Section A — Licensing Application Forms ~120 min

How to Get a $10,000 Surety Bond for Your California Home Care Agency

California requires all Home Care Organizations to carry a specific type of surety bond called an Employee Dishonesty Bond. This protects your clients in the rare event that a caregiver steals from them. You must purchase a bond of at least $10,000, and your insurance broker must sign and notarize the HCS 402 form to prove you have it.

How the Employee Dishonesty Bond Works

Unlike regular liability insurance (which protects your business from lawsuits), a surety bond protects the state and your clients from your business.

The Three Parties Involved:

1. The Principal: That is YOU (your Home Care Organization). You buy the bond.

2. The Obligee: That is the State of California (CDSS). They require the bond.

3. The Surety: That is the insurance company. They issue the bond and guarantee payment if a valid claim is made.

The $10,000 Minimum

The state requires a bond amount of at least $10,000. For a brand new agency, a $10,000 bond is perfectly fine and will usually only cost you around $100 to $250 per year depending on your personal credit score.

Who Fills Out the HCS 402?

You will fill out your business name at the top, but the Surety Company has to fill out the bond details, sign it, and attach a formal "Power of Attorney" and a Notary Acknowledgment. You cannot just type "I bought a bond" on this form—it requires the insurance company's official sign-off.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • 1Buying standard "General Liability" insurance and thinking it covers this requirement. It does not. You specifically need an "Employee Dishonesty Bond" or "Fidelity Bond."
  • 2Failing to have the Surety company attach their Notary Acknowledgment and Power of Attorney to the back of the HCS 402 form.
  • 3Having a mismatch between the business name on the bond and the business name on your HCS 200. "Acme Care" and "Acme Care LLC" are legally different—the bond must perfectly match your state application.

Tips

  • Send a blank PDF copy of the HCS 402 directly to your commercial insurance broker and tell them: "I need a $10,000 employee dishonesty bond, and the underwriter needs to complete this specific California state form."
  • Keep your original bond documents in a safe place. The state will require you to mail them the original, "wet signature" copy of the HCS 402.

What You Need to Do

  1. 1
    Contact a commercial insurance broker to request a $10,000 Employee Dishonesty Bond
  2. 2
    Provide the broker with the blank HCS 402 form for the Surety to complete and notarize
  3. 3
    Review the completed bond for name/address accuracy
  4. 4
    Sign the "Principal" section of the completed HCS 402
  5. 5
    Input your final bond details into the data fields above for your records

Information You Will Need

Have these details ready before you sit down to fill this out:

Principal (Your Legal Business Name)

Must exactly match your entity name on the HCS 200.

Required
Name of Surety (Insurance Company)

The name of the company actually issuing the bond (your broker will tell you this).

Required
Bond Number

The official tracking number assigned by the Surety.

Required
Bond Amount ($)

Must be at least 10,000.

Required
Effective Date of Bond

The date your bond coverage officially begins.

Required
Name of Principal Signer

Your name (as the owner/officer buying the bond).

Required
Title of Principal Signer
Required

Documents Needed

  • HCS 402 — Surety Bond (completed and notarized)
    RequiredPDF · Max 10MB

Official Resources

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