Bonds & Surety› Find Construction Work to Bid › Texas
Public construction work in Texas is posted in four places: TxDOT (Texas Department of Transportation) for highway and civil work, the Electronic State Business Daily (ESBD) for state agency projects, your local city, county, and school district bid boards, and SAM.gov for federal work. Most are free to search. To win the work you will usually need a bond - Texas requires a payment bond on contracts over $25,000 and a performance bond on contracts over $100,000.
If you build in Texas and want into public and commercial work, the jobs are not hidden - they are advertised in the open, and most of the sources are free. Here is where to look, who runs each one, and the bond you will need to actually win the work.
Before you bid in Texas: Texas keeps a Centralized Master Bidders List (CMBL). Registering puts you on the state's bid-notification list and is how vendors do business with Texas state agencies. An annual registration fee applies. Register on the Texas CMBL
TxDOT advertises lettings and posts plans about 21 days before the letting, with electronic bidding through iCX. Prime contractors must be prequalified before they can bid. See the prequalification requirements.
Start here: TxDOT (Texas Department of Transportation) bidding.
State agencies, universities, and many other public bodies in Texas post their construction solicitations through the Electronic State Business Daily (ESBD). You can browse opportunities there, and you will usually need to register to download documents or submit a bid.
Go to: the Electronic State Business Daily (ESBD).
This is where most contractors should start. Cities, counties, school districts, and special districts build constantly and have to advertise it publicly. The jobs are smaller, the competition is thinner, and the bonding is more reachable for a growing company. Major Texas bid boards:
Weighing a paid platform to find leads faster? See our comparison of construction bid sites and plan rooms - free and paid.
Every open federal construction contract is posted on SAM.gov, and it is free to search and register. You need an active registration and a Unique Entity ID before you can bid. Federal jobs over $150,000 require performance and payment bonds under the Miller Act - see our Miller Act guide.
Texas splits the triggers. Under the Texas Government Code, a performance bond is required on public works contracts over $100,000, and a payment bond is required on contracts over $25,000 (over $50,000 for municipalities and joint airport boards). So even a $40,000 municipal job can put a payment bond in play. (Tex. Gov't Code § 2253.021.) Below those points many jobs still require a bid bond just to submit. The bottom line: if you want public work in Texas, you have to be bondable.
That is where contractors lose jobs to competitors who are no better at the work - the other bidder could produce the bond and they could not. It is usually more reachable than contractors assume. If you are not sure where your bonding stands, start with what a surety bond is, see how contractors qualify, or read the full national guide on how to find construction work to bid on.
Texas runs a Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) program through the Comptroller, and TxDOT runs a separate HUB/DBE program for transportation work. Certification rules in this area are changing - confirm current status and eligibility with the agency before you rely on it.
The work is out there. The bond is what lets you win it. Take the Grit Bond Scorecard to see where your bonding readiness stands and what to work on to grow your limits - or call our bond team and we will walk through it with you.
Call the Grit team: (801) 505-5500
Start with TxDOT (Texas Department of Transportation) for highway and civil work, the Electronic State Business Daily (ESBD) for state agency projects, and your local city, county, and school district bid boards. For federal work, use SAM.gov. Most are free to search.
TxDOT advertises lettings and posts plans about 21 days before the letting, with electronic bidding through iCX. Prime contractors must be prequalified before they can bid. Requirements vary by agency and project, so confirm with the awarding authority before you bid.
Texas requires a payment bond on contracts over $25,000 and a performance bond on contracts over $100,000 (Tex. Gov't Code § 2253.021), and many jobs require a bid bond to submit. If you are not bonded yet, that is the first thing to solve - take the Bond Scorecard or call (801) 505-5500.
A note on the details: Bidding rules, registration steps, and bond thresholds change over time and vary by project and by awarding agency. Use this page as a starting map, not legal advice. Always review the specific requirements in each bid solicitation and confirm the current rules with the awarding authority before you bid.
This page is part of Grit's national guide on how to find construction work to bid on.