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The tender closes on a fixed date and time. The contracting authority will set aside any bid that arrives without a compliant bid security. Your bank wants three weeks, a full credit review and cash to cover the guarantee in full. Meanwhile the competitor with a guarantee line already in place submits on Tuesday.
Financely structures and places bid bonds and tender guarantees with banks and surety providers that can issue in your name, in the format the tender documents require, so your bid security is ready before the submission deadline and your working capital stays where it is needed.
No bid security, no bid
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The amount depends entirely on whose rules you are bidding under. On US federal construction work, FAR 28.101-2 sets the bid guarantee at no less than 20% of the bid price, capped at USD 3 million. The United Nations Development Programme, by contrast, updated its procurement policy in January 2026 to set bid security between 0.5% and 2% of the expected contract amount.
Bid security required on a USD 10 million contract
Posted as cash, that amount sits frozen for the whole bid validity period on every tender you enter at the same time. Bidding on three contracts in parallel can lock up three times the figure.
Sources: Federal Acquisition Regulation, subpart 28.1; UNDP Programme and Operations Policies and Procedures, Solicitation Process, updated January 2026.
Enter your expected contract value and the rules you are bidding under to see the bid security you will need to post.
A bank guarantee or surety bid bond can replace the cash deposit, subject to the issuer's credit approval and any margin it requires. Figures are illustrative. Your tender documents set the binding amount.
This service is for contractors, suppliers and service providers who bid on public and private tenders and need bid security in a specific format, by a specific date.
Public works, infrastructure and energy tenders where the bid bond comes first and the performance guarantee follows on award. We plan both at the same time.
Many authorities only accept guarantees from a bank licensed in their country. We arrange a counter-guarantee from an issuer you can access, so a local bank issues the bid security the authority will accept.
Goods, equipment and services tenders funded by multilateral and bilateral programmes, often with strict bid security forms and fixed wording that issuers must accept without edits.
If you bid on several tenders a quarter, a one-off guarantee each time is slow and expensive. We structure a standing guarantee line so each new bid bond is a drawdown, not a fresh credit application.
Tender rules rarely leave room to fix a missing or non-compliant bid security after the deadline. Wrong beneficiary name, a validity period a few days too short, an issuer the authority does not recognise or wording that adds conditions the form does not allow can all be enough for the bid to be set aside, however strong the technical and price offer.
That is why we start from the tender documents, not from your bank's standard template, and work backwards from the submission date.
Read this before you apply. A bid bond is a credit exposure for whoever issues it. Banks and surety providers issue for bidders they can underwrite, based on financial strength, track record, an existing facility, cash margin or a counter-guarantee. Financely does not lease, rent or sell guarantees. If your bid depends on a guarantee with nothing behind it, this service is not a fit, and the Tender Review will say so.
Most tenders accept more than one form of bid security. Choosing the right one changes how much working capital you tie up and how many tenders you can bid at once.
| Cash deposit | Bank guarantee or bid SBLC | Surety bid bond | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who provides it | You, from your own funds | A bank, under a facility or against margin | An insurance or surety company |
| Working capital impact | Full amount frozen per tender | Uses bank credit lines, sometimes partial margin | Usually sits outside your bank lines |
| Usual rules | Tender conditions | URDG 758, ISP98 or local law | Local surety law and tender form |
| Where it fits best | Small bids, very short timelines | International and development-funded tenders | Construction markets where surety is accepted |
| What to check | Refund timing after award | Issuer acceptability and exact form wording | Whether the authority accepts insurers as issuers |
Everything runs backwards from your submission deadline. A short paid review confirms whether bid security can be issued in time and on which route. If it can, a fixed engagement takes it to the document you attach to your bid.
Working back from the submission deadline
Indicative for a first-time issuance. Bidders with an existing guarantee line can move much faster. The earlier you send the tender, the more routes stay open.
The bid bond is only the first instrument a public contract asks for. Win the award and the authority will usually want a performance guarantee, often an advance payment guarantee, and sometimes a retention or warranty guarantee. Bidders who plan the whole stack at bid stage are not caught out when the award letter arrives.
For larger contracts, the guarantee stack sits alongside the wider financing of the job. We cover that through our project finance advisory, and for companies that also need instruments for suppliers and offtakers, our structured trade and commodity finance practice.
Bidder pays Financely Tender Review and fixed Structuring Retainer
Bidder pays Issuer Guarantee commission or bond premium and any margin, directly
Issuer sends to Beneficiary The bid security, as an original or via SWIFT
Step one is a Tender Review, USD 500. A senior structurer reads your tender's bid security clause and form, checks your financials and timing, and returns a written estimate with the route we recommend, the realistic timeline and a fixed price. The USD 500 is credited in full against your Structuring Retainer if you go ahead.
Step two is a fixed Structuring Retainer. One amount, agreed in writing, paid once when you sign the estimate. It covers a single tender or, for frequent bidders, the set-up of a standing guarantee line. No milestones and no hourly billing.
Why the work is paid at the start
A first bid bond typically takes 30 to 60 professional hours, compressed into the weeks before a tender closes. Deadline work means those people put other paid mandates on hold to meet your date. The credit decision belongs to the issuer, not to Financely, so our fee pays for the work rather than for an outcome nobody can honestly promise.
What you pay the issuer. Guarantee commission or surety premium, any cash margin and bank charges are agreed directly between you and the issuer and paid to them, never through Financely.
Request a quote and start with a USD 500 Tender Review. You get a clear answer on whether bid security can be issued in time, which route gets you there, and a fixed price for the engagement, with the review fee credited back if you proceed.
The closing date will not move. Send the tender documents as early as you can, because every week you gain keeps another issuer and another route open.
They do the same job. "Bid bond" is common in construction and surety markets, while "tender guarantee" or "bid security" is the usual term for bank-issued instruments under URDG 758 and in international procurement. What matters is that the instrument matches the form and issuer requirements in your tender documents.
It is set by the tender. Under US federal construction rules it is at least 20% of the bid price, capped at USD 3 million. UNDP solicitations set it between 0.5% and 2% of the expected contract amount. Other authorities use a fixed sum or their own percentage, so always work from your tender's bid security clause.
For a first issuance with a new issuer, plan on several weeks before the closing date. Bidders with an existing guarantee line can move much faster. The Tender Review confirms whether your deadline is realistic before you commit to the full engagement. No timeline is guaranteed.
It depends on your financial strength, track record and existing facilities. Some bidders qualify for unsecured or partly secured bonds, especially from surety providers. Others will need cash margin or a counter-guarantee. The Tender Review tells you which applies.
If you lose, the bid security is normally released after the award or when its validity ends. If you win, it is usually replaced by a performance guarantee at contract signing. Bid security can be forfeited if a bidder withdraws during the validity period or refuses to sign once awarded, so read the forfeiture terms before you bid.
Sometimes directly, but many authorities only accept guarantees from banks licensed in their country. In that case a foreign issuer sends a counter-guarantee to a local bank, which then issues the bid security to the authority. We arrange both ends.
No. Financely is an advisory and arranging firm. Bid bonds and tender guarantees are issued by banks and surety providers, in your name, in favour of the contracting authority.
This page is general information only and is not legal, tax or investment advice. Financely is an advisory and arranging firm. It is not a bank, insurer, surety, lender or broker-dealer and does not issue, lease or sell guarantees or bonds. Any bid security is issued solely by a third-party institution and is subject to its underwriting, due diligence, KYC, credit approval, documentation and conditions precedent. Acceptance of any instrument is decided by the contracting authority under its tender rules. No issuance, acceptance, outcome, pricing or timeline is guaranteed.
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