Bid Bond Cost by State — 2026 Guide
Public-works bid security follows one rule almost everywhere: a percentage of the bid amount — federal floor at 5%, state DOTs at 5–10%, municipalities commonly 10%. The surprising part is the premium math behind that percentage.
The percentage that controls every bid bond
5% – 10%
of the contractor’s bid amount. FAR 28.101 sets the 5% federal floor; state procurement codes require either 5% (TxDOT, FDOT) or 10% (CalTrans, most large municipalities). Verified May 2026 against acquisition.gov and state DOT specifications.
What the bid bond actually costs — three real-world scenarios
Each row applies the procurement code’s required percentage to a representative bid, then shows the typical bid-bond premium. “Bid bond cost” is not a single number — percentage flexes by code, and premium is often $0 against a backed performance commitment.
Federal $5M construction
$0 – $200
FAR 28.101 sets a 5% bid guarantee — a $250,000 bid bond. With the same surety on the performance/payment bonds, premium is typically $0; some carriers charge a $50–$200 filing fee.
State DOT $2M highway
$100 – $300
TxDOT Item 2.5 and FDOT §2-7 spec 5% — a $100,000 bid bond. CalTrans requires 10% ($200,000) under PCC § 10167. Premium typically $100–$300 flat or free against the performance commitment.
Municipal school $750K
$75 – $150
School-district RFPs commonly spec 10% — a $75,000 bid bond. Smaller bonds are flat-fee priced ($75–$150); many carriers waive the fee for prequalified GCs.
Citations: FAR 28.101-1 (acquisition.gov); TxDOT Std Specs Item 2.5; FDOT Std Specs §2-7 (F.S. § 337.18); CalTrans Std Specs §2-1.07 (PCC § 10167). Numbers illustrate the documented bid-process pattern, not specific carrier quotes. Verified May 2026.
Bid bond cost has two distinct meanings. The bond amount is a percentage of the contractor’s bid — 5% on federal projects under FAR 28.101, 5% or 10% on state DOT work, and typically 10% on municipal RFPs. The premium — what the contractor actually pays the surety — is usually $0 to a few hundred dollars when the same carrier is writing the performance and payment bonds, because the bid bond is treated as a sunk cost of acquiring the bonded project. Standalone bid bonds (no performance commitment) are typically quoted at $100–$300 flat for small bonds, or 0.5%–1% of bond amount on larger ones.
Verified May 2026 against acquisition.gov (FAR Part 28), state DOT standard specifications, and Treasury Circular 570 surety listings.
Federal construction is governed by FAR 28.101. Subpart 28.101-1 requires a bid guarantee whenever a performance bond is required — meaning every federal construction project at or above the simplified acquisition threshold falls under the Miller Act bond requirements framework. The bid guarantee is 5% of the bid price. Acceptable forms: surety bid bond from a Treasury Circular 570 listed surety, certified/cashier’s check, or U.S. Treasury bonds.
State DOT contracts follow each agency’s standard specifications. TxDOT Std Specs Item 2.5 sets a 5% proposal guaranty. FDOT Std Specs §2-7 also uses 5%. CalTrans is the higher-percentage outlier — PCC § 10167 and CalTrans Std Specs §2-1.07 require 10% of bid amount.
Municipal and school-district RFPs set the percentage in the procurement document itself. State procurement codes require 10% bid security as the most common spec, with a substantial minority specifying 5%. Always verify the procurement document — the spec controls regardless of any generic rule. The bid bonds hub covers submission mechanics; the bid bond cost page drills into rate-vs-amount math.
