Georgia Performance BondTwo Statutes, Two Different Thresholds
The short answer: $100,000 if you're contracting with a state agency, GDOT, or a school system under O.C.G.A. Title 13, Chapter 10. $250,000 if you're contracting with a county or municipality under Title 36, Chapter 91 -- raised from $100,000 by House Bill 137, effective July 1, 2025. Most guides still quote the old local number. Which one applies to your bid changes both the paperwork and the timeline, so get the right statute before you price the job.
- Who requires it: State agencies, GDOT and school systems (O.C.G.A. Title 13, Chapter 10); counties and municipalities (O.C.G.A. Title 36, Chapter 91).
- Amount: At least the total amount payable under the contract, which is 100% of the contract price. The payment bond is set at the same 100% figure.
- Timing: We submit complete applications to the carrier promptly; most quotes within one business day.
Why Georgia Contractors Get This Wrong
Most states run one public-works bonding statute with one threshold. Georgia runs two. State agencies, the Georgia Department of Transportation, and school systems contract under O.C.G.A. Title 13, Chapter 10 -- the “Large Public Works” part of the code, where Section 13-10-40 sets a $100,000 performance-bond trigger that hasn't moved in years. Counties, cities, consolidated governments, and other local bodies contract under an entirely separate chapter, Title 36, Chapter 91, where the threshold just changed.
A general contractor who bids both a GDOT resurfacing job and a county courthouse renovation in the same quarter is working under two different bond triggers, two different obligees, and -- since HB 137 -- two different dollar lines. Bid the county job assuming the old $100,000 local rule still applies and you'll quote a bond the client no longer needs; bid the state job assuming the new $250,000 local number applies and you'll show up to the pre-construction meeting without the bond the state actually requires.
For the licensing side of your business -- the standing $25,000 bond every Georgia general and residential contractor needs to hold a state license -- see our Georgia contractor license bond guide. That bond keeps you legal to operate. The bonds on this page are sized to the individual public contract and layer on top of it.
Title 13 = State
State agencies, GDOT, and school systems. $100,000 threshold. Hasn't changed.
Title 36 = Local
Counties and municipalities. $250,000 threshold as of July 1, 2025 -- up from $100,000.
Different Forms, Different Files
The bond is filed with whichever entity actually signs your contract -- never assume the state form works for a county obligee, or vice versa.
State, Local, and Federal: Three Frameworks, One Contractor
Line up all three bonding frameworks a Georgia contractor might touch in a single bid season, and the differences are stark enough to change how you price a job before you've even read the specs.
Georgia Performance Bond Thresholds by Contracting Entity
Which statute applies depends on who signs the contract, not where the project sits
| Contracting Entity | Governing Law | Bond Threshold | Bond Amount | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State agency / GDOT / school system | O.C.G.A. Title 13, Ch. 10 | > $100,000 | 100% of contract | 13-10-40 |
| County / municipality | O.C.G.A. Title 36, Ch. 91 | > $250,000 | 100% of contract | 36-91-70 |
| Federal agency | 40 U.S.C. § 3131 (Miller Act) | > $150,000 (FAR) | 100% of contract | FAR 28.102-2 |
| Private owner | Contract terms only | No statutory trigger | Set by contract | N/A |
Local threshold raised from $100,000 to $250,000 by HB 137, effective July 1, 2025 (amending O.C.G.A. 36-91-22).
O.C.G.A. Title 13, Chapter 10; Title 36, Chapter 91; 40 U.S.C. §3131
Georgia Local Government Bonding Threshold (Counties & Municipalities)
Bond Requirement Increase
Previous Requirement
$100,000
New Requirement
$250,000
The Math Is the Same Once You Cross the Line
Whichever threshold applies, the penal sum calculation doesn't change. Both statutes require the bond to cover the full contract price -- not a percentage discount, and it steps up automatically if the contract is later modified upward.
Georgia Public Works Performance Bond
O.C.G.A. §§ 13-10-40(b) and 36-91-70 both require the bond amount to increase if the contract price is later increased.
Change Order Adds $150K
Contract grows to $900,000 mid-project. The performance bond penal sum must be increased to match -- your surety issues a rider, not a new bond.
Payment Bond Runs Alongside
Sections 13-10-60 (state) and 36-91-90 (local) require a payment bond at the same 100% figure, protecting subcontractors and suppliers on the same project.
