Having trouble obtaining a performance bond for a project?

Generally, in order to be eligible for the surety bond guarantee program, a business must:

• Be a small business according to SBA’s size standards
• Have a small contract or can show your small business is bidding on a contract (up to $6.5 million for non-federal contracts and up to 10 million for federal contracts)
• Be able to meet the surety’s credit, capacity and character requirements

Learn more about the surety bond program at sba.gov

Required Documentation

Generally, the small business is required to submit the following documentation to the Surety – some of the documents may not be required depending on the size of the bond:

• SBA Form 994 – Application for Surety Bond Guarantee Assistance
• SBA Form 991 – Surety Body Guarantee Agreement Addendum
• SBA Form 994F – Schedule of Work in Progress (only required for a full application)
• SBA Form 413 – Personal Financial Statement
• General Indemnity Agreement
• Business Bank Line of Credit (if applicable – not a requirement)
• Business Financial Statements Requirements
• Audited financial statements are required for contracts from $6,500,001 to $10,000,000
• Reviewed financial statements are required for contracts from $2,000,001 to $6,500,000
• Compiled or in-house plus financials are required for contracts up to $2,000,000
• Quality in-house financial statements are required for contracts up to $1,000,000
• Contract and Bond Documents – may include SOW, period of performance, bonding requirements, the contract amount, liquidated damages provisions, and the parties to the contract

For applications where the bonding request is less than $400,000, small businesses may be able to submit a simplified quick application. For quick apps, much of the documentation above is not required and decisions are generally made within 24–48 hours.