Onsite Wastewater Board - Pumpers License ($15,000) Bond - Statewide in Alabama

Brief Summary

A pumper cannot get an Alabama Onsite Wastewater Board license, or keep one, without a $15,000 bond on file. The board suspends an active license the day the bond lapses and charges to reinstate it. Filing the bond on the board's own form, with the right amount for your license class, is the fastest way to keep the truck working.

Alabama requires every Onsite Wastewater Board licensee to be bonded, and Code of Ala. 34-21A-16 sets the minimum at $15,000 for a pumper license. The bond names the Alabama Onsite Wastewater Board as obligee, is filed on the board's $15,000 bond form before the license is issued, and must stay current for every calendar year the license is active.

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How to Apply for a Onsite Wastewater Board - Pumpers License ($15,000) Bond:

• Confirm your license class. A Pumpers License alone takes the $15,000 form. Add an Advanced Level I or II installer license and the board's $30,000 form applies.
• Complete the board's eligibility application for Pumper, Manufacturer or Portable Restroom, showing six months of work experience within the last five years signed by the employer, with a copy of your driver's license.
• Attend the board's initial training and pass the pumper exam, $200 exam fee.
• Apply for the bond with the business name and the licensee name exactly as they will appear on the license application, plus the owner's name, address and Social Security number for the credit review.
• Pay the premium and receive the executed Alabama Onsite Wastewater Board bond on the board's $15,000 form.
• File the bond with the license application, the $100 application processing fee and the $300 annual license fee. The license will not issue until the bond is on file.
• Renew the bond and the license before December 31 each year, applying at least 30 days ahead.

Detailed Information About the Alabama Onsite Wastewater Board - Pumpers License ($15,000) Bond:

The amount depends on your license mix

Code of Ala. 34-21A-16 requires all licensees, without exception, to be bonded for work performed under the license. The statute sets $15,000 as the minimum for a pumper license, a basic level installer license, a portable toilet license or a manufacturer license, and $30,000 for an advanced level installer license. The board publishes a form for each amount, and both forms list the Pumpers License on their face. A pumper who holds no advanced installer license files the $15,000 form. A pumper who also holds an Advanced Level I or II installer license falls under the $30,000 figure and uses the board's $30,000 form, which lists every class so one bond covers the set. Confirm the form with the board if your licenses are anything other than those two cases, because the board will not issue a license until evidence of bond is on file.

Who must post it

Ala. Admin. Code 628-X-3-.01 defines the pumper license as pumping and servicing septic tanks, sewage tanks and grease traps, replacing lids, and installing risers, tees and filters. Section 34-21A-16 requires each active licensee to maintain a current bond for each license held. The exemptions in 34-21A-10 are narrow. A property owner may install, clean, service or maintain the onsite sewage system at a one or two family primary residence they own, working alone without help. The board also may not regulate septic tank distributors, owners of multiple systems where one is designed for 15,000 gallons per day or more, or state licensed general contractors with municipal and utility endorsements. A business pumping tanks for customers fits none of those and needs the license and the bond.

What the bond guarantees

The board's form is a compliance bond naming the Alabama Onsite Wastewater Board as obligee. The pumper promises to faithfully observe the laws, rules, regulations, conditions, criteria and orders governing onsite sewage disposal systems. If a licensee violates them and a valid claim follows, the surety pays up to $15,000 and then recovers 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 the form.

Term, fees and renewal

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. An expired license can be restored within one year for a restoration fee, after which the holder must qualify as a new applicant. Under Ala. Admin. Code 628-X-4-.02 the application processing fee is $100, the pumper exam fee is $200, the annual license fee is $300, and late renewal adds $100 per license. If the executive director suspends a license for a missing bond, reinstatement costs $125 once the bond is replaced or reactivated.

Eligibility and Requirements for a Alabama Onsite Wastewater Board - Pumpers License ($15,000) Bond:

• Surety company authorized to write surety in Alabama.
• Bond amount of $15,000 for a pumper license, the statutory minimum under Code of Ala. 34-21A-16.
• Alabama Onsite Wastewater Board named as obligee on the board's own $15,000 bond form.
• Principal name on the bond matching the license application exactly, including the employer when the bond is written for an employee licensee.
• A current bond on file for every license held. The executive director must suspend any active license without one.
• Owner credit review. At this bond size credit usually sets the premium rate rather than deciding approval.

Alabama Onsite Wastewater Board - Pumpers License ($15,000) Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the Alabama Onsite Wastewater Board - Pumpers License ($15,000) Bond: