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Have a question? +1 815-826-6324 (815-8-BondAI) phil@AmericasSuretyBonds.com
Army Veteran Owned | Expert Surety Bonds Since 2004
A C-57 license lets you drill anywhere in California, but it does not get you a well permit in San Luis Obispo County. The county also wants a $25,000 surety bond on file with Environmental Health Services before it will process your permits. A bond keeps that $25,000 in your business instead of sitting in a cashier's check held by the county until each Well Completion Report is approved.
San Luis Obispo County requires every well driller who pulls water well construction or destruction permits to hold a current C-57 contractor license and to have a $25,000 surety bond in place with San Luis Obispo County Environmental Health Services. The requirement is set by County Code section 8.40.040, Surety Bond Requirement. A cashier's check can be deposited in place of the bond.
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San Luis Obispo County Environmental Health Services runs the county well program. To qualify as a well driller in the county, it sets two conditions: the driller must have a current C-57 contractor license, and the driller must have a $25,000 surety bond in place with Environmental Health Services. The bonding rule sits in the San Luis Obispo County Code at section 8.40.040, Surety Bond Requirement.
The same qualification applies to water well construction permits and water well destruction permits. A driller who plans to work on both sides of the program needs the bond in place either way.
This is where out of area drillers get caught. The C-57 is a state contractor classification and it is a prerequisite, not a substitute. The county treats the license and the bond as two separate requirements, and a driller needs both before Environmental Health Services will accept permit applications.
The county allows a cashier's check in place of the surety bond. The check is returned after the Well Completion Report is reviewed and approved. For a driller with steady work in the county, that means cash tied up on a rolling basis. A surety bond stays in place across jobs for a single annual premium.
The bond runs in favor of the County of San Luis Obispo and backs the driller's obligation to build and destroy wells in line with the county well ordinance and permit conditions, including filing the Well Completion Report. If the county has to correct work or enforce a permit the driller did not complete, it can make a claim on the bond, and the driller repays the surety.
Environmental Health Services publishes a sample surety bond on its well program reference page. Confirm the current form and filing steps with Environmental Health Services before the bond is issued so the wording matches what the county expects.
The surety quotes an annual premium based on the $25,000 penal sum, the owner's personal credit, and the contractor's license history and experience.
$25,000. Environmental Health Services requires it under County Code section 8.40.040, Surety Bond Requirement.
Yes. The county lists the C-57 license and the $25,000 surety bond as two separate qualifications. The license does not waive the bond.
Yes. The county accepts a cashier's check in place of the surety bond. It is returned after the Well Completion Report is reviewed and approved.
Yes. The county applies the same C-57 and $25,000 bond qualification to water well destruction permits as it does to water well construction permits.
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