PerformanceBond.com writes contract surety for the full range of construction and commercial contracting classes. Below is an overview of the primary bond types we handle, organized by their most common use case. Each bond type has a dedicated page with detailed treatment of the underwriting, forms, statutory framework, and typical pricing.
Construction contract bonds
Performance bonds
The three-party guarantee that a contractor will fulfill the terms of a construction contract. Almost always issued as a matched pair with a payment bond. Federal work under the Miller Act, state and local work under Little Miller Acts, and most sophisticated private work are bonded on the same architecture. Penal sums generally 100% of contract price; one-year maintenance provision customary. Complete guide →
Payment bonds
The three-party guarantee that subcontractors, laborers, and material suppliers will be paid by the prime contractor. Companion instrument to the performance bond. Under the Miller Act, the payment bond runs to the class of persons furnishing labor and material rather than to the government. Notice and limitations requirements are strict. Complete guide →
Bid bonds
The three-party guarantee that a bidder will enter into the awarded contract and furnish the required final bonds. Federal bid bonds under FAR are typically 20% of the bid; state and local requirements vary from 5% to 20%. No premium is charged on the bid instrument itself. Same-day issuance for approved accounts. Complete guide →
Subdivision bonds
Also known as site improvement bonds, completion bonds, plat bonds, or land improvement bonds. Required by municipalities when a developer must complete public improvements—sidewalks, curbs, gutters, sewers, roads—as a condition of subdivision plat recording. Penal sums typically 100% to 125% of the engineer's cost estimate. Complete guide →
Site-work & encroachment bonds
Lateral support bonds, grading bonds, street opening bonds, highway encroachment bonds, right-of-way and driveway bonds, utility cut bonds, erosion and sediment control bonds, tree protection bonds, demolition bonds—the incidental surety that GCs, developers, and utility contractors always need at permit pickup. Complete list →
Renewable energy bonds
The complete renewable energy bond stack
Contract surety for solar, wind, hydroelectric, and battery energy storage projects. One underwriting team covers the full project lifecycle: interconnection deposit through construction through decommissioning. Nationwide, T-listed carriers, response within the hour. Complete hub →
EPC Performance Bonds
Combined performance and payment bonds at 100% of EPC contract value for utility-scale solar, wind, hydro, and BESS construction.
Decommissioning Bonds
Site restoration surety for state, county, private-lease, and federal BLM decommissioning obligations. 28 states now mandate.
Interconnection Bonds
LGIA study deposits, commercial readiness deposits, and network upgrade obligations under FERC Order 2023-A. All major ISOs and RTOs.
PPA Bonds
Credit support for long-term power purchase agreements. Used by Equinix, Iron Mountain, and other corporate energy buyers.
Procurement Bonds
Purchase order security for solar modules, wind turbines, battery storage, inverters, transformers, and tracker systems.
Maintenance bonds
The guarantee that a contractor will remedy defects in workmanship and materials discovered during a warranty period following completion. The standard one-year maintenance obligation is generally built into the performance bond. Extended maintenance periods—two, three, five, or ten years—require dedicated maintenance bonds. Certain classes (roofing, weatherproofing) are effectively uninsurable in the standard market beyond one year.
Supply bonds
The guarantee that a supplier will furnish specified material to a project owner on the terms of a supply agreement. Common on public procurement of specialized materials—precast concrete, structural steel, mechanical equipment. Underwriting parallels commercial contract bonding rather than construction performance bonding.
Reclamation, plugging & environmental surety
Reclamation bonds — mining, oil & gas, environmental
A distinct class from construction performance bonds. Reclamation bonds are financial guarantee instruments securing a permittee's regulatory obligation to restore land or plug a well at the end of an operational life. Governed by SMCRA (coal), state hardrock mining statutes, state oil & gas conservation commissions, RCRA (hazardous waste), CERCLA (Superfund financial responsibility), and various state and federal landfill programs. Underwriting weights the specific reclamation cost estimate, regulatory reserve calculations, and — for coal — the coal seam reserves and market pricing rather than construction working capital. These are written through our sister site ReclamationBonds.com, which covers coal and hardrock mining reclamation, oil and gas well plugging and abandonment (P&A), Superfund financial responsibility, RCRA closure and post-closure, landfill closure, and underground storage tank bonds. Complete catalog at ReclamationBonds.com →
Federal construction contracting
Miller Act framework and federal agency spokes
The Miller Act (40 U.S.C. §§ 3131-3134) governs all federal prime construction bonding over $150,000. What varies by agency and program is the procurement machinery, bond form language, risk profile, and — for small businesses — the availability of the SBA Surety Bond Guarantee up to $14 million per bond. The five agency and program pages below cover the highest-volume federal contracting environments.
The Miller Act
Complete federal bonding guide. Statute, thresholds, T-List, SF 25 and SF 25A, claimants, notice and limitations, Little Miller Act variations.
SBA 8(a) Bond Program
Contract surety for 8(a)-certified disadvantaged small businesses. SBA Surety Bond Guarantee up to $14M with 80% federal guarantee; mentor-protégé joint ventures.
USACE Construction Bonds
MILCON, civil works, dredging and marine, environmental restoration. From small task orders to $500M-plus MILCON packages across all nine USACE divisions.
VA Hospital Construction Bonds
Medical center renovation, cemetery construction, CBOC facilities, seismic corrections. Vets First (SDVOSB / VOSB) set-asides supported.
GSA Design-Build Bonds
Federal courthouses, land ports of entry, federal buildings, historic preservation. FAR 36.3 two-phase design-build selection; bridging document analysis.
HUBZone Contractor Bonds
SBA HUBZone-certified small businesses. Miller Act bonding, SBA Surety Bond Guarantee eligibility, and certification stacking with 8(a), SDVOSB, and WOSB.
Commercial contract bonds
Commercial contract bonds
Non-construction service and supply agreements: information technology, janitorial and building services, security, transportation and logistics, food service, environmental services, and specialty supply. Broad appetite where most carriers decline. Underwriting weights class experience and operational management heavily. Complete guide →
Service maintenance bonds
The guarantee that a service provider will maintain a customer's equipment or facility on the terms of a maintenance agreement. Overlaps with commercial contract bonds but often involves specific equipment or facility class considerations—HVAC, elevator, medical equipment, telecommunications infrastructure.
International
International surety and advance payment
Reverse-flow bonding for foreign contractors performing in the United States, advance payment bonds for U.S. contractors working abroad, and international financial guarantee. Spanish-language underwriting through the San Juan office. Concentration in Latin American practice. Complete guide →
Prequalification instruments
Statement of bondability
A written declaration by a surety underwriter that a specific contractor qualifies for a defined level of contract surety capacity. Widely accepted by project owners as evidence of prequalification. Not a bond and not a binding commitment, but functionally essential for competitive bidding on many public and private projects. Complete guide →
Also needed by most GCs
Contractor license & permit bonds — all 50 states
Every general contractor working across state lines needs multiple L&P bonds. Surety One writes contractor license bonds, municipal permit bonds and combined license/performance bonds nationwide.
What we do not handle here
Certain surety classes fall outside the contract-surety scope of this site and are handled by our sister platforms:
- Contractor license & permit bonds — State contractor license bonds, municipal permit bonds, and license/performance bonds are handled by Surety One's L&P bond desk.
- Court and judicial bonds — Appeal, supersedeas, injunction, attachment, plaintiff replevin, and probate bonds are handled by CourtBondSurety.com.
- Fidelity bonds — Employee dishonesty, ERISA, and third-party fidelity are handled by Surety One's fidelity desk.
- Miscellaneous commercial surety — Financial guarantee, freight broker, customs, notary, ERISA, medallion, motor vehicle dealer, and the broader commercial surety catalog is at Surety One's commercial desk.