- Licensed in MD, PA, VA, OH and FL
- Electronic bond delivery when available
Bidding a job? Awarded a contract? Need construction bonds, such as performance and payment bonds, before you can start? Send us the bond requirement and project information.
We work with contractors on bid, performance, payment, maintenance, supply, subdivision, and other contract bonds.
A license or permit bond is a surety bond required by some government agencies before they will issue or renew a license or permit. The bond guarantees that the person or business being bonded will meet certain legal or licensing obligations.
The contract or bid documents usually tell you exactly which bond is required. These are the most common construction bonds:
Back your bid and show the project owner that you intend to enter the contract and provide the required final bonds if awarded the job.
Guarantee the contractor’s performance of the bonded construction contract.
Guarantee payment of covered subcontractors, laborers, and suppliers under the bonded contract.
Cover certain maintenance or correction obligations after the work is completed, as required by the bond and contract.
Guarantee a supplier’s performance under a bonded supply contract.
Guarantee required improvements connected with a subdivision or development.
Guarantee required site or public improvements under the applicable agreement.
Have a bond form or requirement that doesn’t fit one of these? Send it to us.
Back your bid and show the project owner that you intend to enter the contract and provide the required final bonds if awarded the job.
Guarantee payment of covered subcontractors, laborers, and suppliers under the bonded contract.
Guarantee a supplier’s performance under a bonded supply contract.
Guarantee the contractor’s performance of the bonded construction contract.
Cover certain maintenance or correction obligations after the work is completed, as required by the bond and contract.
Guarantee required site or public improvements under the applicable agreement.
Guarantee installation of infrastructure in new developments.
Have a bond form or requirement that doesn’t fit one of these? Send it to us.
Send them over. The bond form and contract documents tell us much more than a generic application can.
For a bid bond, include the bid date, project owner, project name, bid amount, bond percentage or amount, and the bid bond form. For final bonds, send the contract or notice of award and the required bond forms.
Bid bonds are often provided as part of an established surety relationship, while performance and payment bonds are generally priced as a percentage or rate applied to the bonded contract amount. The actual rate depends on the contractor, project, bond requirements, and surety.
Bonding capacity is the amount of work a surety is willing to support for a contractor. Contractors usually hear it discussed as a single-job limit and an aggregate limit for all bonded work in progress.
Start before the bigger bid is due. A contractor has a better chance of increasing capacity when the surety can see stronger financials, profitable completed work, controlled backlog, adequate working capital, and a clear reason the company is ready for larger projects.
Yes, depending on the contractor and the bond request. A short operating history does not automatically prevent a contractor from getting bonded.
For a newer company, the surety may put more weight on the owners’ prior experience, credit, financial strength, available capital, project size, and the specific job being bonded.
A decline from one surety does not always end the conversation. The reason for the decline matters.
Sometimes the issue is credit. Sometimes it is working capital, a large backlog, the size or type of project, a difficult bond form, poor financial reporting, or simply that the request does not fit that surety’s appetite.
Send us the request and, if you know it, the reason you were declined.
The SBA Surety Bond Guarantee Program can help eligible small businesses obtain bid, performance, payment, and certain ancillary bonds when they do not meet a surety company’s normal underwriting requirements.
A bid bond applies during bidding. It backs the contractor’s bid and the obligation to enter the contract and provide the required final bonds if the job is awarded.
A performance bond is about completing the bonded contract. A payment bond is about paying covered subcontractors, laborers, and suppliers.
Construction bonds are common on public work, but private owners, developers, lenders, and general contractors can require them too.
Construction surety is underwriting the contractor and the job, not just selling a bond form. The surety wants to know whether the contractor has the ability, financial strength, and track record to complete the work.
Public-work rules, bond forms, thresholds, procurement procedures, and contractor requirements can vary by state and local jurisdiction.
Our state pages are built for those differences instead of repeating the same generic construction-bond page fifty times.
Construction bond information and state-specific resources for contractors working in Maryland.
Construction bond information and state-specific resources for contractors working in Virginia.
Construction bond information and state-specific resources for contractors working in Pennsylvania.
Construction bond information and state-specific resources for contractors working in New Jersey.
Construction bond information and state-specific resources for contractors working in New York.
If a project requires a bid bond, send the request as soon as you decide to bid. A simple request may move quickly, but a new account, larger job, unusual bond form, or capacity increase can take more time.
For larger requests, the surety may also need company financials, work-in-progress information, personal financial information, resumes, references, and other underwriting documents.
Send what you already have. For a first look, these items are especially useful:
Not necessarily. Final bond approval depends on the surety’s underwriting and the final contract, project, bond forms, and any material changes.
Sometimes, but many contracts require both. The contract and bond forms control what you need.
Send us the bid specs, bond form, notice of award, or contract. If you’re not sure what to send, start with what you have.
The Bond Agent | 3655A Old Court Rd, Suite 13 | Baltimore, MD 21208