Bid Bond Percentage by Procurement Tier — Federal, State DOT, Municipal
Verified from acquisition.gov and state DOT standard specifications, May 2026
| Procurement Tier | Bid % of Bid Amount | Source / Citation | Premium Pricing Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal construction (FAR 28.101) | 5% | FAR 28.101-1 (acquisition.gov) | Free w/ performance commitment; $50–$200 filing |
| Miller Act federal | 5% | 40 USC § 3131; FAR 28.101 | Free w/ performance commitment |
| TxDOT (Texas highway) | 5% | TxDOT Std Specs Item 2.5 | Free w/ performance commitment |
| FDOT (Florida DOT) | 5% | FDOT Std Specs §2-7; F.S. § 337.18 | Free w/ performance commitment |
| CalTrans (California DOT) | 10% | CalTrans Std Specs §2-1.07; PCC § 10167 | Free w/ performance commitment |
| NYSDOT (New York DOT) | 5% | NYSDOT Std Specs §102-08 | Free w/ performance commitment |
| PennDOT (Pennsylvania DOT) | 10% | PennDOT Pub. 408 §102.07 | Free w/ performance commitment |
| IDOT (Illinois DOT) | 5% (≥ $10M); 10% spec common | IDOT Std Specs Article 102.09 | Free w/ performance commitment |
| MassDOT | 5% | MassDOT Std Specs §1.04 | Free w/ performance commitment |
| ODOT (Oregon DOT) | 10% | ODOT Std Specs 00130.40 | Free w/ performance commitment |
| Most state DOTs | 5% (typical) | State DOT manual | Free w/ performance commitment |
| Major-municipality public works | 10% (most common) | Municipal procurement code | $100–$300 flat OR rated 0.5%–1% |
| School district RFPs | 5%–10% | District-specific RFP | $75–$300 flat |
| Federal design-build | 5% of proposed price | FAR 36.6; FAR 28.101 | Free w/ performance commitment |
| Subcontractor bid bonds (private) | 5%–10% (per GC) | GC’s bid form | $100–$500 flat or rated |
State DOT percentages are taken directly from each agency's published standard specifications. Federal percentages are FAR-controlled. Municipal RFPs vary; the percentage in your specific solicitation controls.
Sources: FAR Part 28 (acquisition.gov); state DOT standard specifications; Treasury Circular 570 (TreasuryDirect.gov). Verified May 2026.
Standalone Bid Bond Premium — When Carriers Actually Charge
Based on a $500,000 (5% of $10M bid) bond amount
- Excellent (740+)Rate: 0.40% – 0.60%$2,000 – $3,000
- Very Good (700–739)Rate: 0.50% – 0.75%$2,500 – $3,750
- Good (650–699)Rate: 0.75% – 1.0%$3,750 – $5,000
- Fair (600–649)Rate: 1.0% – 1.5%$5,000 – $7,500
- Poor (550–599)Rate: 1.5% – 2.5%$7,500 – $12,500
- Subprime (<550)Rate: 2.5%+ or decline$12,500+
Credit-tier rate bands apply only when the bid bond is rated standalone (no performance commitment). For most prequalified contractors writing the bid through a surety program, some carriers provide the bid bond at little or no cost; the carrier decides. Underwriting weighs working capital, bondable backlog, and contractor experience more heavily than personal credit on commercial surety lines.
Bid bonds are the one surety product on the construction line where a $0 premium is the dominant pricing pattern. The documented bid-process pattern shows industry standard surety underwriting treating the bid bond as a sunk cost of acquiring the performance bond and payment bond business that follows if the contractor wins. Performance and payment bonds carry the actual premium — typically 0.5%–3% of contract price under most carrier filings — while some carriers provide the bid bond at little or no cost.
- Bid-to-award ratios drive the economics. Industry standard ratios run 4:1 to 6:1 bids-to-awards. A surety underwriting one $5M federal bid produces zero direct premium; the same surety writing the awarded $5M performance/payment bond at 1.5% produces $75,000. Charging little or nothing for the bid bond can make sense on those numbers.
- Prequalification — not transaction underwriting — is the gate. A contractor approved under a surety facility for a $10M single job and $30M aggregate gets bid bonds submitted same day, free, against any project sized inside that envelope. State procurement codes require the bid bond itself to be issued by a Treasury-listed surety; the prequalification machinery sits behind that.
- Four scenarios flip the bid bond to rated. First, the contractor is shopping bid-only with no performance commitment from the same surety — carrier charges $100–$500 flat or 0.5%–1% rated. Second, project size sits outside the contractor’s approved limits. Third, project class is outside carrier appetite (specialty work, environmental remediation, first-time design-build). Fourth, expedited issuance inside 24–48 hours triggers rush fees of $50–$200.
- Underwriting elements reviewed even on a low-cost bid bond. Working capital ratio, bondable backlog, tangible net worth, contractor experience by class of work, and project-specific fit. The bid bond costs nothing in dollars, but the prequalification work — CPA-prepared financials, work-in-progress schedule, references — is real. The bid bond requirements guide covers prequalification in depth.
Sources: Surety & Fidelity Association of America (SFAA) market commentary; Treasury Circular 570 listing mechanics; FAR 28.101 acceptable bond forms. Mechanics described are general to the industry-standard surety construction line.
Pricing mode
Free / nominal filing
Estimated bid-bond premium
$0 – $200
Carriers commonly waive the bid-bond premium when the same surety has approved the contractor for the awarded performance/payment bond. Filing fees of $0–$200 are common when charged at all.
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Estimates are illustrative. Final premium is set by the underwriting surety at time of application and varies by credit, experience, state, and carrier.
