Bonded, insured, or both: what each one pays
| License bond | General liability insurance | Workers' compensation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pays for | Violations of licensing law: defective work, breach of contract, unpaid wages and suppliers | Damage or injury the contractor causes to your property or to others | The contractor's own injured workers |
| Limit | The bond amount, shared by all claimants | The policy limit | Statutory benefits |
| How you claim | Through the board or a lawsuit against the bond | Through the contractor's insurer | Not your claim; protects you from an injured worker's claim |
| What happens if missing | In California the license is suspended | You claim against the contractor directly | CSLB: you could be liable if an uninsured worker is hurt on your property |
What each state requires
From the board page or statute, read 20 October 2026. Blank means the official page did not state it; we did not fill it from elsewhere.
| State | License bond | Liability insurance minimum | Workers' comp | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $30,000 general, $15,000 specialty (renewals from 1 July 2024); $4,000 electrical contractor | $200,000 public liability + $50,000 property damage, or $250,000 combined | L&I Verify shows the workers' comp account | L&I; RCW 18.27.040 |
| California | $25,000 contractor bond (since 1 Jan 2023) | Required with employees; C-8, C-20, C-22, C-39, C-61/D-49 even without | CSLB | |
| Oregon (residential) | $25,000 general, $20,000 specialty, $15,000 limited (since 1 Jan 2024) | $500,000 general, $300,000 specialty, $100,000 limited | Lookup shows whether carried | CCB; ORS 701.081 |
| Arizona (residential) | General: $9,000 under $750,000 volume, $15,000 above; specialty: $4,250 / $7,500 | Arizona ROC | ||
| Nevada | $1,000 to $500,000, set by the Board per license | Nevada State Contractors Board | ||
| Florida | No consumer bond on the DBPR FAQ ($100,000 bond only for a financially responsible officer) | General and building contractors: $300,000 liability + $50,000 property damage; others $100,000 + $25,000 | Required, or an exemption | DBPR FAQ |
| Minnesota (residential) | $100,000 per occurrence / $300,000 aggregate bodily injury (or $300,000 single limit), plus $25,000 property damage | DLI, citing 326B.86 | ||
| Pennsylvania (HIC) | $50,000 personal injury + $50,000 property damage | PA Attorney General | ||
| Tennessee | Guaranty or bond only if the financial statement is deficient | Required; amount set by monetary limit | Required unless exempt | TN Board for Licensing Contractors |
| North Dakota | Certificate of liability insurance filed with the license | Proof of WSI coverage | NDCC 43-07-04 | |
| Iowa | $25,000 for out-of-state contractors | Required with employees | Iowa Division of Labor |
Not in the table: Texas (no state general contractor license), Colorado, Utah, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Virginia, Vermont and New Mexico. We could not confirm bond or insurance minimums on an official page for those; ask the city or state board that licenses the trade.
What the bond pays, and how far it stretches
RCW 18.27.040 pays claims in this order: the contractor's employees, then breach-of-contract claims by a party to the contract (you), then subcontractors and suppliers, then state taxes, then costs. Non-homeowner claimants are capped at half the bond; residential homeowners are not, and they have two years from substantial completion or abandonment to bring the action. The surety "shall not be liable in an aggregate amount in excess of the amount named in the bond".
Now compare the bond with the usual job:
| City | State bond for that contractor | Job | Usual filed value | Permits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bellingham | $30,000 (WA general) | Addition | $66,413 | 131 |
| Bellingham | $30,000 | ADU | $140,755 | 110 |
| Bellingham | $30,000 | New home | $274,940 | 449 |
| Bend | $25,000 (OR residential general) | Addition | $97,000 | 181 |
| Bend | $25,000 | New home | $384,616 | 1,849 |
| San Francisco | $25,000 (CA) | Remodel | $38,000 | 5,126 |
| San Francisco | $25,000 | Addition | $230,000 | 674 |
| Scottsdale | $9,000 or $15,000 (AZ residential general) | Addition | $81,012 | 807 |
The usual remodel in San Francisco already exceeds the whole bond, and an addition is several times it. And the bond is per contractor, not per job: if three customers and an unpaid crew claim against the same $25,000, they share it. CSLB says as much: the bond "is often not enough" for multiple complaints or for projects worth more than its value.
