Bonds on job order contracts in Texas: what a contractor needs to know

Bonding works a little differently on a job order contract than on a single hard-bid project. A JOC sets a maximum contract value up front, but the actual work comes as a series of orders. Texas law speaks to that directly, and it is worth reading closely before you price a JOC or talk to your surety.

The JOC rule: bonds follow the order

Texas Government Code section 2269.411 is one sentence long: the contractor "shall provide payment and performance bonds, if required by law, based on the amount or estimated amount of any order."

Two things follow from that sentence. First, the JOC statute does not create its own bond requirement. It points back to whatever other law requires bonds, which for most public building work is Chapter 2253 of the Government Code. Second, the bond amount is tied to each order (or its estimate), not to the maximum contract value the entity advertised.

The statute does not say how an entity should handle the paperwork, for example whether it wants a separate bond for each order or some other arrangement. That detail lives in the solicitation and the contract. Read the bond section of the solicitation before you bid, and ask during the question period if it is unclear.

When Chapter 2253 requires bonds

Chapter 2253 covers a "public work contract," which it defines as a contract for constructing, altering, or repairing a public building or carrying out or completing any public work. Before work begins, the governmental entity must require the prime contractor to provide:

The performance bond is conditioned on faithful performance of the work under the plans, specifications, and contract documents. The payment bond protects the people who supply labor or material on the job.

Put together with section 2269.411, the dollar figure you compare against these thresholds and use for the bond amount is tied to the order. Confirm how your entity applies that in its contract.

Rules about the surety itself

• Bonds must be written by a corporate surety.
• The entity may not require you to get your bond from a specific insurance or surety company, agent, or broker.
• The bond, or an attachment to it, must clearly show where claims go: either the surety's name, mailing address, physical address, and phone number, or the Texas Department of Insurance toll-free number with a statement that the surety's claim address can be obtained there.
• For a state agency contract, the bond is payable to the state and its form must be approved by the attorney general. For other entities, the bond is payable to the entity and the entity approves the form.
• If a bond meant to comply with Chapter 2253 tries to expand or narrow the rights in the chapter, those provisions are disregarded and the chapter applies as written.

If you are a sub or supplier on a JOC

Payment bond claims in Texas run on strict notice deadlines, and they apply on JOC work just as on any other public work contract.

• Getting the bond. On written request, the prime contractor must give you the name and address of the governmental entity, a copy of the payment and performance bonds, and the surety's name, within 10 days of the request. If you are unpaid, you can also get a certified copy of the payment bond and the contract from the governmental entity by submitting an affidavit.
• Notice of claim. To sue on the payment bond, you must mail written notice of the claim to the prime contractor and the surety by the 15th day of the third month after each month in which you performed the labor or delivered the material. The notice needs a sworn statement of account.
• Second-tier claimants. If you do not have a direct contract with the prime (for example, you supply a subcontractor), there are additional, earlier notices to the prime contractor, generally by the 15th day of the second month. Read section 2253.047 for the exact requirements.
• Retainage. A retainage claim notice goes to the prime and the surety within 90 days after final completion of the public work contract. The claim cannot exceed the retainage stated in your own contract with the prime or subcontractor, and it is never valid for more than 10 percent of that contract's amount.
• Mail it right. Notices must go by certified or registered mail.
• Suit timing. If the claim is not paid before the 61st day after you mailed notice, you may sue the principal or surety. A suit on the payment bond must be brought within one year of the date notice of the claim was mailed. A suit on a performance bond must be brought within one year of final completion, abandonment, or termination of the contract.

On a JOC, these deadlines run month by month on the work you actually performed, so keep clean records of which order each invoice belongs to.

If the entity skipped the payment bond

If a governmental entity fails to get a payment bond that Chapter 2253 requires, the entity takes on the same liability a surety would have had, and an unpaid sub or supplier gets a lien on money due to the prime contractor. Notice goes to the entity as if it were the surety.

Questions to ask before you bid a JOC

• Does the solicitation say how bonds work across orders (per order, or some other arrangement), and at what point a bond is due?
• What dollar figure does the entity use for an order when it checks the $25,000, $50,000, or $100,000 thresholds?
• Will your surety write bonds on that schedule, and what will it cost you per order?
• If you are a sub: does your agreement with the prime say how you will learn which orders you are working under, so your notice dates line up?

Once an order arrives, the job order readiness checklist walks through the scope review, the joint scope meeting and site walk, and unit price book mapping, so you can price each order on a clear scope.

This page is general information about Texas statutes, not legal advice. Bond rules and deadlines are strict, so check the current statute and talk with your surety or a construction attorney about a specific project. Last checked against the statute text on October 17, 2026.

Sources

• Texas Government Code Chapter 2269, Subchapter I (Job Order Contracts), section 2269.411
• Texas Government Code Chapter 2253 (Public Work Performance and Payment Bonds)