Not in Texas? Browse bonds by state
Texas public works performance bonds.
Quote on review.
Before you start work on a Texas public work contract over $100,000, the governmental entity that awarded it must require a performance bond in the amount of the contract. It is underwritten, not flat-rated: a surety specialist reviews your company and the job, then returns a quote, usually within one business day.
Trusted by industry leaders
Bonded before the notice to proceed.
Section 2253.021 requires the bond before you begin the work, so the performance bond usually sits between the award letter and the notice to proceed. Here is the whole process:
Send us the job
Apply online with the bond amount (the contract price), the county you are based in, your company’s date of incorporation and the type of work the bond covers. Have the award letter or contract and the owner’s bond form ready.
A surety specialist underwrites it
A specialist reviews the contract, your company financials, work in progress and completed jobs of similar size, then returns a quote. Larger or first-time public contracts may need financial statements or collateral before the surety commits.
Execute & deliver
Once you bind, we issue the executed bond with the power of attorney and the surety’s claim-notice information attached, ready to deliver to the state agency, county, city or school district that awarded the contract.
What it is and who needs it.
Texas’s public works performance bond, in plain terms
Chapter 2253 of the Texas Government Code is the state’s public works bond law. Under § 2253.021(a), a governmental entity that makes a public work contract with a prime contractor shall require the contractor, before beginning the work, to execute a performance bond to that entity if the contract is in excess of $100,000. A public work contract is a contract for constructing, altering or repairing a public building or carrying out or completing any public work (§ 2253.001(4)).
The bond protects the owner, not your subs. Section 2253.021(b) makes the performance bond solely for the protection of the state or governmental entity awarding the contract, in the amount of the contract, and conditioned on the faithful performance of the work in accordance with the plans, specifications and contract documents. If you default, the surety answers to the owner for completing the job or covering the cost to finish. The payment bond that protects subcontractors and suppliers is a separate bond under § 2253.021(a)(2) with its own, lower thresholds — this performance bond does not satisfy it.
Who the bond runs to depends on the owner. A bond on a contract with the state or a state department, board or agency must be payable to the state on a form approved by the attorney general; a bond for any other governmental entity must be payable to, and on a form approved by, that entity (§ 2253.021(e)). Only a corporate surety may execute it (§ 2253.021(d)), and Ins. Code § 3503.005(a) adds that the surety must be authorized to write surety bonds in Texas and, on a bond above $100,000, hold a U.S. Treasury certificate of authority or reinsure liability above $1 million. Because the surety stands behind the whole contract, the bond is underwritten on your financial statements, work history and backlog — we tell you what your file needs before you commit.
You need this bond if you’re
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A claim comes from the party the bond protects, the obligee named on the form, when the duty the bond guarantees is not met.
The surety investigates and pays a valid claim, up to the bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
Term and renewal are set in the underwriter's quote.
Keep the bond in force for as long as the obligation behind it runs.
How to file it
Execute & deliver. Once you bind, we issue the executed bond with the power of attorney and the surety’s claim-notice information attached, ready to deliver to the state agency, county, city or school district that awarded the contract.
What sets the price
This bond is underwritten: the premium is quoted from the bond amount and your financial picture, so there is no flat price to show.
One application, one underwriting review.
These are the carrier’s actual fields — the bond amount, your principal county, your company’s date of incorporation and the type of work the bond covers. Submit once and a surety specialist reviews the job and your file together and returns a quote, typically within one business day. Free until your bond is issued.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Texas bonds.
Requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Get bonded before the notice to proceed.
Send us the contract amount and the job, and a surety specialist sizes, underwrites and quotes your Texas public works performance bond — typically within one business day. Free until issued.