Oklahoma contractor license bond: $5,000 per trade license (2026)
By Sami Chicha, EditorUpdated Checked against primary sources · not yet reviewed by a licensed professionalFact-checked
Quick answer
Oklahoma has no statewide general contractor license. Each active plumbing, electrical and mechanical contractor licensed by the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board files a continuous $5,000 license bond payable to the Board. For electrical contractors, OAC 158:40-5-5(a) makes it in lieu of all other license bonds to any political subdivision. Roofers register with liability insurance and file no bond.
Oklahoma · License bondVerified 2026-09-22
Bond amount
$5,000
Flat $5,000 per active contractor license, in each of the plumbing, electrical and mechanical trades. Continuous, with 30 days' cancellation notice, in the individual license holder's name.
Applies to
Each active plumbing, electrical or mechanical contractor licensed by the CIB. Under the electrical rule, the bond is waived where the contractor is employed by a corporation, partnership, public entity or political subdivision that files an affidavit assuming financial responsibility and confining the work to property it owns, and a contractor who lets the bond lapse is placed on inactive status.
Each active electrical contractor must furnish a license bond in the amount of $5,000.00 to the Bonds and Insurance Unit. This bond is to be a continuous bond with a thirty (30)-day cancellation notice.
Okla. Admin. Code 158:40-5-5(a) for electrical contractors, under the Electrical License Act, 59 O.S.; Construction Industries Board requirements for plumbing and mechanical contractors · Official text · retrieved 2026-09-22
Who this applies to
Oklahoma issues no statewide general contractor license. The Oklahoma Construction Industries Board (CIB) regulates a set of named trades [4], and three of them carry a license bond: each active plumbing, electrical and mechanical contractor carries a $5,000 bond payable to the Board, one for each active contractor license [2].
Two groups are treated differently:
Roofing contractors register with the CIB and post no surety bond. They show general liability insurance instead: at least $500,000 for residential roofing work, and at least $1,000,000 for a commercial roofing endorsement [3].
Contractors employed by a corporation, partnership, public entity or political subdivision have the bond waived under the electrical rule when the employer files an affidavit assuming financial responsibility and confining the work to property it owns [1].
What the rule says
For electrical contractors, OAC 158:40-5-5(a) requires each active contractor to furnish a $5,000 license bond to the Board's Bonds and Insurance Unit, as a continuous bond with a 30-day cancellation notice [1], and the CIB's active contractor requirements apply the same $5,000 bond to plumbing and mechanical contractors [2]. The bond is for the benefit of anyone injured or suffering financial loss from the contractor's failure of performance, and the Board may also seek payment of unpaid fines through it. The electrical bond displaces local license bonds as well: the rule makes it "in lieu of all other license bonds to any political subdivision" [1], under an Electrical License Act that lets the Board set "bonding and insurance requirements precluding municipal requirements" [5]. Whether the plumbing and mechanical chapters carry the same terms as the electrical rule is the CIB's to confirm.
How to comply
File the bond with the CIB's Bonds and Insurance Unit [1], in the individual license holder's name [2].
Keep it continuous; under the electrical rule, a contractor who lets the bond lapse is placed on inactive status [1].
Carry at least $50,000 in commercial general liability insurance, with the CIB as certificate holder [2].
Electrical firms still register with the city or town where they intend to operate, where that city or town requires registration, under OAC 158:40-5-4(e) [1].
A nonresident electrical contractor may also need a separate bond on file with the Oklahoma Tax Commission, under OAC 158:40-5-4(f)(7) [1].
The CIB's pages start at oklahoma.gov/cib; current forms are the Board's to confirm before filing.
What changed recently
The electrical bond rule was last amended at 43 Ok Reg 779, effective July 11, 2026 [1].
A license bond is bought from a surety, not paid in full: the surety charges a yearly premium, a percentage of the bond amount set by its own underwriting. Run through the premium ranges published by 8 surety agencies, the $5,000 contractor license bond (plumbing, electrical and mechanical contractors) comes to:
Credit
Published premium rate
Premium a year
Excellent credit (700+)
0.4% to 3%
$20 to $150
Good credit (650–699)
0.4% to 5%
$20 to $250
Fair credit (600–649)
0.9% to 15%
$45 to $750
Poor credit (below 600)
2% to 15%
$100 to $750
Who the bond binds: Each active plumbing, electrical or mechanical contractor licensed by the CIB. Under the electrical rule, the bond is waived where the contractor is employed by a corporation, partnership, public entity or political subdivision that files an affidavit assuming financial responsibility and confining the work to property it owns, and a contractor who lets the bond lapse is placed on inactive status. These are ranges of published pricing, retrieved , not a quote; credit is one input among several a surety weighs. Put your own figures through the bond cost calculator.
