Oregon Public Works Bond

Are you doing public works projects in Oregon?

If so, you'll need to purchase an Oregon public works surety bond before you can win bids and start on any project.

In this short article, you're going to learn:

• What a public works project is and where to find them
• What the public works surety bond is
• Why this construction bond is required
• How much it will cost you to get bonded

What is an Oregon Public Works Project?

The official definition provided by the Oregon Department of Administrative Services is:

"Public works encompasses construction and other detailed construction-related tasks, including reconstruction, major renovation or painting, among others, subject to the conditions that must be present for a work of improvement to fall within the statutory definition of public works."

Bottom line, any project that uses tax payer (state funds) funds for a project that benefits the Oregon public.

Typically there's always a fairly large list of projects available to bid on.

Click here to see the list of currently available jobs.

It's best to learn from experienced contractors on how to successfully bid on these projects.

The one tip we've heard time and time again with our contractor customers is to focus on your specific niche and become the expert for those projects.

But regardless, before beginning work on a public project the contractor and all subcontractors must purchase the Oregon public works bond.

What is the Oregon Public Works Bond?

At a high level, a surety bond is a legal contract that holds the purchaser (called the principal) accountable to business promises they make to their customers.

In the case of this public works bond, you as the contractor or subcontractor are promising to complete and fulfill all of the requirements set forth in the contract.

What Does the Oregon Public Works Bond Protect Against?

As the contractor hired to fulfill the contract, you're required to:

• Complete the entire contract
• Use the correct materials outlined in the contract
• Meet the timeline and any intermediary deadlines
• Honor the accepted bid you gave for the project
• Fully restore damaged public property back to working order

Every year there are a small number of contractors who win public works projects and purposefully fail to:

• Complete the project
• Meet the requirements of the contract
• Swap out materials for poorer quality ones
• Fail to complete the project according to the bid amount

In the event that these or similar actions occur, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries can make a claim against the bond for financial compensation to help get the project completed.

The maximum single claim or the total of all claims cannot go higher than the bond amount.

What is the Oregon Public Bond Amount And Cost?

The bond amount is set at $30,000 for the primary contractor and each subcontractor on the job.

Just to be perfectly clear, the primary contractor and every subcontractor hired on the project must purchase their own public works bond.

How Much Does the Public Works Bond Cost?

This bond is a credit driven surety bond.

This means the price you'll pay will be custom based on these three primary factors:

• The personal credit of you and any other owners
• Industry experience primarily on public works projects
• Any bond claims in the past if applicable

A surety, the insurance company that underwrites surety bonds, will use these factors to quote a rate.

We are Surety Bonds Direct and it's our job to find you the lowest possible price when purchasing your surety bond.

We work with the highest A rated sureties to collect the difference rates. Every surety is different in how they determine their rate. It's crazy, but rates for the same applicant can come back two to three percentage points different.

When rates vary this much, you can easily save hundreds of dollars when you purchase your public works bond.

Public Works Bond Pricing Examples

Here are example prices based on really good rates to average rates.

Whatever your price ends up being, it's a one time payment for a bond term or 12 months.

As you can see, it's very realistic to save $300 to $600 dollars just by getting a lower rate.

And again, that's what we'll do for you.

It doesn't cost you anything to have us find you the lowest price and you're under no obligation to purchase once we do.

Fill out our online quote form to get started or you can call 1-800-608-9950 to speak with a bond specialist.

The Oregon Public Works Bond Is Continuous

The good news is you only have to purchase this one one time and it will cover all public works projects you complete throughout the year.

So you don't have to purchase a new bond for each project.

When you purchase your bond you'll choose an effective date or activation date for the bond.

This date becomes the expiration date for the bond.

As your expiration date approaches, your bond specialist will contact you about 30 days in advance to help you get your bond renewed.

If you plan on doing future public works projects, you will have to renew the bond.

If you don't plan on doing public works projects, you can let the bond expire.

Once you pay your renewal price, the original bond stays active and you don't have to do anything else.

If you need to purchase the Oregon public works bond, fill out our online quote form to get started or you can call 1-800-608-9950 to speak with a bond specialist.