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Expert Surety Bonds Since 2004
Need assistance? +1 815-826-6324 (815-8-BondAI) phil@AmericasSuretyBonds.com
Expert Surety Bonds Since 2004
The $15,000 bond is the one item an Alabama portable restroom applicant cannot skip, and it is also the easiest. The board accepts no substitute, suspends any active license the moment the bond lapses, and charges a reinstatement fee to turn it back on. Posting the bond on the board's own form, with the right amount for your license class, keeps all of that off your desk.
Alabama requires every Onsite Wastewater Board licensee to be bonded, and Code of Ala. 34-21A-16 sets the floor at $15,000 for a portable toilet license. The bond names the Alabama Onsite Wastewater Board as obligee, is filed on the board's $15,000 bond form before a license is issued, and must stay current for every license year. A lapsed bond means an immediate license suspension.
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The board publishes two bond forms, and both list the Portable Restroom License on their face. That is the detail most applicants get wrong. Code of Ala. 34-21A-16 sets the minimum bond at $15,000 for a basic level installer license, a pumper license, a portable toilet license or a manufacturer license, and $30,000 for an advanced level installer license. A portable restroom operator who holds no advanced installer license files the $15,000 form. The $30,000 form exists for licensees who also hold an Advanced Level I or II installer license, since that is the higher amount the statute attaches to them. If you are not sure which form the board wants on your file, ask the board before the surety issues it, because the board will not issue the license until evidence of bond is on file.
Under Code of Ala. 34-21A-12 and Ala. Admin. Code 628-X-3-.01, the portable toilet license covers installing, transporting, pumping, servicing and maintaining portable toilets and related temporary facilities. Section 34-21A-16 says all licensees, without exception, must be bonded for any work performed under the license, and that each active licensee shall maintain a current bond for each license held. The only people outside the licensing law are those named in 34-21A-10: property owners servicing a system at their own one or two family primary residence with no outside help, and a few categories the board is barred from regulating, such as state licensed general contractors with municipal and utility endorsements doing that work. None of those exemptions fits a commercial portable restroom business.
The board's form is a compliance bond. The principal promises to faithfully observe the laws, rules, regulations, conditions, criteria and orders governing onsite sewage disposal systems. If a licensee violates them and the board or an injured party makes a valid claim, the surety pays up to $15,000 and then collects from the licensee. The surety may cancel on forty five days written notice to the board, and the bond ends automatically if the licensee leaves the employer named on it.
A license is valid only for the calendar year printed on it and expires December 31 unless renewed. Section 34-21A-18 requires the renewal application at least 30 days before expiration, with evidence of adequate bond and the continuing education the board sets. Under Ala. Admin. Code 628-X-4-.02 the application processing fee is $100, the portable restroom exam fee is $200, the annual license fee is $300, and a late renewal costs an extra $100 per license. If the board suspends a license for a missing bond, reinstatement costs $125 once the bond is replaced or reactivated. Most sureties write the bond for one year with a continuation certificate each renewal, so line the bond renewal up with the license renewal.
Not for a portable restroom license by itself. Code of Ala. 34-21A-16 sets $15,000 as the minimum for a portable toilet license and $30,000 for an advanced level installer license. The $30,000 form lists the pumper, portable restroom and manufacturer classes so that a licensee who also holds an Advanced Level I or II license can cover everything at the higher amount. If you hold only the portable restroom license, file the $15,000 form. Check with the board if your license mix is unusual.
Section 34-21A-16 says each active licensee shall maintain a current bond for each license held, and the board's form lists both classes. Both are $15,000 classes, so the amount does not change. Ask the board whether it wants one form marked for both licenses or a separate bond per license before the surety issues it.
The executive director must immediately suspend any active license without a current bond on file. You can get it back by paying the $125 bond suspension reinstatement fee under Ala. Admin. Code 628-X-4-.02 and reactivating or replacing the bond. Working on a suspended license exposes you to the penalties in 34-21A-25, so keep the continuation certificate current.
No. It protects the board and the public. If you violate the onsite sewage laws or rules and a claim is paid, the surety recovers the amount from you. Think of the premium as the price of not tying up $15,000 in cash with the state.
The premium is a small annual percentage of the $15,000 amount set by the surety after a credit review. Stronger credit earns a lower rate. The quote is shown before you buy, and there is no cost to see it.
Code of Ala. 34-21A-10 exempts a property owner installing, cleaning or servicing an onsite sewage system at a one or two family primary residence they own, doing the work themselves without help. It also keeps the board from regulating septic tank distributors, owners of multiple systems where one is designed for 15,000 gallons per day or more, and state licensed general contractors with municipal and utility endorsements. A business renting and servicing portable restrooms for others does not fit any of these and needs the license and the bond.
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