(a) If a statute provides for a bond with any number of sureties, one sufficient admitted surety insurer may become and shall be accepted as sole surety on the bond.
§ 995.610.Accepted As Sole Surety On Bond; Rights and Liabilities
Title 14. Of Miscellaneous Provisions · Chapter 2. Bonds and Undertakings · Article 6. Admitted Surety Insurers · Enacted 1982 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 995.610 lets one qualified admitted surety insurer serve as the sole surety on a bond even when the statute requiring the bond calls for multiple sureties, and gives that insurer the same rights and liabilities personal sureties would have.
Full Text of § 995.610
(b) The admitted surety insurer is subject to all the liabilities and entitled to all the rights of personal sureties.
Plain-English Summary
Some statutes calling for a bond assume more than one surety will sign it. This section removes that assumption for admitted surety insurers -- licensed insurance companies authorized to write surety bonds. A single sufficient admitted surety insurer may become, and must be accepted as, the sole surety on a bond, regardless of how many sureties the underlying statute contemplates.
Subdivision (b) folds that insurer into the same legal framework that governs personal sureties. The admitted surety insurer takes on the same liabilities, and gets the same rights, that personal sureties would have under this chapter. Using a corporate surety instead of individuals doesn't change the underlying obligations the bond creates.
Section 995.620 covers the related situation where more than one admitted surety insurer signs the same bond, and § 995.630 explains how a court or officer accepts an admitted surety insurer's execution of a bond without requiring further proof of authority.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can one insurance company back a bond that calls for multiple sureties?
Yes, a single sufficient admitted surety insurer may become and must be accepted as sole surety on the bond.
Does an admitted surety insurer have different rights than a personal surety?
No -- § 995.610(b) subjects the insurer to the same liabilities and gives it the same rights as personal sureties.
What is an admitted surety insurer?
An insurance company authorized to transact surety insurance in California, as opposed to a personal surety, who is an individual.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1982, Ch. 998, Sec. 1.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: admitted surety insurer sole surety californiainsurance company as bond surety california