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Washington Construction Contract Bonds

Bid, Performance and Payment Bonds for Washington Contractors

White Lion Bonding & Insurance Services helps Washington contractors obtain contract surety bonds for public and private construction projects. We work with contractors bidding work for Washington state agencies, counties, cities, school districts, water and sewer districts, ports, transit agencies and private project owners.

From Seattle, Tacoma and Bellevue to Spokane, Vancouver, Olympia, Everett, Yakima and the Tri-Cities, each project begins with the bond form and contract requirements issued by the owner. Our role is to help the contractor organize the underwriting information, identify an appropriate surety market and keep the bond process moving.

Common Washington Contract Bonds

Bid bonds support a contractor's bid and the obligation to enter the contract and provide final bonds if awarded.
Performance bonds guarantee faithful performance of the bonded construction contract.
Payment bonds protect qualifying subcontractors, laborers and material suppliers associated with the bonded work.
Maintenance or warranty bonds cover specified correction obligations after project completion and acceptance.
Subcontractor performance and payment bonds may be required by a general contractor to manage subcontractor risk.
Retainage bonds may allow retained contract funds to be released when the bond is accepted by the public body.

Washington Public Works Bond Requirements

Washington's public-works bond law is found primarily in RCW 39.08.010. For covered work, the public body generally requires a surety bond conditioned on faithful performance of the contract and payment of laborers, mechanics, subcontractors, material suppliers and certain project-related taxes.

Under RCW 39.08.030, the bond is generally written for the full contract price. Washington law permits certain cities, towns and specified local entities to establish bond amounts by ordinance or resolution, subject to statutory minimums. The actual solicitation, contract and bond form should always be reviewed because an agency may include additional lawful conditions.

For public contracts of $150,000 or less, RCW 39.08.010 provides a possible alternative in which the public entity may retain 10 percent of the contract amount in place of the bond at the contractor's option. This is not an automatic waiver: the contractor should confirm the procedure with the awarding agency before relying on it.

Washington Retainage and Retainage Bonds

Washington public improvement contracts commonly include retainage. RCW 60.28.011 generally limits public-body retainage to five percent of the money earned by the contractor, subject to statutory exceptions and release procedures.

The same statute allows a contractor to submit a bond for all or part of the contract retainage in a form acceptable to the public body and from an authorized surety insurer. Once accepted, the bonded portion of the retained funds is released according to the statute. A retainage bond is separate from the project's performance and payment bond, so contractors should request it early enough for underwriting and agency review.

Contract Bonds Are Different from Washington Contractor Registration Bonds

Washington contractors should not confuse a project-specific contract bond with the continuous surety bond required for contractor registration. The Washington Department of Labor & Industries currently lists a $30,000 continuous contractor surety bond for general contractors and a $15,000 bond for specialty contractors. Those registration bonds support state licensing requirements; they do not replace bid, performance or payment bonds required for an individual project.

Contractors can review the current registration requirements directly through Washington Labor & Industries.

WSDOT and Local-Agency Bond Forms

Washington Department of Transportation projects and federally funded local-agency work may use agency-specific bond forms. WSDOT publishes separate forms for highway construction, building construction, local-agency performance bonds and local-agency public-works payment bonds. Contractors should submit the exact form included with the bid or contract documents and confirm the named principal, obligee, contract amount, project description and execution requirements before the surety issues the bond.

Municipal projects in King, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane, Clark, Thurston and other counties can also have owner-specific requirements. Providing the full invitation to bid, contract and bond form at the beginning helps prevent last-minute revisions before bid day or contract execution.

Information That Helps a Washington Contract Bond Review

Surety underwriting is based on the contractor and the bonded obligation. Depending on the bond size and program, the surety may request:

The bid invitation, contract and required bond forms
The contractor's Washington registration information and ownership structure
Business and personal financial statements
Bank relationship and available line of credit
A current work-in-progress schedule and backlog
Prior completed projects of comparable size and scope
Project financing, job-cost and gross-profit information
Details about subcontractors, suppliers and project management

Early review is especially helpful when a contractor is pursuing a larger-than-usual project, entering a new type of work, carrying a heavy backlog or requesting bonds for several Washington projects at the same time.

Washington Contract Bond Service by County

White Lion provides Washington contract bond assistance statewide. Select a county page below for local service information:

Request a Washington Contract Bond Quote

Send the bond form, contract or bid documents, bond amount, bid date and a brief description of the work. White Lion can review the request and explain what underwriting information is likely to be needed.

Important: Bond requirements vary by public body, contract and project. This page provides general surety information and is not legal advice. Contractors should confirm current requirements with the project owner and their legal or financial advisers.