Vermont Surety Bonds
Contractor License & Permit Bonds in Vermont
Find the exact license, permit, right-of-way, or public-works bond your Vermont obligee requires — by city, county, and the state. Vermont bonds are quoted, not issued online — request a quote and a licensed producer follows up.
How contractor bonding works in Vermont
In Vermont, the bond contractors most often need is contract surety
Vermont is different from most states in this directory: it does not license or bond contractors at the state level, so the surety bond a Vermont contractor actually needs is almost always contract surety — a bid bond, performance bond, or payment bond on a construction project. On Vermont public works — for the Agency of Transportation (VTrans), the Department of Buildings and General Services, or a municipality — a contractor furnishes a performance bond and a labor-and-materials payment bond on the awarded contract, and a bid bond as the proposal guaranty (19 V.S.A. § 10). Private project owners ask for the same bonds. The amount tracks the contract, so it is set per project and confirmed when you request your bond.
Vermont does not require a state contractor license bond — registration is insurance
If you searched for a “Vermont contractor license bond,” here is the honest answer: there is no statewide contractor surety bond in Vermont. Vermont’s residential contractor program (9 V.S.A. Chapter 140) requires a contractor on larger residential projects to register with the Office of Professional Regulation and to carry liability insurance and use a written contract — it is a registration-and-insurance requirement, not a bond. Vermont’s licensed trades, electricians and plumbers, are exam-and-license credentials with no state bond either. So the aggregators selling a “Vermont contractor license bond” are describing something the state does not require. What a Vermont contractor genuinely posts is contract surety, and — in a few towns — a municipal street-opening bond.
A few Vermont towns require a street-opening bond
Vermont’s municipal layer is thin: only a handful of towns require a contractor to post a bond before cutting into a public street, and each accepts a cash deposit or letter of credit in lieu of the bond, so there is no fixed figure on the page — we confirm the amount when you request your bond. We carry the Burlington street-excavation bond (a permit bond or a cash deposit for disturbing a city street, sidewalk, curb, or tree belt), the Rutland street-excavation bond (a small restoration deposit for digging in a city street), and the Bennington right-of-way bond (a bond or letter of credit the Town Engineer may require for work in a town right-of-way). There is no statewide municipal contractor-bond pattern beyond these — most Vermont towns charge a permit fee and require insurance, not a bond.
How Vermont bonds are issued
Because Vermont’s bonds are contract surety and obligee-set municipal bonds rather than fixed state license bonds, they are individually quoted — there is no instant-issue online portal for Vermont. Tell us the project or the town, the bond, and the contract or work, and a licensed producer follows up with the exact bond. Request a quote on any Vermont bond page or from the form on this page.
Vermont bonds we write
Contractor License & Permit Bonds
Bid Bonds
Statewide / General-Use Bonds
Performance & Payment Bonds
Statewide / General-Use Bonds
Underwritten bonds in Vermont
Bid, performance, and payment bonds are individually underwritten — request a quote rather than the instant portal:
Vermont surety bond FAQ
- Does Vermont require a state contractor license bond?
- No. Vermont has no statewide contractor license or surety bond. Its residential contractor program (9 V.S.A. Chapter 140) requires registration with the Office of Professional Regulation plus liability insurance and a written contract — not a bond. Electricians and plumbers are licensed and insured, not bonded.
- What bonds do Vermont contractors actually need?
- Contract surety. On public works — VTrans, Buildings and General Services, or a municipality — and on many private projects, a contractor posts a bid bond to bid, then a performance bond and a payment bond on the awarded contract (19 V.S.A. § 10). The amount tracks the contract.
- Are Vermont public-works performance and payment bonds required by law?
- Yes. On a Vermont State construction contract the contractor furnishes a compliance/performance surety bond and a labor-and-materials (payment) bond, each in the sum the Agency directs (19 V.S.A. § 10). Municipalities and private owners commonly require the same on their projects.
- Does Vermont have municipal contractor bonds?
- A few. Burlington, Rutland, and Bennington require a street-opening or right-of-way bond before a contractor cuts into a public street — and each accepts a cash deposit or letter of credit in lieu of the bond. Most other Vermont towns charge a permit fee and require insurance, not a bond.
- How are Vermont bonds issued — can I get one online instantly?
- Vermont bonds are individually quoted rather than issued from an instant portal, because the amounts are set by the contract or the local obligee. Request a quote with your project or town and the bond, and a licensed producer follows up with the exact bond.
- Who is Wexford Bonds?
- Wexford Bonds is the surety bond brand of Wexford Insurance, LLC, licensed in 48 states. In Vermont we write contract surety — bid, performance, and payment bonds for public-works and private projects — and the municipal street-opening bonds (Burlington, Rutland, Bennington). Vermont bonds are individually quoted; request a quote and a licensed producer follows up.
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.
Get bonded in Vermont
Find your bond above, then request a quote — Vermont bonds are individually quoted, and a licensed producer follows up to walk you through it.