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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
The $10,000 bond is a flat figure. Every Omaha contractor class posts the same amount, so there is no tier to guess at and no reason for a Class E roofer to be quoted differently in bond size than a Class A commercial builder. You pay a premium instead of tying up $10,000, and the executed bond goes to the Permits and Inspections Division with your certificate of insurance before the license is issued.
Omaha requires a corporate surety bond of not less than $10,000 from every contractor licensed under Article IX of Chapter 43 of the Omaha Municipal Code, in all five classes A through E. The requirement is at section 43-279. The bond is filed with the City of Omaha Planning Department, Permits and Inspections Division before a new license is issued and must stay in continuous effect. The surety must be licensed in Nebraska and the bond must be approved as to form by the city law department. Permits are not issued to a licensee whose bond has expired.
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This is the fact most contractors get backwards. Omaha Municipal Code 43-279(b) sets one bond amount, not less than $10,000, and it applies the same way to a Class A general contractor and a Class E fence installer. What changes with your class is the general liability certificate you file alongside it, under 43-279(a): Class A and B, $1,000,000. Class C, $500,000. Class D and E, $300,000. Combined bodily injury and property damage in each case.
The license applies to anyone contracting to build, alter, repair, add to or improve a building or structure inside the city or its three mile extraterritorial jurisdiction. Section 43-273(a) carves out three groups. A tradesman licensed by the city doing work inside his own trade. A subcontractor working under contract to a licensed contractor. And a person doing work that qualifies as routine maintenance under section 43-72.
There is a fourth carve out that almost never appears on bond pages. An organization building or renovating with a mostly volunteer labor force is not a contractor for this article, provided it has a licensed contractor of the right class on staff, on its board acting as license holder, or on site volunteering as oversight for the crew.
Section 43-288 covers homeowners. You may work on a building you own and live in without the license. Separately, a property owner may build or act as contractor for one new home on vacant land they own once in a five year period. Two limits ride along with that: you cannot pull permits in your own name and hand the work to unlicensed contractors, and if you are improving houses for resale or speculation you are a contractor and need the license.
Section 43-285 lets a licensed contractor go inactive. While inactive you cannot perform any work requiring the license, but the bond and insurance are expressly not required to issue, maintain or renew it. To go active again you file a current certificate of insurance, show current continuing education, and pay the renewal fee. Contractors who are between jobs or out of the market for a year often keep paying for a bond they are not required to carry.
Under 43-275(b), Class D licenses exist only as renewals. Let a Class D lapse and you cannot get it back. You test for and obtain Class A, B or C instead. Class A, B and C all require passing the ICC exam for that class. Class E requires no exam at all.
Section 43-280 puts expiration at 11:59 p.m. on December 31 of the expiration year shown on the license, a term not to exceed three years. This is not an annual license. License fees under 43-276 are $300 for Class A and B, $200 for Class C, and $100 for Class D and E. Late penalties run $25 at 31 to 60 days past expiration, $50 at 61 to 365 days, and $100 beyond 366 days for Class A, B, C and E. A Class D license lapsed past 366 days is forfeited outright. Working without the license costs four times the regular fee on top of any criminal penalty, under 43-290.
Continuing education is nine hours every three years, section 43-281. Permits and Inspections audits five percent of licensees at random for proof.
Nebraska also requires contractors and subcontractors to register with the Nebraska Department of Labor before performing construction work, under the Contractor Registration Act at Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-2104. That registration carries no surety bond. It carries an annual fee, set at $40.00 effective August 1, 2026, and a workers compensation certificate for anyone with employees. Registering with the state does nothing for your Omaha license, and holding the Omaha license does nothing for your state registration. The statute exempts people working on property they own and anyone earning less than $5,000 a year for construction services.
Rate on a $10,000 license and permit bond is set by underwriting, primarily the personal credit of the owner or license holder, plus time in business and any prior claims. There is no filed flat rate for this bond, so a quote is the only honest number.
No. Omaha Municipal Code 43-279(b) sets a single bond of not less than $10,000 for every class. Class A through Class E all post the same amount. Your class changes the liability insurance limit you file with it, not the bond.
Not under this article. Section 43-273(a) excludes a subcontractor performing work under a contract with a licensed contractor, and a city licensed tradesman working inside his own trade. Note that the separate Nebraska Department of Labor contractor registration does apply to subcontractors, and that registration has no bond.
Yes, by going inactive. Section 43-285 says the bond and insurance are not required to issue, maintain or renew an inactive contractor license. You cannot perform licensed work while inactive. To reactivate you file a current certificate of insurance, show current continuing education, and pay the renewal fee.
The license itself is not annual. Section 43-280 has licenses expiring at 11:59 p.m. on December 31 of the expiration year printed on the license, for a term of up to three years. The bond has to be in continuous effect for as long as the license is active, so it is written and renewed to match.
No. State registration under Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-2104 and the Omaha license are unrelated filings. State registration requires a fee, set at $40.00 effective August 1, 2026, and a workers compensation certificate if you have employees. It requires no bond and it does not let you contract in Omaha.
Section 43-288 lets a property owner build or act as contractor for one new home on vacant land they own, once in a five year period, without the license. You still pull permits and pay permit fees. You cannot pull permits in your name and use unlicensed contractors for the work, and if you are improving homes for resale or speculation the exemption does not apply.
There is no filed flat rate. Premium on a $10,000 license and permit bond is underwritten, driven mainly by the personal credit of the owner or license holder, along with time in business and claim history. A quote is the only accurate figure.
Not as a new applicant. Section 43-275(b) makes Class D renewal only. If a Class D lapses you must test for and obtain Class A, B or C. A Class D lapsed more than 366 days is forfeited under 43-276.
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