$0 to bid. 3% when you win.
Bid bonds are free in every state we serve. Performance and payment bonds are a flat 3% of the contract value, both bonds together: $3,000 on a $100,000 job, from A-rated carriers. Light RFP earns a commission from the carrier on the bonds for the jobs you win.
Bonds are written through Propeller Bonds. Light RFP Risk Management Services LLC is the broker, NY DFS License # PC-1978982.
Contract bonds
Three bonds, in plain words.
A bonded job usually asks for three. The contractor buys the bonds. The bid and performance bonds protect the owner; the payment bond protects the subs and suppliers. Here is what each one promises and when it is in force.
Bid bond
Tells the owner your number is real: if you win, you will sign the contract and furnish the performance and payment bonds it requires.
Protects the owner
In force from bid day to contract.
Performance bond
Backs your promise to finish the job. If you default, the bond pays to complete it, up to the bond amount.
Protects the owner
In force from contract to job done.
Payment bond
Backs your promise to pay your subs and suppliers. If one goes unpaid, they can claim on the bond, up to its amount.
Protects your subs and suppliers
In force from contract to subs paid.
FreeBid bonds, in every state we serve
Flat 3%Of the contract value, for the performance and payment bonds, from A-rated carriers
Nearly 1 in 10 construction businesses closes each year.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics
Bond directory
Find your bond.
Bidding public work? Start with a free bid bond. Need a license, permit or federal bond? Pick your state or search the directory, where every bond has its own page, with how it is priced and its application.
- Alaska
- Maine
- Wisconsin
- Vermont
- New Hampshire
- Washington
- Idaho
- Montana
- North Dakota
- Minnesota
- Illinois
- Michigan
- New York
- Massachusetts: coming soon
- Oregon
- Nevada
- Wyoming
- South Dakota
- Iowa
- Indiana
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania: coming soon
- New Jersey
- Connecticut
- Rhode Island
- California: coming soon
- Utah
- Colorado
- Nebraska
- Missouri
- Kentucky
- West Virginia: coming soon
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Delaware
- Arizona
- New Mexico
- Kansas
- Arkansas
- Tennessee
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
- District of Columbia
- Oklahoma
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Alabama
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Texas
- Florida
Coming soon
Fair questions.
Why is the bid bond free?
Because Light RFP earns a commission from the carrier on the performance and payment bonds for the jobs you win. The bid bond that gets you there is free in every state we serve.
What does the 3% buy?
The performance and payment bonds the contract requires, both of them, at a flat 3% of the contract value, from A-rated carriers: $3,000 to bond a $100,000 job. You only need them once you have won the job.
Is a bond insurance for me?
No. A bond protects the owner and your subs. If the surety pays a claim on your bond, you pay the surety back, which is why every bond is subject to the surety’s approval.
Do I fill in an application for every bid?
No. Your first bid bond application doubles as your prequalification, so each bid after it is a short request with the RFP attached, not a new file under a deadline.
Can I find out if I am bondable before I bid?
Yes. One prequalification application sizes your bonding to your work, so the bond on the job you win is a short request, not a new file. It is free: see the bonding program.
Does every job need bonds?
No. The RFP says what it requires. Public work usually asks for a bid bond with your bid and performance and payment bonds once you are awarded; private work varies.
Who writes the bonds?
Bonds are written through Propeller Bonds, a managing general agency (an agency that underwrites and issues bonds on the carriers’ behalf) licensed in all 50 states. Light RFP Risk Management Services LLC (NY DFS License # PC-1978982) is the broker.
What other bonds can I get?
License and permit bonds, court bonds and more, state by state. Each has its own page in the bond directory with how it is priced and its application.