Putting a Surety in Place

General Information

The City accepts sureties in the form of:

• Letter of Credit;
• Performance bond;
• Certified check; or, 
• Cash

A letter of credit or performance bond should be for a miniumum term of two years, plus one two-year renewal, if needed.

Step 1: Generating an Infrastructure Estimate

Before posting a surety the amount to be secured has to be determined with an approved estimate. Use the Infrastructure Surety Estimate Template to create the estimate.

Residential Projects

Your surety should be posted prior to recording your map. The estimate amount should reflect the total construction cost of all remaining public infrastructure required per the approved construction drawings.

• Submit your estimate to the Infrastructure Surety Mailbox for review
• The estimate should be completed by a licensed professional (i.e. Engineer, Architect, or contractor)
• NOTE: Projects submitted prior to September 1, 2013 are subject to a different process, and must contact the Engineering Specialist via the Infrastructure Surety Mailbox

COMMERCIAL PROJECTS
Your surety should be posted prior to recording your map or obtaining your building permit issuance, whichever occurs first. The amount of the estimate should reflect the total construction cost of all proposed public infrastructure, per the approved construction drawings.

• The estimate must be sent to the Infrastructure Surety Mailbox for review.
• The estimate should be completed by a licensed professional (i.e. Engineer, Architect, or contractor). 

Posting a Surety | Step 2: Submitting the Surety Packet

With the surety amount known, please include the following in the submittal packet:

• a completed Cover Letter
• an executed Surety Agreement
• a copy of the approved Infrastructure Surety Estimate
• all applicable surety documents from the financial institution

Surety packets can be delivered:

• Via FedEx
  • Development Services Dept., ATTN: Debbie Wyatt, One Exchange Plaza, Suite 500, Raleigh, NC 27601
• In-person
  • One Exchange Plaza, 5th Floor, Downtown Raleigh

Incomplete submittal packets will not be processed. 

Posting a Surety | Step 3: Review & Execution of the Surety Agreement

Upon receipt of the submittal packet, the Engineering Specialist will route all documents to the City Clerk's office, City Manager's office, and City Attorney's office for review and execution. If changes to the agreement are required, the Engineering Specialist will contact the specified representative. Revised agreements will be returned immediately.

NOTE: At any point during the life of the project, the City reserves the right to withdraw any active permits or hold Certificates of Occupancy as needed to ensure that sureties and associated agreements are adequate and in good standing.

Once the agreement is executed by the City, the Engineering Specialist will send a copy to the contact person for their record.

Expected Processing Time

The average time to process a surety is three weeks.

Surety Release

After public improvements are completed, the surety is released.