Two rules help where the bond cannot. California and Nevada cap a home-improvement down payment at 10% of the price or $1,000, whichever is less, unless the contractor has posted an extra bond (a blanket performance and payment bond with CSLB; a $100,000 consumer protection bond in Nevada). And on a large job you can ask for a contract bond: CSLB says these guarantee completion and payment and typically cost 1–2% of the contract price.
How to claim on a contractor's bond
The claim goes to the surety, not the license board, and the route differs by state:
| State | Where the claim goes | Deadline | Most it pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | The surety company named on the CSLB license record; CSLB does not pay bond claims | Ask the surety | $25,000, shared by every claimant |
| Washington | A lawsuit in the superior court of the county where the work was done; L&I serves the papers on the surety | Two years from substantial completion or abandonment | $30,000 general, $15,000 specialty |
Sources: CSLB bonds guide (rev. 12/22) and Washington L&I form F625-088-000 (September 2025). Before you file, check the lookup for other claims: Washington's L&I Verify lists "lawsuits against their bond", and earlier claimants may have used part of it. If your loss is larger than the bond, the board complaint, a recovery fund where your state has one, and small claims are the other routes; our contractor didn't finish the job guide has them by state.
How to verify insurance in five minutes
- Ask for the certificate of insurance for general liability and a separate one for workers' comp. The NAIC's consumer advice is to get "A copy of the contractor's proof of liability insurance" and of workers' comp, then "Call the insurance company to verify the coverage."
- Call the insurer or agent named on the certificate, not a number the contractor gives you. Confirm the policy number, that it is in force today, and the per-occurrence limit. Georgia's consumer office suggests the same: contact an agent of the insurer.
- Compare the limit with your state's minimum in the table above (Oregon residential general: $500,000; Florida general contractors: $300,000).
- Check the state lookup, which in some states shows this for you: - Washington L&I Verify: registration status, "lawsuits against their bond", safety citations, and whether the workers' comp account is "active and paid-to-date". Registration itself requires the bond and liability insurance (L&I). - Oregon CCB search: whether the contractor "has a surety bond", "submitted proof of liability insurance", carries workers' comp, and complaints in the past 10 years. - California CSLB check: a cancelled bond, a cancelled or expired workers' comp policy, or a judgment that reduces the bond suspends the license (CSLB, Suspended License), so status Active means those were in place on the day.
- Then open the firm on your city's list (for example Bend firms or San Francisco firms) to see how many jobs of your size it has filed and finished.
What this does not tell you
We hold no bond or insurance data. Our license status is the register's on the snapshot date, matched by business name, and only some registers (Washington, Oregon, California) tie status to bond and insurance. The usual filed value is what the contractor declared to the city for the permit, not the contract price, and some cities leave it blank for some trades.
How we know this
Bond and insurance minimums are quoted from the state board pages and statutes listed below, read 20 October 2026; where a page did not state a figure, the cell is blank. Usual filed values and permit counts come from the City of Bellingham, City of Bend, San Francisco DBI and City of Scottsdale permit data (windows ending September 2026; Scottsdale's ends December 2025): the usual value is the middle filed job value among permits that carry one. No insurer or surety data is used.
Numbers come from City of Bellingham permits on single-family homes, duplexes and townhomes; City of Bend building, electrical, mechanical and plumbing permits on homes; San Francisco DBI building permits on one- and two-family homes, with the contractor from the city's permit contacts file; City of Scottsdale building permits, data through October 19, 2026. Nobody paid to be on this page and nobody can.