No Partial Bonding
Once a contract crosses its threshold, there's no reduced or capped bond option -- the full contract price is on the hook.
Where Georgia Actually Writes These Bonds
Three categories of public work generate the overwhelming majority of Georgia performance bond activity -- each with its own obligee, inspection cadence, and claim pattern.
Road & Highway (GDOT)
GDOT resurfacing, bridge, and widening contracts are almost always well above the $100,000 state threshold, so bonding is routine rather than a marginal call. GDOT requires contractors to prequalify for a bidding capacity rating before award -- a separate step from the performance bond itself, but underwritten off the same financial statements.
School Construction
Georgia school systems build and renovate under Title 13, Chapter 10 -- the state threshold, not the local one, even though a local board of education signs the contract. E-SPLOST-funded construction booms mean school work is one of the steadiest sources of Georgia performance bond demand, especially in fast-growing metro Atlanta counties.
Water, Sewer & Utility
County and municipal water/sewer expansion is the category HB 137 changed the most. A $220,000 lift-station upgrade that needed a bond under the old $100,000 local rule no longer triggers one -- but a $260,000 project still does, and utility contractors bidding across multiple counties need to track each project against the current $250,000 line individually.
Bonding Capacity Around Metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta's public-works pipeline -- MARTA expansion work, GDOT's managed-lane projects on I-285 and I-20, and the wave of school and courthouse construction across Gwinnett, Cobb, and Fulton counties -- means contractors based in and around the metro are underwritten on capacity, not just a single job. A surety sets two numbers: a single-job limit (the largest contract it will bond at once) and an aggregate limit (total bonded backlog across every open project).
Both come out of your financial statements -- working capital, net worth, and the multi-year trend -- rather than credit score alone. A contractor juggling a $2.4 million county water project and a $900,000 school HVAC upgrade at the same time is being measured on aggregate capacity across both, not evaluated fresh on each bid. Fast-growing exurban counties north and south of Atlanta -- where new development is pushing water, sewer, and school contracts above the new $250,000 local line for the first time -- are where this shows up most: contractors who never needed a performance bond on local work two years ago are now hitting it regularly.
Out-of-state contractors taking on Georgia public work should also budget for the state's separate Nonresident Contractor Tax Bond under O.C.G.A. § 48-13-32 -- a 10%-of-contract bond filed with the Department of Revenue that catches many first-time Georgia bidders off guard. It runs alongside, not instead of, the performance bond covered here. See our Georgia surety bonds guide for that requirement in full.
Weak Credit or Thin Financials? There's Still a Path
A new or credit-challenged Georgia contractor doesn't automatically lose access to public work once a job crosses the $100,000 or $250,000 bond line. Sureties price performance bonds on a spread -- from roughly 1% of the contract for strong credit and solid financials up to 5-10% or more for weaker files -- rather than issuing a flat decline.
For contractors who can't get approved through standard underwriting alone, the SBA Surety Bond Guarantee Program reimburses a participating surety for 80-90% of its loss if the bond defaults, which lets sureties say yes to Georgia small businesses they'd otherwise turn down. It's the standard offramp for a contractor who wins a $180,000 GDOT subcontract but doesn't yet have three years of CPA-reviewed financials to show a traditional underwriter.
Already have a bid bond in hand and need to convert it once you're awarded the contract? The award-day handoff from bid bond to performance bond is covered in our bid bond vs performance bond guide.
Quick Decision: Which Path Fits?
Official Georgia Requirements
"Performance bonds shall be required for all state public works construction contracts with an estimated contract amount greater than $100,000.00."Georgia General Assembly • O.C.G.A. § 13-10-40(a)
Georgia Performance Bond Questions Contractors Ask
Answers grounded in O.C.G.A. Title 13, Title 36, HB 137, and the federal Miller Act
Is Georgia’s performance bond threshold $100,000 or $250,000?
Both -- it depends on who is on the other side of the contract. State agency and school-system public works are governed by O.C.G.A. Title 13, Chapter 10, which sets a $100,000 threshold under Section 13-10-40. County and municipal public works are governed by a separate statute, Title 36, Chapter 91, where Section 36-91-70 requires a performance bond -- but as of July 1, 2025, House Bill 137 amended the chapter’s applicability section (36-91-22) so that Chapter 91, including its bonding requirements, no longer applies to local contracts under $250,000. A $180,000 county road resurfacing contract, for example, needs no performance bond today even though it would have crossed the old $100,000 line before HB 137. A $180,000 state DOT contract still does.
