SBA Surety Bond Guarantee Program
U.S. Small Business Administration
Up to $14M per contract
Bond-backed access to government contracts
The SBA Surety Bond Guarantee Program helps small businesses win government and private contracts by guaranteeing bid, performance, and payment bonds that they could not obtain on their own through commercial channels. SBA guarantees 70–90% of the surety's loss if the small business defaults, making surety companies willing to bond businesses that would otherwise be turned away. Without a bond, small contractors are disqualified from millions in federal, state, and municipal contracts. The SBA guarantee is the difference between winning the bid and being shut out.
- Funding type
- Program
- Level
- Federal
- Amount range
- $14,000,000
- Realistic amount
- Most small contractor bonds are in the $500,000–$5 million contract value range. The program enables businesses that wou…
- Deadline
- Rolling — no application cycle. Apply to an SBA-authorized surety company or agent at any time.
- Status
- active
- States
- Nationwide
- Payment model
- post award
Who qualifies
- Must qualify as a small business under SBA's applicable industry size standard
- Must be a for-profit U.S.-based business
- Must have a contract opportunity that requires a surety bond
- Must be unable to obtain a surety bond through normal commercial channels without the SBA guarantee
- Must meet the surety company's credit, capacity, and character requirements
- Contract must be within SBA limits ($9M non-federal, $14M federal)
Hard requirements
- Must be incorporated
What it covers
Eligible expenses
- Bid bonds (to demonstrate seriousness and ability to perform if selected)
- Performance bonds (to guarantee contract completion per terms)
- Payment bonds (to guarantee suppliers and subcontractors are paid)
- Ancillary bonds required by the contracting authority (e.g., maintenance bonds)
Ineligible expenses
- Commercial bonds (fidelity bonds, license bonds, permit bonds — SBA only covers contract bonds)
- Contracts exceeding SBA's program limit ($14M federal, $9M non-federal)
- Contracts for which the business can already obtain bonding without SBA assistance
How to apply
-
1
Identify bonded contract opportunity
Find a federal, state, local, or private contract that requires a bid, performance, or payment bond. Check the contract solicitation for bonding requirements and contract dollar value.
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2
Contact an SBA-authorized surety company or agent
Find a participating surety through the SBA's Surety Bond Network. Apply directly through the surety agent — not through SBA directly. The agent submits your bond application to SBA-authorized surety partners.
-
3
Submit business and financial documentation
Provide: 3 years of business and personal financial statements (or tax returns), current balance sheet, work-in-progress schedule, bank reference, bonding history, and project-specific information including contract documents.
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4
SBA guarantee issued and bond delivered
If approved, the surety issues the bond backed by the SBA guarantee. Bond fee is 0.6% of the contract price for performance and payment bonds. SBA's guarantee typically covers 80–90% of losses.
The SBA bond fee is 0.6% — far lower than commercial rates for smaller/newer contractors. First-time applicants: get a SCORE mentor or SBA SBDC advisor to help assemble the financial package before approaching the surety.
Deadline & timing
Apply whenever you need bonding for a specific contract bid. Timeline depends on the surety agent and contract deadline — allow 2–4 weeks for first-time applicants.
Programs that stack well
- SBA Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) Network
- SCORE Business Mentoring
- Sba 8a Business Development
Related programs
Last reviewed 2026. GrantCompass is an independent funding-discovery tool and is not affiliated with any government agency. Always confirm details on the official program page.