Single Highway Permit - Driveway Bond - Indiana DOT in Indiana

Brief Summary

Check whether your driveway is commercial before you buy. 105 IAC 7-1-14 requires a performance bond with each application for a commercial driveway. For a noncommercial application the department may require one, but it is discretionary rather than automatic, so a private residential, farm or vacant land driveway usually is not bonded. And if you are a contractor pulling permits repeatedly, a blanket bond covering multiple permits beats a fresh bond for every job.

Indiana requires a performance bond with each application for a commercial driveway on a state right of way under 105 IAC 7-1-14. The bond names the applicant as principal and runs to the State of Indiana. The amount is a minimum of $5,000, or an amount specifically set by appropriate department action, and it is increased in any application to equal the estimated cost of that part of the project on the department's right of way. For a noncommercial application the department may require an adequate bond at its discretion. The bond is released only when the work described on the permit has been completed to the satisfaction of the department.

We can help with all Indiana bonds!

How to Apply for a Single Highway Permit - Driveway Bond:

• Establish whether your application is commercial. 105 IAC 7-1-14 makes the bond mandatory for a commercial driveway and discretionary for a noncommercial one.
• Identify your permit type under 105 IAC 7-1-4. Major, minor and sub minor commercial driveways are all commercial. A private driveway serving residential, farm or vacant property is not.
• Get an engineer's estimate of the cost of the part of the project on the department's right of way. That figure, not your total project cost, drives the bond amount above the $5,000 floor.
• If you pull INDOT permits regularly, price a blanket bond against single permit bonds before deciding.
• If the applicant is a school, church or local government, ask INDOT about the waiver its permit guide describes rather than buying a bond.
• Legal name of the applicant exactly as it will appear on the permit application, since the applicant is the principal.
• Owner or principal information and authorization for a credit review.
• Complete the bond application, review the quoted premium, and pay it.
• Name the State of Indiana as obligee.
• For a blanket bond, use INDOT's Blanket Bond for Right-of-Way Permits form.
• File the bond with the permit application and confirm INDOT has entered it into the Electronic Permit System, since that is when a blanket bond takes effect.
• Chase the final inspection. The bond is released only when the work described on the permit has been completed to the satisfaction of the department.

Detailed Information About the Indiana Single Highway Permit - Driveway Bond:

Commercial is the trigger, not the driveway

This is the first thing to establish, because it decides whether you buy anything.

105 IAC 7-1-14 says the department shall require a performance bond to be filed with each application for a commercial driveway, showing the applicant as principal. For noncommercial applications the rule is different. The department may require adequate bonds at its discretion.

So the automatic requirement attaches to commercial work. A private driveway, which 105 IAC 7-1-4 describes as one serving residential, farm or vacant property used by owners, guests and service vehicles only, is a discretionary case rather than a mandatory one. Ask the district before assuming you owe a bond on a house or a field entrance.

$5,000 is a floor that moves with the job

The amount is not fixed and it is not open ended either. The rule sets it two ways at once.

A minimum of five thousand dollars, or an amount as specifically set by appropriate department action. And then the sentence that actually governs most files: such amount shall be increased in any application to equal the estimated cost of that part of the project on the department's right of way.

Read that carefully. It is the cost of the work inside INDOT's right of way, not the cost of your whole project. A large commercial development with a modest entrance treatment is bonded on the entrance treatment. Get your engineer's estimate split that way before you request a quote, because the number you give the surety is the number on the bond.

Which permit you are applying for

105 IAC 7-1-4 sets the categories and they matter because commercial status drives the bond.

A major commercial driveway connects the highway to private property used for commercial purposes or to public property and requires at least one auxiliary lane or other department infrastructure changes. A minor commercial driveway connects to the same kind of property but needs no auxiliary lane or department changes. A sub minor commercial driveway is limited to commercial property attracting not more than twenty five vehicles a day. A private driveway serves residential, farm or vacant property used by owners, guests and service vehicles only.

Alongside those sit major and minor public road approaches, a miscellaneous permit covering any activity on a state right of way not covered by the other permits, a railroad crossing closure permit, and a right of way occupancy permit for work above or below ground within or possibly impacting the state right of way.

A sub minor commercial driveway is still commercial. Twenty five vehicles a day does not make it private.

One bond per permit, or one bond for all of them

Worth knowing if you pull permits for a living rather than once.

INDOT accepts either a performance bond, which its permit guide describes as covering the project costs and is written for the single job, or a blanket bond, which it describes as covering several persons, projects or properties and providing coverage to the state if any of the work contracted in INDOT's right of way is not completed adequately or is considered negligent.

INDOT publishes a Blanket Bond for Right-of-Way Permits form for multiple permit use, last updated 8/29/2023. The obligee is the State of Indiana. Under that form the bond becomes effective on the later of its stated effective date and the point when INDOT accepts it and enters it into the Electronic Permit System, and it continues in full force until released by the State of Indiana.

A contractor doing several INDOT jobs a year should price the blanket route before buying single bonds one at a time.

Some applicants are waived

INDOT's permit guide lists the bond requirement as a blanket bond or performance bond sufficient to cover the scope of work, unless a waiver is completed by a school, church, local government or similar entity.

So public and institutional applicants have a route out that a commercial developer does not. If you are applying on behalf of one of those, ask about the waiver rather than buying.

What the bond actually covers

More than the cost of redoing the work. 105 IAC 7-1-14 says the bond provides, in addition to any damages suffered, all witness and court costs in collecting the same, together with any attorney's fee reasonably due.

So a dispute that goes to court adds costs on top of the repair exposure, and the surety that pays comes back to you for all of it.

Getting it released

The rule is short and it is the only release condition. The bond shall be released only when the work described on the permit has been completed to the satisfaction of the department.

That means final inspection, not substantial completion. Premium runs until INDOT signs off, so chasing the inspection is worth money.

What happens on an unbonded permit

Worth knowing because it explains why the department leans toward requiring bonds.

105 IAC 7-1-22 says that on permits not covered by a bond, work that is incomplete, improperly performed or otherwise does not follow the conditions or provisions of the permit shall be designated as Does Not Comply, and the department follows the notice action in 105 IAC 7-2-4(2).

Without a bond the state has no fund to draw on, so it moves to enforcement instead.

Eligibility and Requirements for a Indiana Single Highway Permit - Driveway Bond:

• A performance bond filed with each application for a commercial driveway, showing the applicant as principal.
• A minimum of $5,000, or an amount specifically set by appropriate department action.
• The amount increased in any application to equal the estimated cost of that part of the project on the department's right of way.
• The State of Indiana as obligee.
• Coverage extending beyond damages to all witness and court costs in collecting them, together with any attorney's fee reasonably due.
• Release only when the work described on the permit has been completed to the satisfaction of the department.
• A blanket bond as an alternative where the applicant holds or expects multiple permits.
• Applicant name on the bond matching the permit application exactly.

Indiana Single Highway Permit - Driveway Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the Indiana Single Highway Permit - Driveway Bond: