The $25,000 California contractor license bond, filed fast.

What other states require: license bond amounts by board

The $25,000 figure is California's. Every other board sets its own amount and structure. If your state is not listed, send me the board name and I will pull its form before anything is quoted.

• California. One $25,000 contractor's bond under B&P 7071.6, a condition of issuing, reactivating, renewing or maintaining the license. It must be written by an admitted surety the California Department of Insurance has authorized, on the form the Attorney General's office approved.
• Washington. RCW 18.27.040 sets a $30,000 continuous bond for general contractors and $15,000 for specialty contractors. When claims exceed the bond, employee labor is paid first, then breach of contract, then subcontractors and suppliers, then state taxes. A residential homeowner has two years from substantial completion or abandonment to sue; everyone else has one.
• Oregon. The CCB endorsement chart (11/2024) ties the bond to the endorsement: residential general $25,000, residential specialty $20,000, residential limited $15,000; commercial general Level 1 $80,000, Level 2 $25,000; commercial specialty Level 1 $55,000, Level 2 $25,000. A contractor holding both endorsements files two bonds, one for each.
• Nevada. No fixed figure. The State Contractors Board sets each bond between $1,000 and $500,000 from license type, monetary limit, financial responsibility, experience and character, and names the figure after the license is approved. A cashier's check is accepted with a $200 biennial fee, and the deposit is held two years after the license ends.
• Arizona. ARS 32-1152 scales the bond to classification and annual volume: residential general $5,000 to $15,000, residential specialty $1,000 to $7,500, commercial general up to $100,000 at $10 million or more of volume. Residential contractors also post an additional $200,000 bond or pay into the Residential Contractors' Recovery Fund.

In California, Washington and Nevada the bond is continuous until the surety cancels it; in California and Washington the name on it must match the board's record exactly. The rest of a contractor's program by state is on insurance by state.

Filing rules that trip contractors up, and how to confirm the bond is on CSLB's record

Most suspensions I see are not about money. They are about a bond that was bought and never landed, or landed under the wrong name.

• The 90-day receipt rule. An acceptable bond must reach CSLB headquarters within 90 days of its effective date. A later bond is accepted retroactively under B&P 7071.7 only if CSLB's Request for 7071.7 Bond Acceptance (form 13B-31) shows the failure was due to circumstances beyond your control.
• Match the record exactly. The business name and license number on the bond must correspond exactly with CSLB's records. Report any change to the license within 90 days under B&P 7083, and a bond does not transfer between licenses or between qualifying individuals.
• Cancellation runs on a 30-day clock. A license bond is cancelled 30 days after CSLB receives the surety's notice; if no reinstatement notice or replacement bond arrives before the 30 days end, the license is suspended. Only one bond can be in effect at a time, so date the replacement to the old bond's cancellation date. A rescission from the surety lifts the suspension if CSLB receives it within 90 days of the cancellation date.
• Other suspension triggers. The surety loses its Department of Insurance authorization; a judgment or claim payment reduces the bond; an RMO's holding drops under 10% of voting stock, so a qualifier bond becomes due; a disciplinary bond or cashier's check lapses. Work done during a bond suspension is unlicensed contracting.
• Verify it yourself. After filing, look your license up on CSLB's site; the Contractor's Bond History link on the license detail page is where CSLB sends claimants. If you deposit a cashier's check instead, CSLB pays from it only under a court order and holds it three years after the license period or the license's inactivation, cancellation or revocation, whichever comes first.

Official sources

• Contractors State License Board
• CSLB: Bond Requirements (contractor's bond amount and B&P 7071.6, when required, CDI-authorized surety, Attorney General form, 90-day receipt, exact name, RMO 10% qualifier bond)
• CSLB: Bond Suspensions (triggers, 7071.7 and form 13B-31, 7083 change notice, rescission within 90 days of cancellation date, work during suspension is unlicensed)
• CSLB: General Bond Information (bond in effect until cancellation notice, not transferable, one bond at a time, replacement dated to cancellation date)
• CSLB: Bond Basics (30-day cancellation clock, Contractor's Bond History link, cashier's check paid only under court order)
• CSLB Fast Facts: A Guide to Contractor License Bonds, rev. 8/2025 (claimant classes, contractor response, independent investigations, small claims up to $10,000)
• Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 7071.11 (15-day protest, 30-day surety report, 90-day proof of repayment or accord, $4,000 wage cap, renewal bar, time limits)
• RCW 18.27.040 (Washington bond amounts, continuous bond, assigned savings account, payout order, suit windows, half-of-bond limit for non-homeowners)
• Oregon CCB Endorsement Chart, 11/2024 (bond by endorsement, two bonds for dual endorsement)
• Nevada State Contractors Board: License Requirements (bond $1,000-$500,000 and its basis, notice after approval, cashier's check, $200 biennial fee, two-year hold, continuous bond)
• ARS 32-1152 (Arizona bond ranges by classification and volume, $200,000 additional residential bond or recovery fund, two-year suit limit)