California solid waste facility operators must show CalRecycle they can pay to close each site. The CalRecycle 103(a) Financial Guarantee Bond for Closure Costs is the pay-only surety option: if the operator fails to perform closure, the surety pays the guaranteed closure amount into a depository trust fund.
| Title / common name | Financial Guarantee Bond for Closure Costs — CalRecycle 103(a), solid waste facility closure financial guarantee bond (California) The pay-only counterpart to the CalRecycle 102(a) performance bond for closure: under 103(a) the surety pays the guaranteed closure amount into a depository trust fund rather than having the option to perform closure itself. |
|---|---|
| Bond type | Commercial — environmental financial assurance (solid waste facility closure) |
| Industry / license category | Environmental / solid waste landfill closure |
| Jurisdiction | United States → California → Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) → Title 27, California Code of Regulations, Division 2, Subdivision 1, Chapter 6 (financial assurance) The form cites Public Resources Code section 43600 et seq. as its authority. |
| Obligee | Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) The bond text reads “firmly bound to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (hereinafter called CalRecycle)”. The form is maintained by CalRecycle’s Financial Assurances Section. |
| Typical penal sum | The closure cost estimate certified by a registered civil engineer under Title 27, Chapter 6, shown as the total penal sum on the face of the bond The face lists each covered solid waste facility by name, address and Solid Waste Information System number with its closure amount, and the facility amounts must add up to the total penal sum. An optional rider lets principal and surety adjust the penal sum yearly to a new closure amount, with increases capped at 20 percent in any one year and no decrease without CalRecycle’s written permission. |
| Who needs it | Operators of permitted solid waste facilities in California that use a surety bond to provide financial assurance for closure as a permit condition The bond recites that the principal must have a permit to operate each facility and must provide closure financial assurance as a permit condition. The form’s privacy statement says completion is mandatory and that not completing it leads to denial or revocation of a permit to operate a solid waste disposal facility. The form itself sets no surety qualification, so confirm surety acceptability with CalRecycle. |
| What it covers | Payment of the guaranteed closure amount for each listed facility if the principal fails to perform closure under the closure plan and permit The bond is void if the principal performs closure as required or provides alternate financial assurance on time. On notice from CalRecycle that the principal has failed to perform, the surety places the guaranteed amount into the depository trust fund set up by the principal or, if the principal has not set one up, one set up by the surety, as CalRecycle directs. The bond does not cover operating liability or corrective action costs. Payments do not discharge the surety until they reach the penal sum, and the surety never owes more than the penal sum. Unlike 102(a) and 102(b), the 103(a) text has no paragraph in which the surety waives notice of amendments. |
| Depository trust | The principal establishes a depository trust fund as Title 27, Chapter 6 may require when a surety bond is used |
| Form number / edition | CalRecycle 103(a) (03/17) · state form adopted through rulemaking Revision date printed on every page of the official PDF, re-checked 2026-10-23. Companion financial guarantee forms (03/17): 103(b) Financial Guarantee Bond for Postclosure Costs (PDF) · 103(c) Financial Guarantee Bond for Corrective Action Costs (PDF). The signers certify that the document conforms with Title 27, Division 2, Subdivision 1, Chapter 6. |
| Effective / cancellation | Effective date stated on the bond; the surety may cancel only on 120 days’ notice Notice goes by registered or certified mail to the principal and CalRecycle, and the 120 days run from receipt by both, shown by the return receipts. The bond becomes void if the principal provides alternate financial assurance within 60 days after the cancellation notice is received. The principal can terminate only after the surety receives CalRecycle’s written authorization. |
| Source | CalRecycle 103(a) — Financial Guarantee Bond for Closure Costs (PDF) (official state form · revision 03/17 · 3 pages · linked, not hosted) Also: CalRecycle — Financial Assurances Forms (official list of Title 27 financial assurance mechanism forms, CalRecycle 100–114) |
| Status | current |
| Last verified | 2026-10-23 |
From CalRecycle 103(a): on notice that the principal has failed to perform, “the Surety(ies) shall place funds in the amount guaranteed for the facility(ies) into the depository trust fund established by the Principal”.
And: “the obligation of the surety shall be only for the closure cost estimate certified by a registered civil engineer”.
CalRecycle publishes two surety forms for closure. The CalRecycle 102(a) performance bond for closure lets the surety either do the closure work or pay; 103(a) only pays into the depository trust. The federal equivalent of this pay-only design is the EPA RCRA financial guarantee bond (40 CFR 264.151(b)), which pays into a standby trust. For postclosure maintenance, see the CalRecycle 102(b) performance bond for postclosure.
Our guide to waste and landfill surety bonds and financial assurance explains how closure, postclosure and corrective action assurance fit together in the US and Canada, and the commercial surety primer covers how regulatory bonds like this differ from insurance.
Open the Source link above for the official CalRecycle PDF. We summarize field facts and quote short key clauses rather than reproducing the form. Use the current form from CalRecycle when filing; Global Guarantors does not host copies.