Contractor License & Permit Bonds in Oregon

Oregon licenses contractors through the Construction Contractors Board — and unlike most states, the license bond is surety-only, with a fixed amount set in statute for every endorsement

Oregon runs its contractor bonding at the state level through the Construction Contractors Board (CCB), and it does something most states in this directory do not: it makes the license bond a surety bond only. There is no cash-deposit or letter-of-credit alternative — ORS 701.068 requires a surety bond of every licensee — and the amount is fixed in statute by the endorsement you hold. Because Oregon publishes the number, so can we.

On the residential side (the CCB residential contractor license bond, ORS 701.081), a residential general contractor posts $25,000, a residential specialty contractor $20,000, and a residential limited contractor $15,000. On the commercial side (the CCB commercial contractor license bond, ORS 701.084), a commercial general contractor level 1 posts $80,000 and a commercial specialty contractor level 1 $55,000, while level 2 general, level 2 specialty, and the commercial developer each post $25,000. A contractor who holds both a residential and a commercial endorsement files a separate bond for each.

The CCB’s specialty endorsements each carry their own fixed bond

Beyond the general and specialty license classes, the CCB issues restricted residential endorsements that each carry a fixed statutory bond. The residential restoration contractor bond is $15,000, the construction flagging contractor bond is $25,000 (ORS 701.470), and the home services contractor bond is $15,000. Each is a single-purpose endorsement — the holder performs no other contractor work — but each is surety-only and fixed, so the figure is knowable up front.

Oregon’s other boards: the Landscape Contractors Board, DEQ sewage licensing, and the DFR home-service-agreement bond

Three more Oregon boards bond contractors, and here the amount is not a single fixed figure. The Landscape Contractors Board bonds the landscape contracting business, and the DEQ onsite sewage disposal license bonds installers and pumpers — both let you satisfy the requirement with a surety bond or a cash or letter-of-credit deposit, and both set the amount by rule, so we confirm it when you apply rather than posting a figure. The Bureau of Labor and Industries separately licenses construction labor contractors — firms that recruit or supply construction workers — on a wage-payment bond whose amount tracks your headcount.

The home service agreement obligor bond is the one fixed figure in this group: the Division of Financial Regulation requires a $25,000 surety bond, with no deposit alternative, from a company that sells home service or warranty agreements. Do not confuse it with the CCB home services contractor endorsement above — that $15,000 CCB bond covers the contractor who performs the service, repair, or replacement work under a warranty agreement, while this $25,000 DFR bond covers the warranty company that issues the agreement. Two different bonds, two different obligees, two different amounts.

Oregon cities don’t re-license contractors — municipal bonds are right-of-way work

Because the CCB licenses contractors statewide, Oregon cities and counties may not run their own contractor-license bonds — ORS 701.325 makes the state license exclusive. What remains at the local level is right-of-way work. The Oregon Department of Transportation conditions some state-highway permits on a cash deposit or bond set by the region manager; Multnomah County may require a bond on its right-of-way facilities permits; and the City of Portland and City of Salem take street-opening assurances for work in their streets and easements. For work beyond those jurisdictions, a statewide street-opening / right-of-way product, a sidewalk product, and a land-disturbance / grading product cover the long tail of municipal and county obligees. Each of these is sized to the cost of the work or set by the local authority, so it is quoted per permit.

How Oregon bonds are issued

Every Oregon bond on this site is quoted rather than issued from an instant online portal — a deliberate choice, even for the CCB license bonds whose amount is fixed in statute. Tell us your CCB endorsement, or the board, obligee, and work for a landscape, sewage, right-of-way, or home-service-agreement bond, and a licensed producer follows up with the bond and confirms the amount. Request a quote on any Oregon bond page or from the form on this page.