California, Illinois, Washington, Arizona and Oregon all make a roofer post a bond to hold a license, and each state sets the bond’s face amount. Texas has no state roofing license and so no state roofing bond, and Florida asks for one only on a single route to qualifying a company.
The face amount is what the bond covers. What you pay a surety company to carry it is a premium that surety quotes you, so get a quote for your state’s amount before you budget. For a state not covered here, look up the contractor board’s rules before you take work there. The license side, including how a qualifier holds a license for a company, is in Roofing License Requirements by State, and How Qualifiers Work.
California, Illinois and Washington set fixed bond amounts
California requires every contractor, roofers on the C-39 license included, to file a $25,000 contractor’s bond. A qualifier who is not the sole owner or a general partner files a second bond of the same size. The exception is a qualifier who owns 10% or more of the corporation’s voting stock or of the LLC.
California also requires a C-39 roofer to carry workers’ comp, or a self-insurance certificate, whether or not you have employees. Budget the bond and workers’ comp together, since you pay both to keep the license.
Illinois sets its roofing bond by license type. The limited license, for residential buildings of eight units or fewer, takes a $10,000 bond. The unlimited license, which adds commercial and industrial work, takes $25,000, and Illinois requires workers’ comp on both.
Washington makes every construction contractor register with Labor & Industries (L&I) and names roofing as a specialty. A specialty contractor keeps a continuous $15,000 surety bond in force, against $30,000 for a general contractor. An assignment of savings can stand in for the bond, so compare that against a surety’s quote.
Washington also requires liability coverage of $200,000 public liability and $50,000 property damage, or $250,000 combined, with L&I listed as a certificate holder. Put your exact business name on both the bond and the policy before you file. The other policies a roofer carries are in Roofing Contractor Insurance: What Coverage a Roofing Company Needs and What It Costs.
Arizona and Oregon set the bond by the kind of license you hold
Arizona will not grant or renew a contractor’s license unless a bond or cash deposit is in force. The registrar sets the amount after weighing your classification and the volume of work you expect.
Under the statute, a specialty residential contractor posts between $1,000 and $7,500.
A general residential contractor posts between $5,000 and $15,000, so ask the registrar which classification your roofing work falls under.
Residential and dual licensees also choose between posting an extra $200,000 bond for claims against them and paying into the state’s residential contractors’ recovery fund. Commercial bond amounts rise with yearly volume.
Arizona accepts cash deposited with the state treasurer, in the bond’s amount, in place of a bond. A bond you buy has to come from a surety authorized to do business in Arizona, so ask about that before you sign with one.
Oregon requires every license applicant to file a bond with the Construction Contractors Board (CCB), and a company holding both residential and commercial endorsements files a bond for each.
On the residential side, a specialty contractor posts a $20,000 bond and carries $300,000 of liability insurance.
A residential general contractor posts $25,000 and carries $500,000. Ask the CCB which endorsement your roofing work falls under before you buy the bond.
In Oregon a paid complaint comes out of your bond
Oregon’s statute says the bond pays the amounts the board decides on complaints against you. It stays in effect for at least a year or until it is used up, and the surety’s total for all complaints combined cannot pass the bond’s face amount.
So the money goes to the homeowner who complained, and each paid complaint shrinks what is left for the next one. Answer a complaint early, while it is still between you and the homeowner.
Texas has no state roofing bond, and Florida asks for one on a single route
The Roofing Contractors Association of Texas (RCAT), a trade association, runs a voluntary license. It asks for $300,000 of combined liability coverage for residential work or a $100,000 bond, plus workers’ comp or a filed DWC-005 non-subscriber notice. The rest of the Texas picture is in Texas Roofing License: Requirements, Exam and Cost.
Florida screens a qualifier mainly on credit: no unpaid judgments or liens, and a credit score of 660 or higher. An applicant below that score takes a 14-hour board-approved financial responsibility course instead.
A bond comes in only when a company qualifies through a financially responsible officer. That officer has to meet the credit rule and post a $100,000 bond or irrevocable letter of credit payable to the board. If you plan to qualify a Florida company yourself, pull your credit report before you apply.
A crew that calls itself bonded may still be unlicensed
An owner on r/Roofing asked about a new labor crew: “I have this new crew, they’re fantastic, bonded and insured, but not licensed.” The owner wanted to know whether an OSHA problem or an injury on that crew would put the company at risk.
A bond says nothing about a license. Where your state licenses roofers, ask a sub crew for their license number and look it up on the state board’s site before they start on your job.
Say “bonded” on your site only when you can name the bond
I’ve seen a Texas roofer’s website claim “licensed, bonded, insured” on an unedited AI-generated template that still carried a placeholder (555) phone number. On that page, the claim was evidence of nothing.
If you hold a bond, put the state and your license number beside it. If you hold none, leave the word off.
Six checks to run before the next job
- Look up the bond amount for your license type on your state board’s site, and get a surety quote for it.
- In Arizona or Washington, compare a cash deposit or assignment of savings against the surety’s premium.
- In California, check whether your qualifier needs a second bond.
- Use your exact business name on the bond and the liability policy.
- Ask every sub crew for a license number and look it up.
- Name the state and license number wherever your site says “bonded”.
A bond and a license number on your site only help once a homeowner finds you. To see where homeowners searching near you can find your company, run the free Google Maps heatmap: pick your Google profile and a search, and in a few minutes you’ll see your rank at 49 points around your office.