Florida Performance BondTwo Statutes. Four Thresholds.

Section 255.05 is Florida's "Little Miller Act" for state and local public works. Florida Department of Transportation construction and maintenance contracts are bonded under their own statute, §337.18, which has its own waiver threshold ($250,000 or less for noncritical projects vs. $200,000 for local government under §255.05), its own waiver procedures, and its own rules for multi-year maintenance contracts. If you are bidding on an FDOT project, your bond requirements come from §337.18 -- not §255.05. This distinction matters because the statutes differ on waiver thresholds, claim procedures, and bond forms. A bond written to §255.05 may not satisfy FDOT requirements.

Chapter 2023-226, effective October 1, 2023, revised the §255.05 claim procedures. A non-privity claimant now serves its notice of nonpayment on the contractor with a copy to the surety; a claimant can serve its notice to contractor up to 45 days after being served with a copy of the bond if the bond was not recorded before work began; the clerk serves recorded notices of contest; and notices are served under §713.18. The recording and payment rules predate 2023: for contracts entered on or after October 1, 2012, the contractor must record the bond and give the public entity a certified copy before work begins, and the public entity may not pay the contractor until it does (§255.05(1)(b)). Payment bond terms that narrow the statutory protections are unenforceable (§255.05(1)(e)).

Non-privity claimants (anyone without a direct contract with the contractor) must serve a written notice of intent on the contractor within 45 days of first furnishing labor, services, or materials. If unpaid, the claimant must then serve a sworn Notice of Nonpayment on the contractor, with a copy to the surety, no earlier than 45 days after their first furnishing and no later than 90 days after their final furnishing of labor or materials. Suit on the payment bond must be filed within one year after the performance of the labor or completion of delivery of the materials (§255.05(10)). Missing the 45-day initial notice deadline can destroy a subcontractor's claim rights entirely. The bond must be recorded in the county clerk's office, and claimants can obtain a copy from the county records.

No. Florida does not require a state license bond for certified contractors. Under Construction Industry Licensing Board rule 61G4-15.006, an applicant who cannot show a FICO credit score of 660 or higher meets the financial stability requirement by completing a 14-hour financial responsibility course, not by posting a bond. Some local jurisdictions set their own licensing or permit bond rules. A performance bond, by contrast, is project-specific -- it guarantees you will complete a specific construction contract according to its terms. Meeting DBPR licensing requirements does not satisfy a project owner's performance bond requirement.

The surety has four options after a valid default is declared: (1) pay the bond penal sum directly to the obligee, (2) finance the original contractor to complete the work with surety oversight, (3) arrange cooperative completion where the surety provides financial support while the obligee manages a replacement contractor, or (4) take over the project entirely by hiring a completion contractor. The surety's choice depends on the project's status, the contractor's financial condition, and the cost to complete. The obligee cannot simply demand cash -- the surety has the right to investigate and choose its remedy.

Florida law does not require performance bonds on private projects. However, private owners and lenders frequently require them contractually, especially on projects financed through commercial lending. Private project bonds are governed by §§713.23 and 713.245 -- separate statutes from the public works §255.05. A dual obligee rider is common on lender-financed private projects, naming both the owner and the lender as obligees on the bond. This protects the lender's collateral interest if the contractor defaults. Private bond claim procedures differ from public bond procedures, so the bond form and applicable statute matter.