Private Security Entity Wage Payment Bond - Oregon DPSST in Oregon

Brief Summary

This one moves with headcount, not revenue. Ten or fewer covered personnel is a $5,000 bond. Cross into the eleven to twenty band and it doubles. Past fifty it is $30,000. Count the people DPSST actually counts before you buy, because the count is executive managers, private security professionals and supervisory managers, not your whole payroll, and getting it wrong means either an over-bought bond or a rejected license packet in the middle of the renewal window.

ORS 181A.900(3) requires every applicant for an Oregon private security entity license to submit proof of financial ability to promptly pay the wages of the executive managers, private security professionals and supervisory managers employed by or contracting with the entity. OAR 259-059-0130 sets the amount by headcount: $5,000 for 10 or fewer, $10,000 for 11 to 20, $20,000 for 21 to 50, and $30,000 for more than 50. A corporate surety bond is one of four accepted forms. The bond runs to the State of Oregon and any interested persons and is filed with DPSST.

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How to Apply for a Private Security Entity Wage Payment Bond:

• Count your executive managers, private security professionals and supervisory managers, including those working under contract, since that count sets the tier at 10, 20 and 50.
• Decide between the corporate surety bond, an irrevocable letter of credit, a cash deposit or a cash equivalent deposit.
• Public bodies should check whether a financial officer statement satisfies the requirement instead.
• Have the exact entity name as registered with the Oregon Secretary of State.
• Owner or principal owner name, address and financial information for underwriting.
• Complete the bond application and review the quoted premium.
• Have the surety execute the DPSST private security entity surety bond form with the amount written out and in numerals and both signatures present.
• Get the executed bond to DPSST within 60 days of the execution date, with the rest of the application packet and the license fee.

Detailed Information About the Oregon Private Security Entity Wage Payment Bond:

Four amounts, keyed to who you count

OAR 259-059-0130 sets $5,000 for an entity with 10 or fewer, $10,000 for 11 to 20, $20,000 for 21 to 50, and $30,000 for more than 50. The DPSST bond form carries the same four figures.

The number being counted is narrower than headcount. ORS 181A.900(3) frames the obligation around the executive managers, private security professionals and supervisory managers employed by or who contract with the entity. Administrative staff who are not licensed or certified in those roles are not what this tier table is measuring. Contracted providers are, which catches entities that assumed only W-2 staff counted.

The bond is one of four options

The statute names a corporate surety bond, a cash deposit, or a deposit the equivalent of cash. The rule adds an irrevocable letter of credit, and DPSST publishes a form for each: a corporate surety bond, an irrevocable letter of credit, and a trust agreement with its own instructions. Cash deposits are held by DPSST in a non-interest-bearing account, and amounts received go to the Private Security Entity Account under ORS 181A.922. At $30,000 the cash options are real money out of the business for as long as the license runs, which is the usual reason entities buy the bond instead.

Public bodies have their own route

A public body may submit a financial officer statement attesting to the entity's ability to promptly pay the wages, with supporting documentation such as payroll records, rather than posting any of the four instruments.

What it guarantees

The DPSST form conditions the bond on payment of wage determination orders issued to private security professionals and managers covered by the bond. It is a wage payment guarantee for the workforce, not a performance bond for security services and not a consumer protection bond for clients. The general liability insurance requirement in OAR 259-059-0120, at $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, is a separate obligation and the bond does not touch it.

Two clocks on the paperwork

The bond form gives the surety the right to cancel on 30 days written notice to the principal and to DPSST, and the surety stays liable for work performed under contracts entered into before the cancellation took effect. Separately, OAR 259-059-0130 requires an entity using a surety bond or letter of credit to notify the Department in writing within 10 business days of a cancellation or a change of guarantor.

The form itself adds a filing deadline that is easy to blow. The executed bond has to reach DPSST within 60 days of the execution date. A bond signed early in an application cycle and left in a drawer can age out before it is filed.

The licence year and the renewal window

Private security entity licenses run July 1 through June 30 and renew annually. DPSST opens the renewal application period on May 1. All 2025-2026 licenses and temporary authorization forms expired June 30, 2026.

Fees

For the license valid July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, DPSST charges $936 for new licenses and renewal applications, with a $50 late fee on applications received after June 30, 2026. Effective September 1, 2026 the base fee rises to $1,030 and the late fee to $55. Payment is by cashier check, business check or money order payable to DPSST, or by credit card on Form 508C.

Things that do not remove the bond

The application packet also calls for the Entity Licensing Exam certificate of completion, proof of general liability insurance, a tax compliance certificate and employee notices documentation. ORS 181A.902 puts each applicant through an investigation of character, competence and reliability, and the Department may not issue or renew until it is satisfied. Passing the exam and clearing the investigation does not reduce or waive the proof of ability to pay wages, and the bond does not substitute for any of those items.

One thing to check before you apply

DPSST asks applicants to disclose any claims for unpaid wages made against them within the preceding two years, and any person may protest the issuance or renewal of an entity license at any time. A wage history problem shows up in two places on this application, not one.

Eligibility and Requirements for a Oregon Private Security Entity Wage Payment Bond:

• A surety corporation authorized to transact surety business in Oregon.
• Penal sum matching your tier: $5,000, $10,000, $20,000 or $30,000.
• The DPSST private security entity surety bond form, with the State of Oregon and any interested persons as obligee.
• Entity name on the bond matching the license application exactly.
• Bond number, surety company name and correct execution date completed on the form.
• Continuous coverage until depleted or canceled, with 30 days written notice to the principal and DPSST before cancellation.
• Written notice to DPSST within 10 business days of any cancellation or change of guarantor.
• Separate general liability insurance at $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate.

Oregon Private Security Entity Wage Payment Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the Oregon Private Security Entity Wage Payment Bond: