General Contractor License Group 2 ($60,000) Bond - Statewide in South Carolina

Brief Summary

Check two things first. This bond is not mandatory. S.C. Code 40-11-262 lets you file it in lieu of the financial statement that 40-11-260 requires, so a firm that can show $60,000 net worth for Group Two files the statement and pays no premium. And $60,000 is the Group Two figure for a GENERAL contractor. Mechanical Contractor Group Four is also $60,000 and it is a different licence with a different bid limit, so make sure you are on the right table before you buy.

South Carolina sets a minimum net worth or working capital for each contractor licence group under S.C. Code 40-11-260, and General Contractor Group Two is $60,000 net worth or $40,000 working capital against a $400,000 bid limit. S.C. Code 40-11-262 lets an applicant file a surety bond in the same amount as the net worth for the licence group instead of the financial statement, which makes the Group Two bond $60,000. The State of South Carolina is the obligee. The bond is continuous, stays in force for as long as the licence is held or until the licensee files a financial statement meeting the net worth, and cancels only on thirty days notice to the board from both the surety and the applicant.

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How to Apply for a General Contractor License Group 2 ($60,000) Bond:

• Confirm your licence group and your board, general contractor or mechanical contractor. General Contractor Group Two is the $60,000 bond. Mechanical Contractor Group Four is also $60,000 and is a different licence.
• Decide whether you need the bond at all. If you can show $60,000 net worth, an owner prepared financial statement satisfies Group Two and costs you nothing in premium.
• Legal entity name exactly as it will appear on the Contractor's Licensing Board application.
• Owner or principal information and authorization for a credit review.
• Business financial information. Applicants using the bond are usually the ones who cannot show the net worth, so expect the surety to look closely at the same numbers the board would have.
• Use a surety authorized to transact surety business in South Carolina.
• Complete the bond application, review the quoted premium, and pay it.
• Confirm the bond names the State of South Carolina as obligee, as 40-11-262 requires.
• Confirm the bond is written continuous in form rather than for a fixed term.
• File it with the licence application along with the $350 fee.
• Diary October 31 in even numbered years for renewal, and diary a yearly check of whether your net worth has reached $60,000 so you can file a statement and drop the bond.

Detailed Information About the South Carolina General Contractor License Group 2 ($60,000) Bond:

The bond is the alternative, not the requirement

This is the part the page you are comparing against gets wrong, and it decides whether you should spend anything.

S.C. Code 40-11-260 sets a minimum net worth or working capital for each licence group and requires a financial statement showing it. 40-11-262 then says that in lieu of providing that financial statement, an applicant may provide a surety bond from a surety authorized to transact surety business in this State.

In lieu of. If your balance sheet clears $60,000 of net worth, you file the statement and skip the premium entirely. The bond exists for firms that cannot show the number, or that would rather not hand the board a financial statement.

Make sure $60,000 is your number

The bond amount is not a fixed figure for South Carolina contractors. 40-11-262 sets it in the same amount as the net worth for the applicant's licence group, so it moves with your group.

For general contractors the groups run: Group One, $100,000 bid limit, $20,000 net worth. Group Two, $400,000 bid limit, $60,000 net worth. Group Three, $1,000,000 bid limit, $150,000 net worth. Group Four, $3,000,000 bid limit, $250,000 net worth. Group Five, unlimited, $350,000 net worth. The bond tracks that right hand column.

Mechanical contractors sit on a completely separate table: Group One $7,000, Group Two $15,000, Group Three $30,000, Group Four $60,000, Group Five $300,000.

So $60,000 is General Contractor Group Two, and it is also Mechanical Contractor Group Four. Two different licences, two different bid limits, same bond figure. Confirm which one your application is for before you buy, because the bond names the licence.

You can get out of it later

Worth knowing, because it turns the bond into a bridge rather than a permanent cost.

40-11-262 says the bond must be continuous in form and maintained in effect for as long as the applicant maintains the licence, or until the applicant submits a financial statement showing that he meets the net worth requirements.

A young firm that bonds in year one and grows into a $60,000 net worth can file a statement and drop the bond. That is a real saving worth diarising rather than renewing on autopilot.

This one actually pays claims

Some licence bonds are pure financial responsibility instruments. This one is not, and the difference matters.

40-11-262 conditions the bond for the benefit of any person who is damaged by an act or omission of the applicant constituting a breach of construction contract or a contract for the furnishing of labor, materials or professional services for construction undertaken by the applicant, or by any unlawful act or omission of the applicant in performing construction.

That is a wide door. An owner on a soured job, or an unpaid supplier on a contract for materials, is inside it. The State of South Carolina is named as obligee, but the people who recover are the ones who were damaged. And a surety that pays comes back to you for the money.

Working capital does not shrink the bond

A quirk worth catching. 40-11-260 lets you qualify on net worth or on working capital, and Group Two working capital is $40,000 against $60,000 net worth.

40-11-262 ties the bond to the net worth figure, not the working capital figure. So a Group Two applicant who could have qualified on $40,000 of working capital still posts a $60,000 bond if they go the bond route. If the working capital test is within reach, the statement is the cheaper path.

What the statement route actually costs you in paperwork

Because it is the alternative you are weighing against.

The board's requirements scale with the group. At initial licensure, Groups One and Two accept an owner prepared statement, Groups Three and Four need a CPA compiled statement, and Group Five needs an audited balance sheet, with a surety bond accepted in place of any of them. At renewal, Groups One through Four can use an owner prepared statement and Group Five needs a reviewed statement, again with the bond accepted instead. Documents have to be dated within twelve months of the application.

So for Group Two the statement route is not an expensive accounting exercise. An owner prepared statement is enough. That is a point in favour of the statement if your numbers work.

The rest of the licence

A licence is required where the total cost of construction is greater than ten thousand dollars, under 40-11-30. 40-11-360 lists the exemptions, including owner occupants improving their own residence and not selling or renting it within two years, work on federal property where federal law applies, prequalified Department of Transportation contractors, farm or portable storage buildings under 5,000 square feet, and sign or billboard installation apart from the final electrical connection.

The licensure fee is $350. All general contractor licences expire October 31 in even numbered years, and LLR currently lists the 2026 to 2028 general contractor renewals as open, which puts the present cycle end at October 31, 2026. Every applicant sits the South Carolina Business Management and Law for Commercial Contractors exam, and technical exam requirements depend on classification. Note that effective January 1, 2025 the Nonstructural Renovation classification requires passing a technical exam.

Eligibility and Requirements for a South Carolina General Contractor License Group 2 ($60,000) Bond:

• A surety authorized to transact surety business in South Carolina.
• Bond amount in the same amount as the net worth for the licence group, which is $60,000 for General Contractor Group Two.
• The State of South Carolina named as obligee.
• Continuous in form, maintained for as long as the licence is held or until a financial statement showing the net worth is filed.
• Cancellation only on notification to the board from both the surety and the applicant thirty days prior to cancellation.
• Conditioned for the benefit of any person damaged by a breach of construction contract, a contract for labor, materials or professional services for construction, or an unlawful act or omission in performing construction.
• Entity name on the bond matching the licence application exactly.
• Owner credit and business financials. The bond stands in for a net worth test, so underwriting covers the same ground.

South Carolina General Contractor License Group 2 ($60,000) Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the South Carolina General Contractor License Group 2 ($60,000) Bond: