Contractor prequalification.
Free. Yes, actually.

The Performance Plus program prequalifies a small-to-midsize contractor for performance & payment bonding — no bid in hand, no project attached, no bond posted yet. It's an underwriting file built on your credit and track record so that when a real project shows up, the bond is a formality instead of a scramble. There's no premium, because there's no bond issued at this stage — you're not paying for anything, you're building the file that makes the next bond fast.

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Establishes a bonding line through the credit-based Performance Plus underwriting program — for projects up to $1M single/aggregate

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$0. Forever. — prequalification is not a bond, so there is nothing to premium-rate

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One application prequalifies you for the performance & payment bond — when a project lands, the final bond issues against a file we already have

$0to prequalifyInstantissued on the spotSoft pullnever a hard inquiry

Trusted by industry leaders

How it works

Free prequalification now. Fast bond when you need it.

Prequalification is the front door to the bonds that actually cost money. Here's how the whole sequence works:

TODAY · ONLINE

Apply + share your track record

Your entity details, year founded, and the bonding line you want established. This is the same underwriting file that backs your performance & payment bond later, which is exactly why prequalification is free.

WITHIN 48 HOURS

Underwriter confirms your line

An assigned underwriter reviews your file on a soft credit pull and confirms the bonding capacity you qualify for under the Performance Plus program — up to $1M single/aggregate for most small-to-midsize contractors.

WHEN YOU NEED IT

Performance & payment bond, already underwritten

Bring us the contract when you have one and the bond issues against a file we already built — no re-underwriting, no starting from scratch on the clock a bid award puts you on.

About this bond

What it is and who needs it.

What prequalification actually does — and why it costs nothing

Performance Plus is a credit-based contract surety underwriting program built for small-to-midsize contractors — the segment that has historically had the hardest time getting a broker to even return a call for a $250,000 job. Instead of a full financial-statement underwriting file, Performance Plus prices bonding capacity largely off the contractor’s credit profile, with program capacity up to $1,000,000 single or aggregate.

Prequalification is the step before any bond exists: there is no obligee yet — you’re not filing anything with a project owner or a regulator at this stage. You’re building the underwriting file — entity details, year founded, and the bonding line you want to establish — that a real performance & payment bond will draw on the moment you have a contract in hand. That is why it costs nothing: the surety’s real work here is deciding whether it would write your bond at all, and doing that work before a project shows up is what makes the eventual bond fast instead of a scramble.

We say it out loud, the way we do for our free bid bonds: prequalification is the audition. You owe nothing if you never bond a project through us, and nothing obligates you to use us when you do — but your file will already be built, and your bonding line will already be confirmed, the day you need the real thing.

Performance Plus — a surety underwriting program, not a statuteNo statute requires contractor prequalification. Performance Plus is a credit-based contract surety underwriting program offered through our carrier partner, providing performance and payment bonds up to $1,000,000 single/aggregate to small-to-midsize contractors. Prequalifying establishes a bonding line ahead of any specific project; the performance & payment bond itself, when you need one, is required by whatever statute or contract governs the actual project — a state’s public-works bonding law for public work, or the owner’s contract for private work. Confirm your project’s own bonding requirement separately; prequalification does not replace it.

You need this if you are

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A small-to-midsize contractor who wants bonding capacity established before you start bidding

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A growing contractor whose current bonding line is too small for the work you’re chasing

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A contractor tired of the broker scramble every time a bid deadline lands and bonding has not been discussed yet

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A new entity — a recently formed LLC or corporation — building a bonding track record from the start

Applying now saves the scramble later.

The application is the same underwriting file as your eventual performance & payment bond — which is why contractors who start here close bonds so fast. Free, no obligation, and your bonding line is confirmed within 48 hours.

Start the application →

FAQ

Common questions.

What is contractor prequalification?It's an underwriting review that establishes your bonding capacity before you have a specific project or a bond to post. Performance Plus prices that capacity largely on your credit profile, for programs up to $1,000,000 single/aggregate. It involves your business details, an assigned underwriter, and a soft credit pull — no bond, no obligee, no premium.

Why is prequalification free? What's the catch?No catch — there is no bond issued at this stage, so there is nothing to charge a premium on. The real work is deciding whether we’d write your performance & payment bond, and we’d rather do that before you have a deadline than compete with every broker in the country after you win one.

How much bonding capacity can I get?Performance Plus programs run up to $1,000,000 single/aggregate for most small-to-midsize contractors, priced largely on credit. Enter the bonding line you want and an underwriter confirms what you actually qualify for within 48 hours.

When do I actually pay for a bond?Only when you have a real project and need a performance & payment bond issued against it. That bond prices separately, based on the specific contract amount and obligee — prequalification itself never costs anything, no matter how many projects you bid.

Is there a credit check?The application includes a credit consent, but it authorizes a soft credit pull only — a soft inquiry that never affects your score. No hard inquiry ever runs on this bond.

Does prequalifying obligate me to bond through you?No. Prequalification builds a file and confirms a bonding line — it doesn’t commit you to anything. If you bond a project elsewhere, you owe nothing. Most contractors who prequalify use the confirmed line, because starting from an already-underwritten file is faster than a cold application on a deadline.

What information do I need to apply?Your entity type, the year your company was founded, and the bonding line you want established. That’s the whole prequalification application — no financials up front, no project contract required.

What happens after I submit?An assigned underwriter reviews your file on a soft credit pull and confirms your bonding capacity within 48 hours, in writing. From there, bring us any project you win and the performance & payment bond issues against the file we already built.

Related bonds

Other Federal bonds.

Get your bonding line confirmed, free.

$0 out of pocket — an underwriter confirms your capacity within 48 hours. When a project lands, the bond is already half done.

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