Estimates use FAR 28.101 + state DOT spec percentages, current as of May 2026. Final premium is set by the underwriting surety based on the contractor’s qualification, working capital, bondability, and the carrier’s appetite for the project size and class of work.
- Find the bid solicitation’s bond clause. For federal projects, look for the FAR 52.228-1 (or 52.228-15) clause and the Standard Form 24 bid bond template referenced under FAR 28.101. For state DOT contracts, the bond clause sits in the agency’s standard specifications (TxDOT Item 2.5; FDOT §2-7; CalTrans §2-1.07). For municipal RFPs, it’s in the procurement document itself, usually the “Instructions to Bidders” section.
- Confirm the bond percentage. Federal floor is 5% of bid amount; TxDOT and FDOT use 5%; CalTrans uses 10%. Most state DOTs sit at 5%. Municipal and school RFPs commonly use 10%. Multiply the bond percentage by your planned bid to get the bond face amount.
- Ask the surety whether it charges for the bid bond against the performance commitment. If the same carrier is writing the awaiting performance and payment bonds inside an approved bonded program, some carriers provide the bid bond at little or no cost. Ask explicitly — some smaller carriers charge filing fees even inside facility programs.
- Pull the quote from a Treasury-listed surety. Federal procurement requires the surety to appear on Treasury Circular 570. Most state DOTs require the same. The Treasury list publishes each surety’s underwriting limitation — the maximum single-bond size the carrier can issue without co-surety.
Bid bond vs performance bond — cost difference?
Some carriers provide bid bonds at little or no cost against an awaited performance commitment; performance bonds are rated at 0.5%–3% of contract price. See the performance bond vs bid bond comparison for the full mechanics.
Is “bid security” the same as a bid bond?
Bid security is the umbrella category — surety bid bond, cashier’s check, certified check, irrevocable letter of credit, U.S. Treasury bonds. A bid bond is the surety-issued form that doesn’t tie up cash. FAR 28.101 and state DOT specs accept any of these.
When do bid bonds carry a charge?
Some carriers charge little or nothing for bid bonds when the same surety has pre-qualified the contractor under a bonded program. Carriers charge $50–$200 filing on rush issuance, $100–$500 flat on standalone bid-only orders, or 0.5%–1% of bond amount on large standalone bonds.
How is the bid bond sized on cost-plus or design-build?
Sized against the offeror’s proposed price ceiling or GMP — not a hypothetical lump sum. FAR 36.6 federal design-build still applies FAR 28.101’s 5% to the proposed total. State design-build statutes (Florida F.S. § 287.05712) follow the same logic.
Federal vs state percentage — which wins?
The higher of the two controls. FAR 28.101 sets a 5% federal floor; CalTrans/PCC § 10167 sets 10%. A federally-funded CalTrans contract takes the 10% state spec because it exceeds the federal minimum.
What happens on bid-bond default?
Obligee draws on the bid bond up to the penal sum — typically the difference between the defaulting bid and the next-lowest responsive bid, capped at face amount (5% or 10% of original bid). The surety pays the obligee and pursues the contractor under the indemnity agreement.
Related reading: the bid bond requirements guide covers submission mechanics; the performance bond requirements guide covers what follows on award; the Miller Act bond requirements page covers the federal construction framework; sibling cost guides: performance bond cost, court bond cost, probate bond cost.
RFP bid-bond checklist — before you submit
Run this five-item checklist against the procurement document. If every line clears, the bid bond is ready to file with the bid package.
- Bond percentage confirmed — pulled from the solicitation’s “Instructions to Bidders” (federal: FAR 52.228-1; state DOT: standard specs; municipal: RFP body).
- Surety is Treasury Circular 570 listed — with single-bond underwriting limitation at or above the bid bond face amount.
- Bond form matches the solicitation — SF 24 for federal; agency-specific forms for state DOT (TxDOT Form 2042-A; FDOT’s Form 525-040-43; CalTrans CEM-2002).
- Premium pricing confirmed — $0 against performance commitment, or flat fee / rated for standalone. Verified May 2026.
- Power of attorney attached — current dated POA from the surety, notarized, with seal. Required by every public obligee.
Treasury-listed surety carriers. No cost until your bond is issued.
Bid bond in hand before the bid window closes
Some carriers provide bid bonds at little or no cost for qualified accounts — but that still requires a Treasury-listed surety to run the prequalification. If you're bidding a federal, state DOT, or municipal job and need a bid bond before the submission deadline, the form below starts the process. The same surety that issues your bid bond will write the performance bond and payment bond if you win, which is why the bid bond itself may cost little or nothing; the carrier decides.
For overall cost context across bond types, see the surety bond cost guide.