See every San Francisco addition builder by permits finished →
See every Bend addition builder →
See every Bellingham ADU builder →
Questions
- What is the difference between bonded and insured?
A license bond is a fixed sum a surety will pay out for the contractor's violations, such as bad work or unpaid wages, up to the bond amount and no more ($25,000 in California, $30,000 for a Washington general contractor). Liability insurance pays for damage and injury the contractor causes. Workers' comp pays the contractor's injured workers. They cover different things, so you want all three.
- Is a $25,000 bond enough for my job?
Rarely for a big one. The usual filed value of a San Francisco addition permit is $230,000, and CSLB itself says the $25,000 bond 'is often not enough' for multiple complaints or for projects worth more than the bond. The bond is shared by every claimant against that contractor.
- How do I verify a contractor's insurance?
Ask for the certificate of insurance for liability and for workers' comp, then call the insurer named on it to confirm the policy is in force, as the NAIC advises. In Oregon and Washington the state lookup also shows insurance or workers' comp status; in California, CSLB's license check shows the workers' comp policy on file.
- Who gets paid first from a Washington contractor bond?
Under RCW 18.27.040 the order is: the contractor's employees, then breach-of-contract claims by a party to the construction contract, then subcontractors and suppliers, then state taxes, then costs and fees. Homeowners are not limited to half the bond, as other claimants are, and have two years from substantial completion or abandonment to sue.
- Does a bond guarantee the job gets finished?
A license bond does not. CSLB says bonds do not guarantee a contractor's integrity or competency. A contract (performance and payment) bond does guarantee completion and payment; CSLB says it typically costs 1–2% of the contract price, and you can ask for one on a large job.
Build your own list
Every firm with that kind of permit on record. Pick what you value. The list moves.
Related guides
- How to check a contractor's license in Hawaii
- Contractor didn't finish the job: what to do, and what the permit file shows
- Honolulu contractor license lookup: which license, where to search, and what the permits show
- San Francisco contractor license lookup: which license, where to search, and what the permits show
- ADU cost in San Diego County: what the permits were filed at, by size
- Did my contractor pull a permit? How to check in 46 cities
For one city
- Register as a Contractor (Washington L&I) (2026-10-20)
- RCW 18.27.040 Bond or other security required (Washington) (2026-10-20)
- Verify a Contractor, Tradesperson or Business (Washington L&I) (2026-10-20)
- Electrical Contractor (Washington L&I) (2026-10-20)
- Bond Requirements (CSLB) (2026-10-20)
- Finding the Right Contractor (CSLB) (2026-10-20)
- Suspended License (CSLB) (2026-10-20)
- Licensing — bond amounts by endorsement (Oregon CCB) (2026-10-20)
- ORS 701.081 Residential contractors; bond; insurance (Oregon) (2026-10-20)
- Consumer Tools (Oregon CCB) (2026-10-20)
- Bond Information (Arizona Registrar of Contractors) (2026-10-20)
- Bonds (Nevada State Contractors Board) (2026-10-20)
- Construction Industry FAQs (Florida DBPR) (2026-10-20)
- Residential contractor license application instructions (Minnesota DLI, citing Minn. Stat. 326B.86 subd. 2) (2026-10-20)
- Contractor Frequently Asked Questions (Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, HICPA) (2026-10-20)
- Contractor (Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors) (2026-10-20)
- North Dakota Century Code Chapter 43-07 Contractors (2026-10-20)
- Contractor Registration (Iowa Division of Labor) (2026-10-20)
- Contractor's License Bonds guide — CSLB (rev. 12/22) (2026-10-20)
- What to Do if You Want to File Suit Against Your Construction Contractor, F625-088-000 — Washington L&I (09-2025) (2026-10-20)
- 10 Things You Can Do to Avoid Contractor Fraud and Abuse (NAIC, 7 Oct 2022) (2026-10-20)
- How can I verify that a contractor is licensed and insured? (Georgia Consumer Protection Division, 13 Dec 2023) (2026-10-20)