Bid Bonds
Bid Bonds
The bond that backs your bid and tells a project owner you will stand behind it — issued online, in time for your deadline, in 48 states.
What a bid bond is
A bid bond is a guarantee attached to your bid. It tells the project owner — the obligee — that if you are awarded the contract, you will enter into it and post any performance and payment bonds the project requires. If you win and then walk away, the owner can claim against the bid bond. It is a guarantee to the owner, not insurance for you.
Who needs one
Contractors bidding on public projects and many private ones. Owners and agencies require a bid bond with each bid so that every bidder has something at stake and the award process is not derailed by a bidder who cannot, or will not, sign the contract.
How to get one
Bid bonds issue instantly. Confirm the project, obligee, and bid amount, and the bond is issued online — usually well inside your bid deadline. If your project will also need performance and payment bonds, tell the producer up front so the underwriting lines up for the award.
What drives the cost
Bid bonds are short-term and often carry little or no premium on their own — the surety is really underwriting the performance and payment bonds that follow if you win. The drivers there are your financial strength and the contract size. We confirm any bid-bond cost from the live program when you request it, rather than publishing a figure that would go stale.
Browse by state
Find the bid bonds your obligee requires. We write bonds in 48 states — pick yours:
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Other bonds we write
Frequently asked questions
- What is a bid bond?
- A bid bond backs your bid on a project. It guarantees that if you are awarded the contract, you will enter into it and provide any performance and payment bonds the owner requires. It gives the project owner confidence that your bid is serious.
- Why do project owners require a bid bond?
- It protects the owner from low-ball bids and bidders who walk away. If the winning bidder backs out, the owner can claim against the bid bond for the added cost of awarding to the next bidder.
- How fast can I get a bid bond?
- Bid bonds issue instantly. Confirm the project, obligee, and bid amount, and the bond is issued through our online portal — usually in time for your bid deadline.
- What does a bid bond cost?
- Bid bonds are short-term and often carry little or no premium, because the surety underwrites the larger performance and payment bonds that follow if you win. We confirm the cost from the live program when you request the bond.
- What happens if I win the bid?
- You enter the contract and, for most projects, post a performance and payment bond. The bid bond did its job — it guaranteed you would stand behind your bid — and the underwriting rolls into those final bonds.
- What if I back out after winning?
- The obligee can file a claim on the bid bond for the difference between your bid and the next acceptable bid, up to the bond amount. As with any surety bond, you are responsible to repay the surety for a valid claim.
