Iowa performance & payment bonds.
Flat 3%. No games.

The fastest way to get bonded for Iowa public works.
One rate for every contractor — 3% of the bond amount
Price your bid without an obscure underwriting process.
Apply online, e-sign, and get your bond in 1–2 business days.

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Required for Iowa public improvements of $25K or more (Iowa Code §573.2)

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Projects up to $3M on your credit score alone — no audited financials

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Soft credit check only — quoting never touches your credit score

$50Maggregate capacityA-ratedA.M. Best carriers1–2 daystypical issuance

Trusted by industry leaders

How it works

Built for the bid deadline.

Most agencies give you ten days or fewer between award and executed bonds. The traditional broker spends most of them on phone tag. Here's the entire process:

TODAY · 5 MINUTES

Apply once, online

For projects up to $3M, the application is the whole thing — written on your credit score, no financials. Larger programs: one email, one checklist — never a scavenger hunt.

WITHIN 48 HOURS

A human underwrites it

A licensed underwriter reviews the contract, your track record, and a soft credit check that never affects your score. The rate is already fixed — underwriting decides approval, not price.

1–2 BUSINESS DAYS

E-sign, file, build

Pay online and receive the executed bond on the obligee's required form (AIA A312 or agency paper), power of attorney attached. Wet-ink originals mailed when the public body insists.

The whole pricing page.

Bond amount × 3% = your premium. One-time, $275 minimum, carried in your bid number. There is nothing else to know.

$100,000 bond

$3,000

$500,000 bond

$15,000

$1,000,000 bond

$30,000

About this bond

What it is and who needs it.

The two parts, plain English

A performance & payment bond is really two guarantees in one document, both required for most Iowa public construction contracts.

The performance bond guarantees the public body you'll finish the work. If you can't, the surety pays another contractor to finish — or pays the owner the overrun.

The payment bond guarantees your subcontractors and suppliers get paid. On public property there's nothing to lien, so this is their only protection — and the public body's protection from the dispute.

Iowa StatuteIowa's Little Miller Act, Iowa Code §573.2, requires a surety bond on any public-improvement contract whose price equals or exceeds $25,000 — conditioned for faithful performance and for payment to those who furnish labor and materials, in an amount equal to the contract price. Many private owners and lenders require the same bond above $250,000.

You need this bond if you're

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A general contractor bidding Iowa public works — Iowa DOT, the state, counties, cities, school districts, and the Board of Regents

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A subcontractor whose subcontract requires bonding (common for trades on large public jobs)

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A prime on private work where the owner or construction lender requires bonding

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A renovation contractor for school districts, municipalities, or publicly funded work

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A developer or design-builder on projects with municipal or state-agency involvement

The application takes about five minutes.

These are the actual underwriting fields — bond details, your business, your track record, and the project. Submit once and a licensed underwriter responds within 48 hours. Free until your bond is issued.

Start the application →

FAQs

Common questions.

If yours isn't here, the bond team can usually answer within the hour.

What is an Iowa performance and payment bond? +

A two-part surety bond required for most Iowa public construction contracts. The performance bond guarantees you'll complete the work; the payment bond guarantees your subcontractors and suppliers get paid. Required under Iowa Code §573.2 — Iowa's Little Miller Act — for public-improvement contracts of $25,000 or more, in an amount equal to the contract price, and often required by private owners and lenders above $250,000.

How much does it cost? +

A flat 3% of the bond amount, one time, with a $275 minimum. A $500,000 bond costs $15,000 — same rate for a ten-year firm and a two-year-old LLC. Carry it in your bid number and it never touches your margin.

Why is the rate flat? Isn't pricing usually based on credit? +

In the traditional market, yes — which means nobody can price a bid without a broker conversation. We post one rate so the math is yours. Underwriting still happens; it determines whether we can approve the bond and how much aggregate capacity you qualify for — it just never changes the price.

How fast can I get the bond? +

Most performance and payment bonds are issued within 1–2 business days of an approved application. If underwriting needs more detail, an underwriter reaches out within 48 hours. Larger or unusual contracts can take 2–5 days while financials are reviewed.

Do I pay the full bond amount? +

No — this is the most common misconception in surety. You pay the premium (3%), once. The bond amount is the surety's maximum liability to the public body. It's not a deposit, not a loan, and nobody escrows your money.

Can I get bonded with bad credit? +

Usually, yes — and at the same 3%, because the rate never moves. Credit affects approval, not price. Quoting uses a soft credit check that never affects your score, and a documented history of completed work regularly outweighs a number.

Do I need audited financials? +

Not for most projects. Contracts up to $3 million are written on your credit score alone — no CPA-prepared statements, no audited financials, no tax returns up front. Above $3M, underwriting reviews company financials to set a larger program. Either way, the rate stays a flat 3%.

The bid documents demand a specific bond form. Can you match it? +

Yes. We issue on whatever the solicitation specifies — AIA A312, Iowa DOT forms, or agency-specific paper — with the carrier's power of attorney attached. Mention the form in your application and the bond comes back on it.

What about the bid bond? +

Most Iowa solicitations want bid security (commonly 5–10% of your bid) plus proof you can deliver the final bonds. We furnish bid bonds and the consent of surety with your quote — getting underwritten before you bid is exactly what makes the post-award clock painless.

Related bonds

Other New York bonds.

Get bonded before the bid deadline.

Five-minute application, flat 3%, e-signed bond in 1–2 business days. Free until your bond is issued.

Start application Talk to a specialist

Your premium @ 3%$15,000

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