no additional requirements.
Obligee: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (Subsurface Sewage Treatment Systems Program). Citation: Minn. Stat. § 115.56, subd. 2(e) (licenses may be issued only upon submission of general liability insurance, a corporate surety bond in the amount of at least $25,000, and the name of the designated certified individual; the bond may be for both plumbing work and subsurface sewage treatment work if it complies with this section and satisfies the requirements and references identified in § 326B.46, subd. 2); § 115.56, subd. 2(f) (local units of government may not require additional local licenses for subsurface sewage treatment system businesses); § 115.56, subd. 2(g) (no other professional license under § 326.03 required); Minn. Stat. § 115.55 (subsurface sewage treatment systems); Minn. R. ch. 7083 (SSTS professional licensing); Minn. Stat. § 326B.46, subd. 2(b) (a combined plumbing and subsurface sewage treatment bond must comply with both this section and § 115.56, subd. 2(e)); MPCA SSTS Business License Surety Bond form wq-wwists3-22 (amount printed as $25,000).
Bond amount
The required bond amount is $25,000.
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: Filed with the Pollution Control Agency as a condition of the SSTS business license and held for so long as the license is in force; a bond rider is used to amend it rather than re-executing the instrument.
Renewal: Runs with the SSTS business license. A plumbing licensee who also holds this license does not buy a second bond — the labor and industry plumbing bond may be written to cover both scopes — but must file a duplicate original of it with the Pollution Control Agency.
Filing
The original bond and the surety’s power of attorney are filed with the agency in St. Paul — copies are not accepted, and every signature, from each owner, partner or officer of the business and from the bonding company, must be witnessed by a notary. The figure renders on the same reasoning as the two labor and industry floors: the statute states the sum as a minimum, and the agency’s own mandatory form prints it fixed in the amount field with no blank to alter, and the form is a legal contract whose wording the agency states must match the rule text. No cash, certificate of deposit or letter of credit route appears in the section. General liability insurance is required alongside the bond and a designated certified individual must be named for the business. Note the local-licensing tension recorded above this record: this section forbids additional local licenses for these businesses, while the residential trades preemption in the other chapter carves on-site sewage treatment installers out of its own prohibition. A contractor meeting a local license demand should raise this section before paying.
Source
Verified against the obligee source (last checked 2026-09-07).
Related Minnesota bonds
Frequently asked questions
- Who requires the Minnesota SSTS Business License Bond?
- It’s required by Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (Subsurface Sewage Treatment Systems Program) (Minn. Stat. § 115.56, subd. 2(e) (licenses may be issued only upon submission of general liability insurance, a corporate surety bond in the amount of at least $25,000, and the name of the designated certified individual; the bond may be for both plumbing work and subsurface sewage treatment work if it complies with this section and satisfies the requirements and references identified in § 326B.46, subd. 2); § 115.56, subd. 2(f) (local units of government may not require additional local licenses for subsurface sewage treatment system businesses); § 115.56, subd. 2(g) (no other professional license under § 326.03 required); Minn. Stat. § 115.55 (subsurface sewage treatment systems); Minn. R. ch. 7083 (SSTS professional licensing); Minn. Stat. § 326B.46, subd. 2(b) (a combined plumbing and subsurface sewage treatment bond must comply with both this section and § 115.56, subd. 2(e)); MPCA SSTS Business License Surety Bond form wq-wwists3-22 (amount printed as $25,000)). Businesses licensed by the Pollution Control Agency to design, install, maintain, inspect or provide service for subsurface sewage treatment systems — the septic trade. Get the routing right, because Minnesota runs three overlapping bonds across two agencies and the department of labor and industry states the rule plainly: contractors licensed by the Pollution Control Agency do not file a pipe-laying bond with it, and should not renew one. If you are licensed here, your bond goes to this agency. A plumbing contractor who also holds this license writes one bond covering both plumbing work and subsurface sewage treatment work, and files a duplicate original with each agency rather than buying twice. The license also carries an unusual clearance: no other professional license is required to design, install, maintain, inspect or service a system that needs no state permit and uses the agency’s prescriptive designs and design guidance, provided the local unit of government has adopted no additional requirements.
- How much is the Minnesota SSTS Business License Bond?
- The bond amount is $25,000.
- How do I get the Minnesota SSTS Business 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?
- Filed with the Pollution Control Agency as a condition of the SSTS business license and held for so long as the license is in force; a bond rider is used to amend it rather than re-executing the instrument. Renewal: Runs with the SSTS business license. A plumbing licensee who also holds this license does not buy a second bond — the labor and industry plumbing bond may be written to cover both scopes — but must file a duplicate original of it with the Pollution Control Agency.
- 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.