What exactly did HB 137 change in 2025?
House Bill 137, effective July 1, 2025, raised the local public-works bidding and bonding threshold from $100,000 to $250,000 by amending O.C.G.A. Section 36-91-22, the applicability section of the local government public-works chapter. It did not touch the state threshold in Title 13, Chapter 10 -- that stayed at $100,000. The bill also raised a related but separate figure, the retainage-withholding exemption for state contracts under Section 13-10-80(c), from $150,000 to $250,000. Contractors sometimes conflate the retainage change with the bonding threshold; they are different provisions with different mechanics, and only the local bonding threshold moved from $100,000 to $250,000.
How is the bond amount calculated once a Georgia public works contract crosses its threshold?
Both statutes use the same rule: the performance bond must equal at least the total amount payable under the contract -- 100%, not a percentage like the 10% figure some Georgia bonds use. Section 13-10-40(b) requires the bond to increase if the contract amount is later increased, and Section 36-91-70 carries the identical requirement for local contracts. Practically: a $750,000 GDOT resurfacing contract requires a $750,000 performance bond; a $400,000 county courthouse renovation (now above the $250,000 HB 137 line) requires a $400,000 performance bond. There is no partial or capped bonding option once the threshold is crossed.
Do federal projects physically located in Georgia follow the state statutes or the Miller Act?
Federal contracts follow the federal Miller Act (40 U.S.C. § 3131), never O.C.G.A. Title 13 or Title 36, regardless of where the project sits inside Georgia. The Miller Act statute applies at contracts over $100,000, but the Federal Acquisition Regulation sets the practical bonding threshold at $150,000 under FAR 28.102-1 -- meaning a $130,000 federal contract in Georgia typically uses an alternative payment protection instead of a full bond, while a $130,000 state or eligible local contract in Georgia already requires one. A contractor working both a GDOT job and a federal VA construction contract in the same county is juggling two entirely separate bonding frameworks on the same street.
Can a Georgia county or city require a bond on a contract under $250,000 even though the statute doesn’t force it?
Yes. HB 137 raised the point at which Chapter 91 mandates a bond -- it did not ban governmental entities from asking for one voluntarily on smaller work. Many counties and school boards still write bonding requirements into their own procurement policies or individual bid specifications for projects well under $250,000, particularly for first-time vendors or higher-risk trades like roofing and site work. Always read the specific solicitation’s bond clause rather than assuming the statutory floor is the only number that matters -- the invitation to bid controls when it asks for more than the law requires.
I already have Georgia’s $25,000 contractor license bond -- do I still need a performance bond?
Yes, and they solve different problems. The $25,000 license bond under O.C.G.A. Title 43, Chapter 41 is a standing requirement tied to your Secretary of State residential or general contractor license -- it lets you operate legally in Georgia at all. A performance bond under Title 13 or Title 36 is a project-specific bond sized to the individual public contract, written fresh (or as a rider) for each job that crosses the applicable threshold. Your license bond covers licensure; it does not substitute for the performance bond a state agency or qualifying county contract will demand at award. See our Georgia contractor license bond guide for the licensing-side requirement.
How do I get a Georgia performance bond?
Request a quote with the form on this page. A licensed agent submits your application to a Treasury-listed surety carrier; once the carrier issues your bond, file it as the requiring agency directs.
What happens after I apply?
A licensed agent reviews your request and submits it to the carrier; most quotes come back within one business day. The carrier decides approval and the final premium, and you pay only when your bond is issued.
Working across multiple Georgia obligees this bid season? Track each contract against its own threshold individually -- a spreadsheet that lists contract value, contracting entity type, and applicable statute per project prevents the state/local mix-up described above.
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New to construction bonding? Our learning center covers surety bond basics, how bond costs are set, and every state's Little Miller Act in our little Miller Act threshold guide. Need the payment bond side specifically? See our payment bonds page. Bidding federal work in Georgia? Our federal government-contract performance bonds page covers the Miller Act and GSA Schedule task orders. Already bonded elsewhere? Browse performance bond requirements by state.
All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov). BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-listed surety carriers.
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